In Finnish we have “kissanristiäiset” (literally means a cat’s christening), which means some trivial and meaningless celebration/event.

  • slampisko@czech-lemmy.eu
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    1 year ago

    Czech has a lot of them!

    Dělá z komára velblouda.
    He’s making a camel out of a mosquito.
    = He’s making it seem like a bigger problem than it is.

    Nemaluj čerta na zeď.
    Don’t draw an imp on the wall.
    = Don’t be pessimistic. Don’t assume the most catastrophic scenario.

    Jsem tam pečený vařený.
    I’m there baked cooked.
    = I go there a lot.

    Dala mi košem.
    She hit me with a basket.
    = She dumped me, or rejected my (mostly romantic) offer or advances.

    Dělá jako by se nechumelilo.
    He’s pretending like it’s not heavily snowing.
    = He’s pretending like something doesn’t concern him. He’s nonchalant about a serious situation.

    Kápni božskou!
    Drip the divine! (Object implied. Probably “the divine truth”)
    = Tell the truth. Spill it.

    Láme to přes koleno.
    He’s breaking it over his knee.
    = He’s forcing it.

    Natáhnout bačkory / brka, zaklepat bačkorama
    To stretch (one’s) slippers / quills, to tap with (one’s) slippers
    = To die. To kick the bucket.

    Padli jsme si do oka.
    We fell into each other’s eye.
    = We hit it off.

    Rozumí tomu jako koza petrželi.
    He understands it like a goat understands parsley.
    = He doesn’t understand it.

    Přišel jsem s křížkem po funuse.
    I came with a little cross after the funeral.
    = I came too late.

    Házím perly sviním.
    I’m throwing pearls to swines.
    = I’m doing good work or acts of kindness that go underappreciated.

    And I could go on :)

    • agent_flounder@lemmy.one
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      1 year ago

      This is fascinating!

      I’m also curious what causes idioms to be shared across languages, like “pearls before swine” (presumably this is shared because of the biblical verse, Matt 7:6)

    • ettyblatant@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I am absolutely going to use “he’s pretending like it’s not heavily snowing” from now on. Thank you for sharing all of these!

    • silly goose meekah@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Some of these are very interesting to me because very similar ones exist in German! Especially “einen Korb geben” (to give a basket) has me intrigued. Does this phrase come from a social norm to give a basket of something to someone you reject?

      Thanks for sharing!

    • Fonzie!@ttrpg.network
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      1 year ago

      In Dutch we have one similar to dělá z komára velblouda, we say “van een mug een olifant maken” (making a mosquito out for an elephant), it means the same!

      Also one similar to přišel jsem s křížkem po funuse; “mosterd na de maaltijd” (mustard after the meal) means something mentioned or brought too late, when it was no longer necessary.

      I wonder how many languages have sayings like this.