French French speaking countries

Tu peux perdre une carte, mais pas quinze.

Reference USED On Occasion BY Some People

(You can lose one card, but not fifteen.) • This sentence comes from the film "Les Tuches 2", and it is the moment where the main character cannot find his 15 credits cards. He starts saying "You can lose 1 card, but not 15", then "You can lose 2 cards, but not 15", and so on, until he reaches "You can lose 15 cards, but not 15. Oh, you can actually." Some people reuse this sentence by changing "lose" and "card" by other words, like "fail" and "exam" for example. It is a way of making fun of a situation that isn't that enjoyable.

"Tu peux accrocher une voiture, mais pas quinze ! A la rigueur deux, mais pas quinze ! ... Tu peux accrocher quinze voitures, mais pas quinze ! Oh ben si en fait."

"You can hit a car, but not fifteen! Well, maybe two, but not fifteen! ... You can hit fifteen cars, but not fifteen! Oh, you can actually."

Spanish Colombia

quedar gringo

Slang USED On Occasion BY some people

It's when someone doesn't understand anything about what is happening.

"Quedé gringo en esa clase de matemáticas."

"I stayed gringo in that math class."

Portuguese Brazil

coisar

Slang USED Frequently BY some people

(to thing) • "Coisar" is a verb coming from the noun "coisa", a thing. It's one of the most useful expressions in Portuguese, but also the most contextual. You can use it when you forgot or do not know what you did or what you're going to say, or you simply say it without much thought. And it's very informal. "Coisar" could mean anything, but it depends on the context.

"Eu coisei os lençóis no varal". "Eu coisei aquele negócio lá". "Que bom, agora pega aquele coiso de de pegar macarrão pra mim".

Italian Italy

cadere dal pero

Expression USED On Occasion BY Some People

(to fall from the pear tree) • This expression is used when somebody has a sudden realisation of a fact or a negative aspect of their reality.

"È caduto dal pero quando ha saputo del loro divorzio!"

"He's fallen from the pear tree when he heard about their divorce!"

Spanish Guatemala

chambre

Slang USED On Occasion BY Some People

The gossiping, the rumor, the news.

"¿Cómo estuvo la historia? Que empiece el chambre."

"How's the story? Let the gossip begin."

Dutch Netherlands

gesneden koek

Expression USED On Occasion BY Some People

(cut cake) • Something very easy. A piece of cake.

"De wedstrijd van komend weekend is gesneden koek vergeleken met de vorige."

"Next week's match is cut cake in comparison to the one last week."

Dutch Netherlands

broodnodig

Word USED On Occasion BY Some People

(adj.) • (bread necessary) • Something that is essential, absolutely necessary.

"Ik moet broodnodig een nieuwe baan vinden."

"I must bread necessary find a new job."

Dutch Netherlands

onder vier ogen spreken

Expression USED On Occasion BY Some People

(to speak under four eyes) • Privately.

"Hey, kan ik jou even onder vier ogen spreken?"

"Hey, can I speak to you under four eyes?"

Spanish Spain

el burro delante, pa que no se espante

Expression USED On Occasion BY Some People

(the donkey goes first, so it doesn't get scared) • In Spanish, it is usually considered impolite to refer to oneself while listing the members of some group before every other person has been mentioned. This expression is used to make someone aware of his misplacement of the first-person pronoun in an enumeration that includes more people.

"¿Y quiénes fuisteis al cine?" "Fuimos yo, Joan y Pablo." "El burro delante, pa que no se espante."

"And who went to the cinema?" "Me, Joan and Pablo." "The donkey goes in front, so it doesn't get scared."

Spanish Spain

el día que las ranas críen pelo

Idiom USED On Occasion BY Some People

(the day that frogs grow up hair) • A different way to say that something would never happen or a strong no to a question.

"¿Vienes conmigo al partido?" "¡Iré contigo el día que las ranas críen pelo!"

"Would you come with me to the match?" "I will go with you the day that frogs grow up hair!"

Spanish Spain

cambiar el agua al canario

Expression USED On Occasion BY Some People

(change the water to the canary) • Used when someone needs to go to the toilet.

"Ahora vuelvo, tengo que cambiarle el agua al canario"

"I'll be right back, I have to change the water to the canary."

Dutch Netherlands

nattevingerwerk

Word USED On Occasion BY Some People

(noun) • (wet finger work) • Something that is done without much precision or base in anything, like wetting your finger and sticking it in the air to feel which direction the wind is coming from.

"Proberen voorspellen wanneer de Coronacrisis over is blijft tot nu toe nattevingerwerk."

"Trying to predict when the Corona crisis will be over still remains wet finger work."

Dutch Netherlands

de drukte opzoeken

Standard Phrase USED On Occasion BY Some People

(to look for the hustle and bustle) • To go to spaces with loads of people, e.g. bars, malls, etc.

"Tijdens Corona is het onverantwoord om de drukte op te zoeken."

"During Corona, it's irresponsible to go looking for the hustle and bustle."

Dutch Netherlands

van een koude kermis thuiskomen

Expression USED On Rare Occasion BY Some People

(to come home from a cold fair) • A rude awakening. It means that something goes wrong against expectations, or goes bad, or does not happen. It could also mean that you expected to receive a warm welcome somewhere but instead experienced anger and blame.

"Emma dacht dat ze voor haar verjaardag een puppy zou krijgen, maar ze moest van een koude kermis thuiskomen."

"Emma thoughts she was going to get a puppy for her birthday, but she had to come home from a cold fair."

English Australia

munted

Slang USED On Occasion BY Some People

(adj.) • severely damaged or very drunk

"After that wreck, his car was completely munted." "He's too munted to speak!"

Portuguese | Brazilian Portuguese Brazil

chafé

Slang USED On Occasion BY Some People

(n.) • A mix of the words "chá" and "café" ("tea" and "coffee", in English) used to refer to a very bad and weak coffee.

"Nossa, este café está muito aguado! Nunca mais tomo este chafé."

"Wow, this coffee is so watery! I'll never have this chafé again."

Dutch Netherlands

wie mooi wil gaan moet pijn lijden

Expression USED On Rare Occasion BY Some People

(who wants to be beautiful must suffer pain) • To be beautiful one must make sacrifices. Frequently said by grandmothers while aggressively brushing your hair.

"Deze hakken doen echt pijn." "Tsja, wie mooi wil gaan moet pijn lijden."

"These heels really hurt." "Oh well, who wants to be beautiful must suffer pain"

Polish Poland

szatan

Word USED On Occasion BY Some People

(n.) • (satan) • A very strong black coffee.

"Chcesz kawę?" "Tak, zrób mi szatana."

"Do you want some coffee?" "Yes, make me a satan."

English United Kingdom

hatchings, matchings and despatchings

Expression USED On Very Rare Occasion BY Some People

Births, weddings, and deaths.

"I only go to church for hatchings, matchings, and despatchings."

German German speaking countries

✊

Emoji USED On Occasion BY Some People

When you wish someone good luck in German you would say "Ich drücke dir die Daumen", which literally means "I'll press my thumbs for you". Because of that, 🤞 ("I'll keep my fingers crossed") isn't used to wish good luck (in German 🤞 means that you are lying). We rather use ✊ which stands for the thumbs pressed.

"Viel Glück bei der Prüfung! Ich drücke dir die Daumen ✊!"

"Good luck for the exam! I'll press my thumbs for you ✊!"