Idiom USED Very frequently BY Young People
This is used to convey the feeling of pleasure or satisfaction that one experiences at someone else’s misfortune. Used to gloat and mock.
-“¿No has ganado el vídeojuego? ¡Qué mala leche!”
-“You didn't win the game? What bad milk!”
Submitted April 2023 by anonymous
Idiom USED Very frequently BY lots of people, maybe more by older people
when someone has an over-the-top reaction to a situation or is really upset and beside one's self.
"Y tro ‘ma, mae o ‘di mynd dros ben llestri yn wir."
"This time he’s really gone over the crockery!"
Submitted April 2023 by anonymous
Idiom USED Frequently BY Everyone
(hungry like a dog) • When you're really REALLY hungry.
"Ты хочешь есть?" "Да, я голодная как собака!"
"Do you want to eat?" "Yes, I'm as hungry as a dog!"
Submitted March 2023 by charlotteashton
Idiom USED Frequently BY Almost Everyone
(To leek) • Waiting motionless for a long time, like a leek planted in the ground.
"Il y avait tellement de monde au magasin, le vendeur m'a fait poireauter pendant une heure."
"There were so many people at the store, the salesman made me leek for one hour."
Submitted January 2023 by anonymous
Idiom USED Frequently BY Everyone
(to take up horse racing) • To change one's profession due to incapacity or unskillfulness in a previous job. This idiom is mostly used in the form of rather direct and dismissive advice/suggestion. Comparable to English "go climb a tree" or "go take up knitting."
"Luigi non è assolutamente in grado di svolgere il suo lavoro. Farebbe meglio a darsi all'ippica."
"Luigi is absolutely unable to do his job. He'd be better off taking up horce racing."
Perdersi in un bicchiere d’acqua
Idiom USED Frequently BY Everyone
(To get lost in a glass of water) • It means to worry or make a big deal of something that is actually a small problem or not a problem at all.
-"All'esame orale, mi sono perso in un bicchier d'acqua."
-"At the oral exam, I got lost in a glass of water."
Submitted April 2022 by thinkinitalian
English
The South,
United States
nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs
Idiom USED On Rare Occasion BY Some People
Used to describe someone who is nervous. The imagery is that a cat with a long tail would be in constant danger of having its tail crushed under the moving chairs in a room full of rocking chairs
“Did you get to see her before she gets on stage?” “Yes, she’s nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs, but I think she’ll be great.”
Idiom USED Frequently BY Almost Everyone
(a foot on the ground) • A small house or apartment in a city you do not live in, and where you stay when visiting that city for a short time
"Vivre à Paris ne m'empêche pas d'aller souvent à Rome, j'y ai un petit pied-à-terre."
"Living in Paris does not prevent me from going to Rome. I have a small pied-à-terre there""
Submitted January 2022 by anonymous
Idiom USED Very frequently BY Everyone
It is used in a situation where someone is saying something dark and the rest tell him to don't push his luck and call for the bad things to happen
"Сигурно ще ни изпитват днес по химия" - "Тихо, не дърпай дявола за опашката!"
"They will most probably examine us in chemistry today" - "Keep quiet, don't pull the devil by the tail"
Submitted September 2021 by anonymous
Idiom USED Frequently BY Everyone
(to fart higher than one's arse) • To be conceited.
Les étrangers disent souvent que les Français pètent plus haut que leur cul.
Foreigners often say that French people fart higher than their arse.
Submitted July 2021 by 3010g
Idiom USED Very frequently BY Almost Everyone
(Speak(s) Hindi) • Use this expression for somebody who either speaks unintelligibly or talks nonsense. You can construct a question using this idiom to mock the addressee's inability to understand what you're saying.
"فهمت الدرس؟"- "ولا أي كلمة"- "!هو أنا بتكلم هندي؟"_
A: "Did you understand the lesson?" B: "No. Not a single word of it." A: "Was I speaking Hindi?!"
Submitted July 2021 by anonymous
Idiom USED On Occasion BY Everybody
(let the earth be light for him ) • This expression is used when someone dies. People use it to say they hope s/he rests in peace.
"Včera večer zomrel po ťažkom boji s rakovinou. Nech mu je zem ľahká."
"He died yesterday evening after a difficult battle with cancer. Let the earth be light for him."
Idiom USED Very frequently BY Almost Everyone
Used to wish somebody to be more active and energetic while he or she is doing something.
"سلاو، ماندوو نه بن"
"Hello, do not be tired"
Submitted June 2021 by anonymous
Idiom USED On Occasion BY Almost Everyone
(smell violets from the bottom) • To lay in the grave.
Nemám chuť voňať fialky odspodu.
I don't feel like smelling violets from the bottom.
Submitted May 2021 by anonymous
Idiom USED Frequently BY Everyone
(walls have ears) • You shouldn't say something because someone may be listening behind a wall.
"Preciso te contar algo!" "Você tem certeza? As paredes têm ouvidos"
"I have to tell something" "Are you sure? Walls have ears"
Idiom USED On Occasion BY Some People
(to put on a good face for a bad game) • To pretend you're doing well when the situation is actually bad. Similar to the English expressions 'to put on a brave face' or 'to put on a Poker face' (depending on the context).
"Rozstanie bardzo w nią ugodziło, ale robiła dobrą minę do złej gry, udając, że cieszy się swoją nowo odzyskaną wolnością."
"The breakup really struck her, but she put on a good face for the bad game and pretended she was enjoying her newly gained freedom."
Idiom USED Very frequently BY Everybody
(for a bank) • Used to express certainty. An idiomatic equivalent to the English "for sure". Can also be used sarcastically.
"Czy będziesz dzisiaj na przyjęciu?" "Na bank!"
"Are you coming to today's party?" "for a bank!"
Idiom USED Frequently BY Some People
(bad duck ) • Bad person, sometimes is used for vulgars or people who did bad things.
"Are you watching this vulgar? He's a bad duck."
"Estás viendo a ese ladrón? Es un pato malo."
Submitted March 2021 by anonymous
German
| Austrian Dialect
Austria
Idiom USED On Occasion BY Everyone
(had I, did I, would I) • Similar to "woulda, coulda, shoulda", this phrase is used to dismiss hypothetical thoughts of what could have been.
"Wann i gwusst hätt, dass so staut, wär i früher losgfahren!" "Hätti, wari, dadi!"
"If I had known there would be this much traffic, I'd left earlier!" "Had I, did I, would I!"
obiecywać komuś gruszki na wierzbie
Idiom USED On Occasion BY Everybody can use it
(to promise someone pears on the willow) • When you promise something that is not possible / to make empty promises.
"Prezydent obiecywał gruszki na wierzbie, byleby tylko wygrać wybory."
"The president promised the pears on the willow to win the elections."