wie ein Elefant im Porzellanladen
Expression USED On Occasion BY Almost Everyone
(like an elephant in a porcelain store) • Used when someone is being clumsy.
"Er benimmt sich wie ein Elefant im Porzellanladen."
"He's behaving like an elephant in a porcelain store."
Word USED Frequently BY everyone
(n.) • In Québec French, "piastre" means dollar. Pronounced as "piasse", and often missheard as "pièce" by European French speakers.
"Combien t'a coûté ta nouvelle chemise ?" "20 piastres!"
"How much did you pay for your shirt?" "20 bucks!"
Expression USED On Occasion BY mainly older generations
(barking dogs don't bite) • Someone who's annoying or threatening usually doesn't do much after all.
"Hij dreigde ermee dat hij m'n gsm zou afpakken als ik niet stopte met sms'en" "Maak je maar geen zorgen, blaffende honden bijten meestal niet"
"He threatened to take my phone away if I wouldn't stop texting" "Don't you worry, barking dogs usually don't bite"
Expression USED Frequently BY Almost Everyone
(make the cat believe that) • If someone says something that's so obviously untrue or ridiculous, you can even tell your cat about it because it just makes no sense.
"Ik heb dit examen op twee uur gestudeerd!" "Dat kan niet! Dat maak je de kat wijs!"
"It only took me 2 hours to study for this exam!" "What, That's impossible! Make that the cat believe!"
Word USED On Occasion BY Everyone
(adj.) • (stick old) • Very old. Often with slightly negative connotations.
"Als ik al die kinderen op TikTok zie voel ik me echt stokoud."
"When I see all those kids on TikTok, I feel stick old."
Expression USED On Occasion BY Some People
(n.) • (kind-ism / nice-ism) • Excessive, misplaced understanding, consideration or indulgence (especially practiced by authorities towards social clients). A misunderstood kindness that involves being overly understanding and accommodating, often for fear of making unpopular decisions or offending someone.
"Partilederen mener snillismen hos de andre partiene er skyld i tilstanden."
"The leader of the party believes that the nice-ism of the other parties are to blame for the situation."
Expression USED Very frequently BY Everyone
Unpaid, voluntary, community work, often of a practical nature where several people (neighbours, friends, members of an association or union) go together to work. Examples can be spring cleaning in the neighbourhood, construction of a local playground, selling waffles at a sporting event, or helping friends to paint walls in their new apartment. Dugnads are important to Norwegian culture and not participating is heavily frowned upon.
"Blir du med på dugnaden i morgen?"
"Are you coming to the dugnad tomorrow?"
Word USED Very frequently BY Everyone
(noun) • Time period of 24 hours, or one whole day and one whole night.
"Katten min har ikke vært hjemme på snart fire døgn."
"My cat hasn't been home in almost four days."
Word USED On Occasion BY Some People
(n.) • (yellow bend) • A 'joke-Norwegian' (skämtnorska) word mimicking Norwegian language sounds that sounds silly or weird to Swedes.
“Men vad tusan, jag var säker på att banan faktiskt hette guleböj på norska.”
“My goodness, I was certain bananas were actually called yellow bends in Norwegian.“
Expression USED On Rare Occasion BY Some People
(you great alpaca) • Used jokingly to express either surprise, shock, horror, or fright.
"Du store alpakka! Har lyset gått?"
"You great alpaca! Did the lights go out?"
hæla i taket og tenna i tapeten
Expression USED On Occasion BY Older Generations
(heels on the ceiling and teeth in the wallpaper) • Expressing that something takes place in a lively mood, a great atmosphere, or at full speed; for instance a lively party that can seem a bit wild.
"Kom og bli med på festen! Her er det hæla i taket og tenna i tapeten!"
"Come join the party! It's wild!"
Submitted August 2020 by stinekristin
Expression USED On Occasion BY Everyone
((completely) Texas) • A wild, chaotic place, event, or situation.
"Var du på sluttsalget i går?" "Ja og der skal jeg si deg det var helt texas!"
"Were you at the final sale yesterday?" "Yes, and let me tell you it was completely Texas down there!"
Expression USED On Occasion BY Some People
(n.) • (lucky pig) • A very lucky person.
"Fikk du ny PC til bursdagen din? Heldiggris!"
"Did you get a new computer for your birthday? You lucky pig !"
Expression USED On Occasion BY Older Generations
(n.) • (pig's luck) • Having great luck or being unrealistically lucky.
"Jammen bra du ikke skadet deg mer. Snakk om griseflaks!"
"A good thing you didn't hurt yourself more. Talk about pig's luck!"
Slang USED On Occasion BY People Under 50
(n.) • Means money, mainly used by middle-aged people who like to think they're 'down with the kids'.
"I've got a hell of a lot of dosh in my wallet."
"I've got a large amount of money in my wallet."
Expression USED On Rare Occasion BY Almost Everyone
(to buy a cat in a bag) • Buying somehing that ends up being very disappointing
"Test eerst even de auto voordat je hem koopt, je wil geen kat in een zak kopen!"
Try out the car before you buy him, you don't want to buy a cat in a bag!
French
| Canadian French
Quebec,
Canada
être habillé comme la chienne à Jacques
Expression USED On Occasion BY Almost Everyone
(to be dressed like Jacques' female dog. ) • Used to describe a person dressed poorly. Apparently, a man named Jacques Aubert, who lived during the 19th century, was known as single all his life and only had one companion: a female dog that lost all of its fur because of some disease. During cold winter times, he would dress up his dog with old clothes and rags.
"On a beau être en vacances, ce n'est pas une raison pour s'habiller comme la chienne à Jacques."
"Even if we're on a vacation, it's not a reason to be dressed like Jacques' female dog."
English
London,
United Kingdom
Idiom USED On Occasion BY Londoners
It means a long-winded story that is nonsense. The literal translation of the expression is from cock or rooster to donkey/ass.
"Some men’s whole delight is to talk of a Cock and Bull over a pot." (the earliest example in print: The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton,1621)
French
French speaking countries
On ne trouve pas l'argent sous les sabots d'un cheval
Expression USED On Occasion BY Some People
(Money can't be found under a horse's hoof) • Money doesn't grow on trees.
"Je ne peux pas t'acheter ce sac, il est beaucoup trop cher ! Tu penses qu'on trouve l'argent sous les sabots d'un cheval?"
"I can't buy you this bag, it's way too expensive! Do you think money can be found under a horse's hoof?"
Dutch
Belgium and the Netherlands
Expression USED On Occasion BY Almost Everyone
(make that the cat wise) • This is too unbelievable, I dont't believe you.
"Heb je maar twee uur slaap per nacht nodig? Maak dat de kat wijs!"
"You only need two hours of sleep every night? Make that the cat wise!"
