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Multilingual folks: what are some odd idioms in your language(s)? (lemmy.world)

submitted 9 months ago by alquicksilver@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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What are some (non-English) idioms, and what do they mean (both literally and in context)? Odd ones, your favorite ones - any and all are welcome. :)

For example, in English I might call someone a "good egg," meaning they're a nice person. Or, if it's raining heavily, I might say "it's raining cats and dogs."

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[-] bus_factor@lemmy.world 14 points 9 months ago

According to John Oliver you can use any noun, like for example "gazeboed".

[-] Skyhighatrist@lemmy.ca 9 points 9 months ago

That's generally true, but there are some exceptions. For instance. "I'm pissed" can either mean "I'm drunk" or "I'm angry" depending on where you are and the context.

[-] ABCDE@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

UK would always be drunk, in my experience.

[-] Skyhighatrist@lemmy.ca 1 points 9 months ago

Yeah, that's one of the geographical differences I was alluding to. In Canada it can mean either depending on context.

[-] ABCDE@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago

That's interesting to know. I guess there has been some cultural spillover in the UK so some may use it the American style, I just haven't heard it.

[-] bus_factor@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

Yeah, some nouns are already taken, that's fair. Like "shafted".

[-] Lmaydev@programming.dev 8 points 9 months ago

100% people in the UK would know what you meant straight away.

this post was submitted on 02 Mar 2024

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