Þar stendur hnífurinn í kúnni=There is the knife stuck in the cow. It means, there is the problem(gridlock) right there. Used when people can't negotiated on a solution.

My favorite.

 

(Thai, related to Buddhist beliefs);

"In the afternoon of my next life."

Similiar to "Go pound sand"

 

The only thing with oars that I can think of is "Doesn't have both oars in the water". Meaning he is nuts.

 

(Thai, related to Buddhist beliefs);

"I will take care of it in the afternoon of my last life."

Similiar to "Go pound sand"

Yeah that is a good one. "Go pound sand". Got to look that one up.

 

My favorite.

The funny thing about this idiom is as "country" it sounds is that it's almost exclusively used in very formal speech or text.

 

Anyway, spinnaker's original question was "idioms in other languages", here's one in spanish:

"Más jalan un par de bustos, que una yunta de bueyes"​

Translation: "A pair of breasts will pull harder than a yoke of oxen" ... the phrase is normally used on friends who decline to join an all-male party so they can go spend time with their girlfriends.

In these latitudes the pulling agent is "un pelo de concha" (one pubic air). AFAIK, the German version matches our one.

 

The only thing with oars that I can think of is "Doesn't have both oars in the water". Meaning he is nuts.

There are three equivalents, around here:

Le faltan algunos jugadores (he is missing some players).
No tiene todos los caramelos en el frasco (doesn't have all candies in the jar).
No tiene todos los patitos en fila (doesn't have all ducks in the line).

 

There are three equivalents, around here:

Le faltan algunos jugadores (he is missing some players).
No tiene todos los caramelos en el frasco (doesn't have all candies in the jar).
No tiene todos los patitos en fila (doesn't have all ducks in the line).

- Se le botó la canica (his marble popped out)

 

The very first I learnt in French was "Manger son blé en herbes" (spending your capital before building a fortune).

 

There are three equivalents, around here:

Le faltan algunos jugadores (he is missing some players).
No tiene todos los caramelos en el frasco (doesn't have all candies in the jar).
No tiene todos los patitos en fila (doesn't have all ducks in the line).

Our equivalent is "Það vantar einhverjar blaðsíður í þennann"=This person is missing some pages. Not so much used about people that are nuts but rather when somebody says or does something that lacks common sense.

Upon some inspection I can't find the origin of that idiom in Icelandic. Probably a "slang"/adapted idiom.However my father used it on a regular bases while watching the news...

 

Probably not to be bestowed to Don Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, when someone is saying something not related to the point in question, we use "meando fuera del tarro" (peeing out of the can".

 

Probably not to be bestowed to Don Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, when someone is saying something not related to the point in question, we use "meando fuera del tarro" (peeing out of the can".

There's a saying down here used when someone proposes an idea that obviously won't work, or says or does something completely unrelated to the problem at hand:

- Andas tirando 'pal monte!

"You're shooting at the wilderness!"

I've had to refrain myself from using it on certain members of this forum some times...

 

- Andas tirando 'pal monte!

"You're shooting at the wilderness!"

Similar to "Tilting at Windmills"!
Max.

 

Similar to "Tilting at Windmills"!
Max.

Yet another phrase of Spanish origin...

 

Hell bent for leather seems to be a conflation of two expressions - hell bent (or hellbent) and hell for leather. The latter was used by Kipling and meant riding a horse recklessly - leather being the crop used to whip the horse. The former goes back to the 18th century. Seems obvious to combine them.

Square meal - more than nautical, I believe this dates back to the middle ages where people used trenchers (square boards) for serving food. Also, I think that relates to the expression - a square deal. The square boards were used to serve a full meal - your fair amount of food.

 

Yet another phrase of Spanish origin...

That's from Cervantes' Don Quixote where the hero jousts with windmills that he imagines are giants. Also it is the origin of the word quixotic -meaning exceedingly unrealistic.

 

Have your cake and eat it too. The common expression is "you can't have your cake and eat it too". More correctly, it should be "you can't eat your cake and have it too". (if you eat it you still have it though not as cake.) Also, the verb "to have" confuses things because it can mean to eat. Nevertheless, people understand the intent which is "you can't have it both ways". It goes back to at least 16th century England but similar expressions exist in many other languages - often referring to possessing a thing or the money from selling the thing.

This was a key part of how the Unabomber got caught. He used the phrase in the second "more correct" sense which caused the FBI to go looking for where that variation was used. Which helped them produce a fairly accurate profile of the Unabomber and led to his brother going to the FBI.

 

It is not only expressions that get people caught, but customs and mannerisms.
I recall two instances during WW11, one was when the Germans parachuted an English speaking German officer in to England under cover of darkness to act as a spy, the following day he made his way to a nearby village, which by this time was around 3. PM , he went into a Pub and asked for a pint, the landlord immediately got suspicious as every Englishman knew the pubs close in the afternoon, he was subsequently arrested.!

The second was a similar scenario where the U.S. had a German speaking agent infiltrate occupied France in order to gather intel.
He went to a French cafe that was a gathering place for German officers where he would hopefully overhear some useful conversations.
Sitting at a nearby table he ordered a meal, and in a short while drew the attention of a German Officer who thought it strange he was using his dining utensils in the American fashion.
After some interrogation he too was arrested.
Max.

 

No se puede repicar y estar en la procesión. You cannot ring the (church's) bells and be in the procession.

 

- Se le botó la canica (his marble popped out)

We say "He has lost his marbles"

A man that lets his marbles pop out gets arrested in these parts.