Monday, July 29, 2013

Like an Angel Peeing on My Tongue


   Nuremburg, Germany, market square in March.

Every time we taste something so good we’re sure we’ve died and gone to heaven, Astrid says, “Als of er een engeltje op mijn tong piest.”  Loosely translated, “It’s like an angel peeing on my tongue.”

“How in Sam’s scratch can something so gross mean out-of-this-world delicious,” I asked her the first time she said it.  Her answer:  “Anything ‘angel’ is out-of-this-world good!”

Okay, then.

IDIOMS:  the utterly ecstatic and diabolical imps of language!   When words are combined in such a way that their figurative meanings can never be translated literally, they make the world go ‘round.
   
And that got me thinking about other Dutch idioms I hear almost every day here where I live (translated into English, of course):

You can’t walk on one leg.
(said when you offer second helpings of something)

What’s now hanging on my bike!
(what strange thing is happening now!)

Don’t put salt on every snail.
(don’t be a nag; don’t complain)

She got out of bed with the wrong leg.
(getting out of bed on the wrong side)

He was pulled off the toilet.
(he was talking nonsense)

The best pilots are standing on shore.
(back-seat drivers)

Be happy with a dead sparrow.
(be happy with nothing)

That is far from my bed.
(I don’t have to worry about it)

The sparrows dropped dead from the roof.
(it was so darn hot!)

Running the socks out of your shoes; driving the crease out of your pants.
(when the cars/bikes ride too close to you)

They’ll drive off the dike.
(when they see you looking/acting like that)

High water in the polder.
(pants are too short…”high-waters”)

You can walk over the heads.
(it’s so crowded)

He’s walking with windmills; he was hit by a windmill sail.
(he’s crazy)

He’s looked too deep into the glass.
(he’s drunk)

That person has loose hands; he should keep his hands at home.
(he’s always hitting someone; often refers to domestic violence)

Like pliers on a pig.
(nothing relates to anything)

Row with the oars you have.
(use what’s available)


And then Astrid will sometimes immediately follow withYou can’t say it to the Queen, of course” (it’s not proper Dutch).  HA!  And did you notice that sometimes the English meaning is also an idiom!

Surely you have your own idioms that make you giggle with glee and have one or two to share (with their meanings, of course)…unless you’re up to your ears in alligators and don’t have time?

A day not laughed is a day not lived!
(no translation needed)




No comments:

Post a Comment