this post was submitted on 02 Oct 2023
242 points (99.6% liked)

Ask Lemmy

26701 readers
1788 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Please don't post about US Politics.


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

In Finnish we have "kissanristiäiset" (literally means a cat's christening), which means some trivial and meaningless celebration/event.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Atomic@sh.itjust.works 12 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Some in Swedish but I'll write down the literal translations first. Some I can't even begin to explain... kind of just have to be Swedish to get them

To cook soup on a nail. (Something impossible and ridiculous, can be used both seriously and ironically)

Clean as a watch (a smart solution, or good response to a problem can be, "clean as a watch". The expression is never used to actually describe something that's literally clean)

A bear favor (doing someone a favor that will do more harm than good, i.e. doing someone's homework for them)

In the time of the Duke. (When something was just in time)

Ice in the stomach (to keep your cool and be patient)

Fire for the crows (Being wasteful with fuel, you're basically just keeping your roof warm and cozy on the outside for the birds)

Acting like a larvae (being ridiculous and/or childish, not taking something seriously when you should)

And if you got this far down, I've got Spanish speaking extended family who sometimes call me what I've been told, literally means "lightbulb thief" (cause I'm tall I guess) but I forgot the Spanish word. Maybe someome can help me out with that.

[–] TheShortWhiteGiraffe@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

We have "to cook soup on a nail" in Norwegian as well but our meaning is different. In Norway it means to make something out of nearly nothing.

[–] Atomic@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

It has the same meaning here. I guess it depends on how you say it. And maybe my explanation wasn't the best either. But by making something out of nothing. You've done what could be considered impossible.

I think most of our idioms are interchangeable due to how close our cultures are. How do you say it in Norwegian? Spisa soppa på spik?

Koke suppe på en spiker