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Literal Idioms

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cybersmurf:
Since we have a fee international folks around, it would be funny to collect a few literal translations of idioms.
Like from a different thread the German idiom "Da scheiden sich die Geister". Literally "That's Ghosts divorcing", meaning "it's where/when opinions differ".


Or "Ich glaub mein Schwein pfeift!" - "I think my pig whistles!", meaning "That's/you're crazy!". And an online dictionary would translate it as "blow me down!".

Cornelius:
Let's give it a try:

--- Quote --- It's butter on the gallows. Even if he could talk like Bridgeman, he'd still shove the hot potato on. He knows where Abraham gets the mustard; there sits a little adder under the grass. He polishes the plate. "Work for the king? I'd rather give the pipe to Marten.
--- End quote ---

Het is boter aan de galg. Al kon hij praten als Brugman, hij schuift de hete aardappel nog door. Hij weet wat Abraham de mosterd haalt; er zit een addertje onder het gras. Hij poetst de plaat. "Werken voor de koning? Ik geef nog liever de pijp aan Maarten.

It's all in vain. Even if he were an exceptional orator, he'd rather pass on this difficulty topic. He knows what's what; there's a catch. He makes his escape. "Work for free? I'd rather die.

Case:
No better place than Babbel:

https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/the-best-compound-german-words-and-how-to-use-them

https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/the-9-best-german-words-you-dont-know

https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/8-words-you-thought-were-german

They forgot "Schnoddrigkeit" - lit. "snot-nosiness", or "booger-i-ness" - which is ... something like "provocative, loutish, immodest", but with overtones of "joyfully and deliberately plebeian". Attending the annual celebration of the club-that-doesn't-want-you and confirming the shit out of every prejudice they harbour about you. Think Nobby Nobbs hobknobing with the bigwigs.

And my personal favourite: "Rudelgucken", the charmingly irreverent colloquial neologism that almost instantly replaced the singularly ugly pseudo-Anglicism "Public Viewing". "Rudel" means "pack" and "gucken" means "to watch", with subtle overtones of passive consumption. There's also a prurient note to it, as "Rudelbumsen" is an older, and particularly vulgar colloquialism for group-sex.

Despite public viewing's relative youth - it was first offered during the 2006 World Championship hosted in Germany - "Rudelgucken" is already listed in the German dictionary, the Duden.

Cornelius:
Or, in West Flemish, rather than Dutch;

"'t Zwien deur de bjèt'n joagen": chase the pig through the beets: go nuts, have a good time

"Scheurd je puuste"; tear your pimple: get out

Case:

--- Quote from: Cornelius on 04 Sep 2018, 11:04 ---Let's give it a try:

--- Quote --- It's butter on the gallows. Even if he could talk like Bridgeman, he'd still shove the hot potato on. He knows where Abraham gets the mustard; there sits a little adder under the grass. He polishes the plate. "Work for the king? I'd rather give the pipe to Marten.
--- End quote ---

Het is boter aan de galg. Al kon hij praten als Brugman, hij schuift de hete aardappel nog door. Hij weet wat Abraham de mosterd haalt; er zit een addertje onder het gras. Hij poetst de plaat. "Werken voor de koning? Ik geef nog liever de pijp aan Maarten.

It's all in vain. Even if he were an exceptional orator, he'd rather pass on this difficulty topic. He knows what's what; there's a catch. He makes his escape. "Work for free? I'd rather die.

--- End quote ---

Uhmmmh - could you translate their meaning, too? Some of those seem related to German idioms:

* "Die heisse Kartoffel weitergeben" (lit. 'To pass on the hot potatoe') means "to deflect blame for an embarrassing failure onto someone else"
* "Er weiss wo der Bartel den Most holt" (lit. 'he knows where Bartholomew gets the cider from') "He knows which side his bread is buttered on"
* "Die Platte putzen" (lit. 'polishing the plate') means "Getting the hell out of Dodge"

but others are utterly foreign.

Edit: Hat-tip to cybersmurf

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