You might be surprised how often you use food-related idioms in everyday conversation.
If you feel like doing something a little different and confusing people while you’re at it, why not try out some of the expressions found in other languages below? You might notice that many languages’ idioms seem to be related to typical foods found in the countries where they are spoken, for example there are a fair few Wurst-based idioms in German!
Take a look at the perfect recipe that we’ve put together for a dish of tasty food-related idioms!
A spoonful of insults…
French
Une vraie courge!
An utter squash!
Idiot!
French
Quelle nouille!
Such a noodle!
Idiot!
French
Occupe-toi de tes oignons!
Mind your own onions!
Mind your own business!
French
Va te faire cuire un œuf!
Cook yourself an egg!
Go to hell!
German
Du gehst mir auf den Keks
You go on my cookie
You get on my nerves
Hindi
Bandar kya jaane adrak ka swad?
What does a monkey know about the taste of ginger?
You don’t know what you’re talking about
Spanish
Me importa un pepino
I care a cucumber
I don’t give a damn
Danish
Pølsearme
Sausage arms
You’re weak
Danish
Grødhovede
Porridge head
You have no brain
A dollop of philosophy…
German
Es geht um die Wurst
It’s about the sausage
It’s now or never
German
Alles hat ein Ende, nur die Wurst hat zwei
Everything has an end, only the sausage has two
Everything must pass
Portuguese
Alimentar um burro a pão-de-ló
To feed the donkey sponge cake
To treat someone nicely who doesn’t deserve it
Turkish
Benim basima gelen cig tavugun basina gelmez
What happened to me would not happen to a raw chicken
Something happened that is so weird that it’s funny
Turkish
Incir cekirdegini doldurmayacak sebepler
Reasons that would not fill a fig seed
There aren’t good enough reasons to be upset
Turkish
Armudun iyisini ayılar yer
The good pears are eaten by bears
The least deserving people get the rewards
Russian
Кашу маслом не испортишь
A little butter won’t spoil your porridge
There can never be too many good things
Japanese
Mochi ha mochi ya
Rice cake, rice cake maker
Every field has an expert
A pinch of money…
Italian
L’ho comprato per un tozzo di pane
I bought it for a piece of bread
It was a real bargain
Portuguese
A preço de banana
To cost the same as bananas
Cheap as chips
French
Mettre du beurre dans les épinards
To add butter to the spinach
To earn a bit extra
A sprinkle of personality traits…
German
Schokoladenseite zeigen
To present yourself from your best side
To only see good things
German
Eine treulose Tomate sein
To be an unfaithful tomato
To be disloyal
German
Das Haar in der Suppe finden
To look for the hair in the soup
To never be satisfied
Polish
żyć jak pączek w maśle
To live like a donut in butter
To be as happy as a pig in mud
Italian
E’ buono come un pezzo di pane
He’s as good as a piece of bread
He’s a really good guy
Turkish
Her seye maydanoz olmak
To be parsley to everything
To have an opinion and be nosy about everything
Turkish
Agzinda bakla islanmamak
A fava bean doesn’t get wet in somebody’s mouth
If you tell this person a secret, they will tell it to other people
Japanese
Sansho ha kotsubu de piririto karai
Sansho (a Japanese pepper) is small, but hot enough
Even if someone is small, if they are cheerful and talented, you can’t ignore them
Cantonese
吃醋
To be sipping vinegar
To be jealous
A heap of conversational skills…
French
Ramener ta fraise
To bring your strawberry
To butt in on a conversation
Polish
Rzucać grochem o ścianę
Throwing peas onto a wall
To fall on deaf ears
German
Seinen Senf dazu geben
To add one’s mustard
To have a say
German
Ich habe mit dir ein Hühnchen zu rupfen
I have to pluck a chicken with you
We need to talk
Russia
вешать лапшу на уши
To hang noodles on someone’s ears
To pull someone’s leg
Danish
En tynd kop te
It’s a weak cup of tea
Your argument is not very strong
And a dash of something extra…
German
Kleine Brötchen backen
To bake little rolls
To take small steps to start something
German
Die beleidigte Leberwurst spielen
To play the offended liver sausage
To sulk, be a sourpuss
German
Extrawurst braten
I have to fry you a special sausage
You always need something extra
Spanish
Pedirle peras al olmo
To ask for pears from an elm tree
To try to do something that’s impossible
Spanish
Agarrar a alguien con las manos en la masa
To catch someone with their hands in the dough
To catch someone doing something they shouldn’t
Danish
Nye boller på suppen
We need new meatballs in the soup
We need new input and ideas
Cantonese
雞毛蒜皮
Chicken feather and garlic skin
Irrelevant or worthless things
Polish
Bułka z masłem
A bread roll with butter
Something that’s easily achieved
Italian
Rendere pan per focaccia
To give back bread for focaccia
To get revenge – an eye for an eye
Italian
C’entra come i cavoli a merenda
It fits like a cabbage for the afternoon snack
It doesn’t fit, it’s inappropriate
Swedish
Nu blir det andra bullar!
Now there will be other bread rolls!
No more Mr. Nice Guy!
And we’ll leave you with a couple to keep you guessing:
Swedish: ha rent mjöl i påsen = to have clean flour in one’s bag
German: Mit dem/der ist nicht gut Kirschen essen = It’s no good eating cherries with him/her
Can you guess how we would express the meanings of these idioms in (good!) English? Let us know! And if you know of any other tasty idioms, please do share them with us!
Sources
Opmerkingen