"Leje jak z cebra"

Where comes this saying from? Do they mean 'raining so much like the thick stripes on the zebra'???

It's more strange then the English equivalent. :D

hi tomek

ceber is a kind of bucket (a wooden one)

so it can be put as 'leje jak z wiadra'

you know what it looks like when you pour or splash water out of a bucket

it is of course kind of exageration - it never actually rains like this

Ah I was thinking of a 'cebra' (animal) because the English use animals as well in their saying.

Splashing water out of buckets makes more sense indeed! :D

Thanks!

Its a Polish expression, which is translated as 'its raining cats and dogs' in English.

Yeah, and what cats and dogs got to do with rain?

You could say the same thing about a ceber, a pail.

I believe you're right tomekcatkins.
The french also say 'raining buckets' as opposed to the English 'raining cats and dogs'.
Jamiro, for an explanation, go to: joe-ks.com/phrases/phrasesR.htm

The French saying I recall is slightly 'stronger', translating literally to "It's raining like a cat pissing on a flat rock."

German's the weirdest yet, word for word "It's raining tailor's apprentices (Es regnet Schneiderbuben! This though only in Austria).

Marek

Just a general remark: the word ceber is rather obsolete, you won't hear it in everyday's speech. More often you may stumble across it in crosswords.

It only survived in this "leje jak z cebra" expression. Some Poles don't even remember what a ceber was. I suspect, however, that it may still be heard in some rural areas.

You can still hear the word in Podlasie.
what is more, you can still find some cebers there, honestly.

As I said - rural areas. :D