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"Leje jak z cebra"


tomekcatkins 8 | 130  
8 Jun 2009 /  #1
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
gumishu 13 | 6,133  
8 Jun 2009 /  #2
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
OP tomekcatkins 8 | 130  
8 Jun 2009 /  #3
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!
Michal - | 1,865  
8 Jun 2009 /  #4
Its a Polish expression, which is translated as 'its raining cats and dogs' in English.
Jamiro  
19 Jun 2009 /  #5
Yeah, and what cats and dogs got to do with rain?
Michal - | 1,865  
21 Jun 2009 /  #6
You could say the same thing about a ceber, a pail.
graceingdansk - | 24  
26 Jun 2009 /  #7
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
Lyzko  
26 Jun 2009 /  #8
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
lukham - | 11  
29 Jun 2009 /  #9
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.
axid - | 18  
29 Jun 2009 /  #10
You can still hear the word in Podlasie.
what is more, you can still find some cebers there, honestly.
lukham - | 11  
29 Jun 2009 /  #11
As I said - rural areas. :D

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