Sayings in English that seem odd in Polish?

Here's a question for anyone who speaks Polish and who learned English later in life. What did you first think when you heard English sayings like "as easy as pie" or "it's no picnic" or "it's no day at the beach"? Are these sayings also found in Polish or do they seem weird? Are there any English sayings that you can think of that sound weird or don't make sense?

Here's another saying "a pie in the sky".

How about "Bone to pick" or "sitting on pins and needles"

As right as rain
Pleased as punch
Ship shape and Bristol fashion
Sick as a parrot
mad as a hatter

The list is almost endless....

Hotter than a fresh fcuked fox in a forrest fire...southern style :)

.....but really, no one says this :)

Hmmmm....not something that would come in to conversation in England Mr Z....

Nice as pie
pig sick
The cat that got the cream
Working like a pit pony
Out of the frying pan into the fire

Thanks everyone. Those are all funny. :)

hI i AM LOOKING AT GETTING A TATTOO IN POLISH ( TO RESPECT MY GRANDPARENTS) SO IF THERE IS ANY ONE THAT COULD GIVE ME THE SCRIPT OR LET ME KNOW WHERE TO GET IT THAT WOULD BE GREAT

Pikuś - means its easy

little off topic,but it's close enough...
english word thank you very much in croatian sounds like tank is chasing a big cat
so don't talk too fast english in croatia,people might get confused,maybe call for some AT support to save a little kitten:)

does it make any difference? my 17-year-old cousin, whom I teach english, always asks why english speakers have so strange sayings. the answer probably is that each nation (society?) has developed certain way of conceptualising world and the sayings often reflect the way the perceive it.

personally, I often wonder if "not my cup of tea" has something to do with the tradition of drinking tea:) I never use this one, although I know the meaning because it seems strange to me

rootsweb.com/~genepool/sayings.htm Here are a few more English sayings along with their explinations. :)

*laughs*

Good to know though if I ever go to croatia.....I am a fast talker....considered so even by native English speakers.

chewing on a badly rolled kebab.........ill give points to anyone who can think of the meaning:P

most americans drink coffee not tea but the saying is quite popular here.


forget the points, just pass it on anyway. :D

Heh... :) I've never thought of it before.

Sitting on pins and needles = Siedzic na szpilkach (the Polish has eliminated the needles and kept only the pins -:) Compare Yiddish-English: I'm sitting on shpilkes.

to knock somebody up
e.g. sledz knocked krysia up :)

"A bee in a bottle" is a good description of an ineffective usually young rent-a-mouth.
"Rent-a-mouth" (that is an other one) someone with a half baked opinion on everything and a full baked opinion on nothing

I meant 'siedziEć na szpilkach' -:)

This isn't a saying, I just never looked at the word before I was teaching it to Poles several years ago, the word is butterfly, simple enough until a student exclaimed butter fly????

Illogical sayings like “stone cold” instead of “ice cold” do me head in. ;o)

But I like the funny ones: “he dropped his guts” (i.e. he farted), “piece of piss” (i.e. “peace o’cake”, easy) etc.

Preferrably a 'piece', and not 'a piss' of cake.-:) LOL

At least Hungarians don't have the same burden of comical pronunciations because of long vs. short vowels (for that matter consonant quality) as do our Spanish-speaking neighbors. Recently, I was asked in class about the meaning of the famous 'Gothic bowel movement'. Thought I would crack up with laughter, which luckily, I managed to surpress.