Game - guess Polish idioms/sayings in direct English translation

"Bzdura" is the expression with which I'm most familiar. I remind myself of that high school slogan from several years ago MATURA BZDURA! This helps me to recall the word.

Yes, I knew it would be easy for you :) As to the origin of the idiom, I have no idea.


Now as maf indicated earlier, adding those last couple of words made all the difference. If it's right it means the same as ' It's a cinch', a very easy task, something simple to do.

I think it was also the translation of pestka as 'pip' that made it hard for me... there used to be different words for different kinds of seeds but for many/most modern speakers they've disappeared... I still say peach pit and maybe cherry pit but use 'seed' for everything else... even mango (where pit might also fit)

Do British speakers still use words like pip and stone for different kinds of seeds?

Yes we do. Apples, oranges and lemons have pips, while peaches, cherries,plums and mangoes have stones for exampe. I'm guessing 'pit' must be more of an American term, I've never heard it used in the UK.

I added it after seeing it was a problem to guess that sole "pip", but normally we don`t say them, pip is enough.


Yes, I was looking for and hesitating over a proper word for about 5 minutes.


Very interesting, I will surely remember it now. The beneficial effect of the forums. :)
PS. I must know vocabulary because students constantly enquire how to say sth in English. Rarely am I at a loss. :) Fortunately, they haven`t asked about seeds in fruit yet.

to be salt in sb`s eye

In my (US) dialect they're all seeds except for peaches (pits), plums, cherries and mangoes can also have pits but I think seed is more common.

Speakers of monocentric languages (like Polish) who learn a polycentric language (like english or spanish) is they want a word/expression that works everywhere and... they often don't exist.

Just to confuse the issue..............grapes are a bit of a strange one. These days most grapes sold seem to be of the seedless variety, but it was quite common a few years back to see signs in greengrocers' shops advertising seedless grapes. Personally, I would still refer to grape seeds as pips, but it's possible that some people may refer to them as seeds.

Generally, when talking about seeds in the UK, it's most often used in the context of sowing them.


I would say that it means to be very annoying and troublesome for somebody?

Yes, apart from my gardening hobby, I know it from primary school books which I use sometimes. :)


Yes!

(to apply) the method of stick and carrot.

it's the same in English... although the order is usually carrot and stick (does the order say something?)

Has 'to have something in one's little finger' been here yet?

As maf said, in English it's carrot and stick. It's a reward or threat of punishment method.

You are both right, it is the same one, and the order doesn`t matter.


To know sth very well.

it`s been sucked out of one`s finger.

Sb/sth is in powder. ?

I think it's the equivalent of pulling something out of thin air, to imply that an answer is a wild guess without any evidence.


Sort of means to be in the sh!t being unprepared and not ready for something? e.g you're in the shower and suddenly realise you were meant to be somewhere 10 minutes ago?

Yes, exactly, both guesses correct. Weclome back! :):)

To take sth off the ceiling/ it`s been taken off the ceiling.

a lot more polite than my crude American version "he pulled that out of his @ss"....

which leads me to.... "it doesn't rip (one's) @ss"

It is too poor/weak to impress anybody. :)

To take sth out of the equation? Something no longer relevant?


I think there's a subtle difference. Pulling sth out of thin air means pretty much the same as a stab in the dark - a guess based on very little information, whereas " he pulled that out of his @ss" means someone who is talking bollox. Or maybe I'm just being pedantic......


Something unimpressive.

Sorry. But I might offer a hint - it is very close to another idiom which appeared on this page. And it often refers to calculations, figures and data.

Something is over budget, too expensive? Not financially viable?
Not sure which idiom is close to it, but for some reason I am leaning towards carrot and stick.....

Nope. Taken off the ceiling is close to sucked from the finger. About calculations, it means sth taken off the top of your head.

to plane/whittle a madman.

To pretend not to know about something or pretend to be a bit dim?

Yes, exactly!

to do/make/turn sb into grey.

To pull a fast one? To trick or deceive?

Yes!

on/into the cross

I'm afraid I'm a bit stumped by this one. I can only think of UK idiom 'to nail someone to the wall', but I really don't think it's this.

The idiom doesn`t imply the cross as a real item, let alone of religious meaning. Only its graphic representation, like in a drawing - X.

I can only think of 'X' marks the spot to show the exact location of something, but I don't think that's right either.

Well, it also means very few/little of sth. It comes from a small village context: it is so small there are only two streets into the cross. - dwie ulice na krzyż (i.e. crossing). But you can also use it in other contexts.

What has shot into your head/napper?

Ok, thanks for that. Quite a sweet little idiom, two roads on the cross.

I presume that napper is another word for head? I have never heard this word before.
Does it refer to someone who has crazy thoughts?

Maybe not thoughts which suggest sth continuous or regular, but an idea which sb had and carried it out with deplorable effects. :) E..g, my mother said it to me after I nearly burnt the whole rooom down while playing with matches in the window sill under the curtains. :)

The palm tree is bouncing/has bounced off sb.