Game - guess Polish idioms/sayings in direct English translation

Yes, very good. :)

Now, in direct translation it is: a roofer. Who or what?

Not much idea about this presuming it's nothing to do with the job itself.
Someone with high aspirations? Someone who puts on airs and graces?

Think cats :)

Yes.
Sorry, Chemikiem, it is about cats, mostly those independent ones (but not stray) which allegedly enjoy walking on roofs. Do Brits know that cats wander on roofs? I remember tens of pics of such cats, especially at night with the moon in the background, in my kid books.

I am not a roofer, I am a coucher/couch potato.

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What abouit?:to not throw words onto the wind

I wouldn't have got that. When Lenka mentioned cats, I was thinking they might be chasing birds that perch on roofs.


Of course. They are putting their prey under surveillance, whilst at the same time risking their lives. Just as well they have nine :)


To pay attention to what's being said? Don't say something unless you mean it?

Yes, correct guess.


Really? I had no idea about birds. I thought they climb onto roofs to meoaw to the moon.

I think we are talking at cross purposes here. I didn't mean that cats are looking at birds necessarily as prey. They could be looking at anything from a position of height.

Or maybe they just like climbing.......

hahaha Yes, indeed, a funny misunderstanding. I imagined you said cats go onto roofs to hunt for birds there.

Every stick means there are always two alternatives to a situation. good and bad.

The scythe (typo! haha) means one meets an unexpected resistance and has to withdraw.

Animals/pets are an important part of my life, so let`s focus on them for a while:

sb goes grouse

And with every stick with two ends , there is always a $hitty end, hence the saying getting the $hitty end of the stick.

Yes! Or two sides to every story.


How I understand it is that one has met one's match.


No idea! I thought it meant that somebody is complaining but this idiom is to do with the bird.......


To cut someone down to size? To make someone realize they're not as smart as they think they are?

Why not? Both are correct, meaning the same, only expressed differently - yours is more idiomatic, mine - descriptive. haha

to go grouse means to get really annoyed, like a male grouse.

to slice sb means to rip sb off. I just read about banks which are increasing service costs for clients.


to have ostrich`s stomach/ like an ostrich

In keeping with the thread :)
Thanks for the answers to the other idioms, I didn't do so well with those!


Someone who can eat anything with no ill effects? We would say that someone has a strong or cast iron stomach.

Come on, it is only a fun game, not a serious competition. Hey, you know Polish quite well. Why don`t you start a similar thread but reversed - English idioms in Polish translation. It could be fun, too.


Yes!

to climb up onto sb`s head

Your English is better than my Polish. I would end up up confusing everyone, and not everything translates well as you know. Add to that the fact that very few people bother with this thread as it is, I doubt a new one would be any different. Sad but true :(


To dominate and try to gain control over somebody?


Of course! I can't win them all ;-)

I'll start with an easy one (including a cultural substitution)

nb My cultural frame of reference is American.

Wypił oranżadę.

Experience the consequences of one's own actions?

that comes later, this is about the reason for drinking.

drink one's cool aid?

close, but what does it mean?

I give up. Even googling didn`t help.

Or is it similar to Polish: drink the beer you have brewed - meaning you have to suffer consequences of your actions.

I said that before and he said "no". He said:


One is preparing oneself for an action? Has decided to take a task on?

And I thought it would be too easy...


Close, to drink the kool-aid means uncritically believe something in order to claim or maintain membership in a group with the strong implication that it will eventually do harm to the person. The drinking specifically refers to accepting the beliefs.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drinking_the_Kool-Aid

I'm pretty sure I've seen oranżada used as an equivalent in subtitles (variants of the phrase often occur in American scripts). I asked a friend once if he understood the reference and he had no idea....

Hopefully an easier one.... (the first google hits are references to the expression)

Kim jest rudy pasierb?

hahaha It didn` t occur to me to look under kool aid, I was looking for orangeade/soda. I never saw Kool Aid in Poland, let alone trying it. I have a book with this word in the title but didn`t read it yet.


ha, that was easier - red headed stepchild. A child who is obviously not your own, Nie moje dziecko.

In the Polish version I've heard it was 'rude znajda'

It must be a direct translation coz I have never heard it. Bękart seems popular, too.

@pawian

ginger stepchild? - urbandictionary says beaten like a ginger stepchild means soundly beaten, utterly defeated.. but redheaded stepchild means someone mistreated, neglected or unwanted