Game - guess Polish idioms/sayings in direct English translation - part 2

nope, the meaning is a bit counter-intuitive... I only understood after hearing it a few times

Fasten your seatbelt - get ready for a bumpy ride. Get ready for action. action station.
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Well, I shouldn't guess - it is too easy.

No.Think of different ways of lexicalizing 'zapnij pas' (a two word phrasal verb)

Buckle up? But that wouldn't be British, would it?

That's would I would say (without the extra meaning) but Brits have another expression* that means the same thing and has another meaning too

*whether in addition to or instead of 'buckle up' I don't know...

I'm actually stumped as to what the other expression is. I can think of one thing that is similar to 'buckle up' but the meaning is not the same.


Hair is standing on end? Someone is frightened or shocked?

It might be dated.... I've mostly (only?) heard it on old British comedies from previous decades, but if you put it into google with 'meaning' it shows both the 'buckle up' meaning and the idiomatic meaning....

What I'm thinking of is a bit dated but I wouldn't say the idiomatic meaning applies to Zapnij pas. This is why I'm confused. It might not be what you're thinking though and maybe someone else will get it.....

Without looking too hard on youtube I found a public service announcement (a couple actually) from British TV using the 'zapnij pas' meaning.... and at least one video discusses the other meaning as a phrasal verb (and I found an example from a very, very old british comedy, the Larkins, as well).

As this idiom is for non-Brits, I'll stay quiet for now and I'll comment on previous answers later. Still not sure if what I'm thinking that you're thinking is right or not....

In the meantime, a Polish one.... soap and plum butter

You forgot "szwarc"

A collection of mismatched/unorganized stuff in one place? Everything under one roof, a hodgepodge?

Yes!

strap in?

Not the one I'm thinking of.... the preposition is the same as the American expression

Correct 😃 Włosy dęba stają.

na głowie...

Konie też stają dęba

Over three days have passed and no one's gotten it, so I will reveal the answer here..

The British expression 'belt up' can mean either 'zapnij pas(y)' or 'shut up!' 'zamknij się!'....

Here's a rather gruesome public service announcement with the first meaning

youtube.com/watch?v=kcJVOu8WTAI

Here's a short clip from a very old British comedy (1959 or thereabouts)

youtube.com/shorts/NvOfQasG78w

I have no idea how current the expression is....

Easy, but I had no clue. lol

myślę sobie, że to konie pierwsze stawały dęba - a dopiero potem włosy (ale mogę się mylić)

What about a really hard reverse one? This is a regionalism in the US that i heard the first time a year or so ago (from a different part of the country where I've never been) but I liked it and have used it incessantly ever since.... Super hard to translate into Polish so I'm going with two... one more literal (ish) one more meaning (ish) but which is which?

po koniu na każdego

koń za sztukę

This is what I thought you meant. It's not used very often these days but I found a good example of its idiomatic meaning on PF by a poster called 'Stu' when I looked the other day:

https://polishforums.com/polonia/satellite-abroad-44158/#msg909602

When you asked the original question, " What idiomatic meaning does zapnij pas! have in Britain?" I presumed it meant fasten your seatbelt and not belt up as such.

In the UK the idiomatic meaning of 'fasten your seatbelt' would be 'prepare for something unexpected, a bumpy ride'. Quite often that would mean prepare for trouble, so in that sense I think both Lenka and Iron were right in their explanations.

Maybe I have got confused with translating 'zapnij pas' to fasten your seatbelt instead of 'belt up'? Or do both apply?


A horse apiece?

Corresponding to the US expression 'It's a horse a piece' which means six of one, half a dozen of the other. It's doesn't matter much either way, something is more or less equal.


A horse for everyone? Is this the more literal meaning?

How else would you translate 'belt up'?


Yes!


It's hard to tell because it's not clear if each gets a horse or each alternative requires a horse....

I didn't see another way but I think I made the mistake of only looking at 'fasten your seatbelt' whereas 'belt up' also applies. Two idioms for the price of one!


For me it reads like each gets a horse.

I must say it's nice to see other people taking an interest and participating in this thread :)

Usually the latter.

There is another one I have heard somewhere - horse up!

This might be too well known already but....Muszę rozmawiać z kimś o koniu

The same in English. I have to see a man about a horse.