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ESL forum > Message board > LITERAL TRANSLATIONS of Sayings in your own language! (mine is particularly funny for Uruguayans and Argentinians)     

LITERAL TRANSLATIONS of Sayings in your own language! (mine is particularly funny for Uruguayans and Argentinians)



soleole
Uruguay

LITERAL TRANSLATIONS of Sayings in your own language! (mine is particularly funny for Uruguayans and Argentinians)
 
So following Ivona �s proposition to literally translate into English Sayings in your own language, here I posted some rather funny (especially for Uruguayans and Argentinians since they are sayings from around those lands....) but I hope everyone enjoys and shares their own!!! Tongue
**I explained in ENglish what the Spanish mean by saying THAT, I �m sure there are English equivalents but I can �t remember!**

"Don �t drink me the hair"
(No me tomes el pelo)
= Don �t pull my leg
** which would be equally funny translated into Spanish
-No me tires la pierna- jejje **

�A little police to the air
(Una canita al aire)
= to have an affair

�The great seven�
(La gran siete)
= exclamation of surprise ( �Holy cow! �)
**again, hillarious the othe way around "Vaca sagrada!" jejej***

�Little potato for parrot�
(papita pa�l loro!)
= Something very easy ("Piece of cake")

�Tomato the boat�
(Tomate el buque!)
= "get lost!"

�I sang him the forties�
(Le cant� las cuarenta)
= I told him what I think.

�You �re missing two players�
(Te faltan dos jugadores)
= you �re not thinking clearly.

�Don�t you do the little fly dead�
(No te hagas la mosquita muerta)
= don �t play the victim

�I take her out of the little houses�
(La saco de las casillas)
= I drive her crazy


LOL
 
***I´ll devide it in two because it´s too long!****

23 Feb 2009      





soleole
Uruguay

2nd batch!
 
�If you like the peach, support the little hair�
�Si te gusta el durazno, bancate la pelusa�
= if you like something but you have to work hard for it, don �t complain. ( �NO pain no gain � maybe?)
"Scabies with taste doesn �t itch"
"Sarna con gusto no pica"
= same idea as above.

�It doesnt happen orange champion�
���No pasa naranja, campe�n!!�
=it �s all good, mate!
 
�It�s all jewel, wild beast�
�Est� todo joya, fiera�
= same as above

�I find strange spider, that being fly, don�t recognise me�
�Me extra�a, ara�a, que siendo mosca no me reconozca�
= you should know me better than that! (hard one to explain!)
 
LOL

23 Feb 2009     



soleole
Uruguay

just writing this so the previous one won �t take up all the space on the board.

23 Feb 2009     



Ivona
Serbia

�Piece of cake � in serbian is "as simple as beans" (prosto k`o pasulj)

23 Feb 2009     



douglas
United States

Here �s one from German
 
"I have a tomcat"
(Ich habe ein Kater.)
I have a hangover.
 
"I have a muscle tomcat"
(Ich habe ein Muskelkater)
My muscles ache from working out (or exerting myself).
 
Douglas

23 Feb 2009     



Apodo
Australia

�As dead as a doornail � means exactly that!
If I turn on an electrical appliance, or try to start a car and nothing happens, then �as dead as a doornail � describes it exactly. No hope of it working.

23 Feb 2009     



Zora
Canada

I think the saying came from the fact that they used a type of "long nail" to nail down the lids of coffins... hence the saying "as dead as a door nail!"  Shocked
 
LOL

23 Feb 2009     



libertybelle
United States

To take the easy way out in Danish is:
Don �t jump over the lowest part of the fence.
L

23 Feb 2009     



HARIM
Morocco

He can �t keep a secret in Moroccan dialect is:
His mouth is hot.

23 Feb 2009     



Ivona
Serbia

If someone can �t keep his mouth shut, we would say "he/she has a loooong tongueTongue

23 Feb 2009     



katielinder
Spain

From Castilian Spanish to English -

The cucumber is important to me.
Me importa un pepino.
=I could care less.
 
It gives me the same.
Me da lo mismo.
=I don �t care.
 
I am goated. (Invention with direct, direct translation.)
Estoy cabread@.
=I �m angry.
 
Here there is tomato.
Aqu� hay tomate.
=Something �s going on here.
 
Just some of the classics!

23 Feb 2009     

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