Idiomatic Phrases

[azhong]

以銅為鏡，可以正衣冠；
Taking copper as a mirror, one can dress oneself well.
以古為鏡，可以知興替；
Taking history as a mirror, one can know the rise and fall.
以人為鏡，可以明得失。
Taking a person as a mirror, one can understand his failure and success."

[mōdgethanc]

I mean that I wouldn't translate "anar vent en popa" literally since it would sound odd. I would use the closest English equivalent, which I consider to be "have the wind at your back". Thus, this is an "English translation" of the Catalan expression. Maybe I misread your comment, but I thought you were assuming I didn't know "wind at your back" was an existing English expression whereas that's the exact reason I used it.

Oh, I get it now. You didn't misread anything. It was a misunderstanding on my part.

[Linguaphile]

teadma, kus kivi all vähid peidus on
to know where the crabs are hiding under the rock
to know the truth, to know the real reason

[Linguaphile]

meest sõnast, härga sarvist
(take) a man by his word and an ox by his horns
one's word is one's bond

[ges_651]

PORTUGUESE IDIOMS:

“Quem nao tem cao caca com gato”
Literal translation: “He who doesn’t have a dog hunts with a cat”.
What it means: You make the most of what you
How to pronounce it: [kẽĩ / n̪ɐ̃ũ / t̪ẽĩ / kɐ̃ũ / ka / sɐ / kõ / ga / t̪ʊ]
When to use it: If someone asks you for something you don’t have

“Tirar o carvalinho da chuva”
Literal translation: “Take you little horse away from the rain”
What it means: Don’t hold your breath/ it’s not going to happen
How to pronounce it: [vou / #i / ra / mɛʊ / ka / va / li / ɲʊ / d̪a / ʃu / vɐ]
When to use it: When someone asks you to do something you won’t do

“Ter macaquinhos na cabecachuva”
Literal translation: “To have little monkeys inside your head”
What it means: To have a crazy idea
How to pronounce it: [t̪e / ɲʊ / ma / ka / ki / ɲʊs / n̪a / ka / be / sɐ]
When to use it: When someone says something strange

“Barata tonta”
Literal translation: “Look like a silly cockroach”
What it means: To be clumsy
How to pronounce it: [ki / ka / &ɐ / ɛ: / sɐ // pa / &ɛ / si / ki / vo / seɪ / st̪a / i / gwaʊ / ba / &a / t̪ɐ / t̪ɔn̪ / t̪ɐ]
When to use it: If you or someone else drops something

SPANISH IDIOMS:

“Gato con guantes no caza ratones”
Literal translation: “A cat in gloves catches no mice”
What it means: Nice guys finish last
How to pronounce it: [gä / t̪o̞ / ko̞ŋ / gwän̪ / t̪e̞ / zno̞ / kä / sä / +ä / t̪o̞ / n̪e̞s]
When to use it: If someone’s not sure whether they can do something in order to reach their goal

“Se me fuel el avion”
Literal translation: “The airplane got away from me”
What it means: I forgot
How to pronounce it: [se̞ / me̞ / fwe̞ / lä / βjo̞n̪]
When to use it: When someone has asked you to fetch something and you forget

“Mucho ruido y pocas nueces”
Literal translation: “A lot of noise and no walnuts”
What it means: All talk and no action
How to pronounce it: [mu / #o̞ /+wi / do̞ / i / po̞ / kä / sn̪we̞ / se̞s]
When to use it: When your friend refuses to get up to get the snacks

“Eres bien codo”
Literal translation: “You are very elbow”
What it means: You’re so cheap
How to pronounce it: [e̞ / &e̞ / sbje̞n̪ / ko̞ / do̞]
When to use it: When someone is acting frugally

FRENCH IDIOMS

“J’ai d’autres chats a fouetter!”
Literal translation: “I have other cats to whip”
What it means: I have other things to do
How to pronounce it: [ʒɛ / d̪o / t̪χ(ə) / ʃa / z̪a / fue / t̪e]
When to use it: When someone asks you to do something you don’t have time for

“Les Carottes sont cuites”
Literal translation: “The carrots are cooked!”
What it means: The situation can’t be changed
How to pronounce it: [le / ka / ʁɔt̪ / s̪ɔ / kɥit̪]
When to use it: When it’s too late

“Donner sa langue au chat”
Literal translation: “To give one’s tongue to the cat”
What it means: I can’t guess – tell me the answer
How to pronounce it: [d̪ɔ / n̪e / s̪a / lɑ̃ / go / ʃa]
When to use it: When you’re losing a game of ‘guess what’

“Avoir la moutarde qui monte au nez”
Literal translation: To have mustard going up their nose
What it means: Losing your temper
How to pronounce it: [a / vwaʁ* / lə / mu / t̪aʁ* / d̪ə / ki / mɔ̃ / t̪o / n̪e]
When to use it: When you or someone else is getting mad

[Linguaphile]

espera sentado
wait seated
don't hold your breath

[Linguaphile]

[Skolt Saami] neeuʹres-šõŋŋ-njuõll
bad-weather-arrow
meteor, shooting star

[Inari Saami] tääsniluččim
star-diarrhea
meteor, shooting star

[Lule Saami] tjålånnásste
spitting-star
meteor, shooting star

[Linguaphile]

luhta minema
to go to the marsh
to fall through, be thwarted, be foiled

[JamesFuentes]

helpful information

[Linguaphile]

sõnasabast kinni saama
to catch by the word-tail
to stop oneself [from saying something] mid-sentence, to bite one's tongue in time [to avoid saying something]

sõnasabast kinni haarama (/võtma)
to grab (/take) by the word-tail
to use someone's words against them

[Linguaphile]

kui läks trumm, mingu ka pulgad
if the drum goes, let the drumsticks go too
if the most important thing is lost, the smaller things that are left don't matter

[md0]

Originally wrote this for the 'random word you have learnt' thread but maybe here is a better fit.

Not a word, but rather a phrase. It stood out to me because it also exists in Greek. Usually when that happens, it's because of some Biblical story, but this surely isn't the case.

was man nicht im Kopf hat, hat man in den Beinen (≈ απ' έν έσιει νούν, έσιει πόθκια, lit. 'the one who doesn't have a brain, has legs')

I think there's a slight difference in meaning, with the German saying being mostly restricted to forgetfulness, while the Cypriot Greek equivalent is more generally used when someone makes a lapse of judgement that ends up causing them more work than necessary (έσιε νουν 'have a brain' means 'pay attention').