# Equivalent expressions in different languages **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 23, 2023, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-expressions-in-different-languages/978670 "2023-01-23T16:36:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-expressions-in-different-languages/978670/63 "2023-02-01T19:18:46Z")
There are a few good ones like that in Spanish: _Edredón_ means duvet or comforter (quilted blanket) and is obviously related to eiderdown. _Vaquero_ means cowboy and gave rise to buckaroo. _Juzgado_, which means court or courthouse, was turned into hoosegow. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2023, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-expressions-in-different-languages/978670/64 "2023-02-02T04:35:26Z")
What about an equivalent expression for “Don’t blow sunshine up my skirt/shorts,” meaning _don’t cover up the bad news with pleasant lies_? ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2023, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-expressions-in-different-languages/978670/65 "2023-02-03T20:40:00Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Is “spill the tea” a Britishism? I do hear Americans say it from time to time. Never heard it in English English. BTW @glee - I’m in Athens - send me some owls! j ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-expressions-in-different-languages/978670/66 "2023-02-06T02:25:13Z")
I just thought of another idiom that is similar in German, but slightly different: instead of “killing two birds with one stone”, we say “Zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe schlagen”, “hitting two flies with one swatter”. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-expressions-in-different-languages/978670/67 "2023-02-06T03:18:10Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > There are a few good ones like that in Spanish: > > _Edredón_ means duvet or comforter (quilted blanket) and is obviously related to eiderdown. > > _Vaquero_ means cowboy and gave rise to buckaroo. > > _Juzgado_, which means court or courthouse, was turned into hoosegow. And “hocus pocus” is a corruption of the Latin “Hoc est corpus”, “This is the Body”: What a Catholic priest says during Mass. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-expressions-in-different-languages/978670/68 "2023-02-06T07:49:53Z")
Thanks, I didn’t know that. Doesn’t seem to be consensus on that, but it’s interesting, nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-expressions-in-different-languages/978670/69 "2023-02-06T17:29:47Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And “hocus pocus” is a corruption of the Latin “Hoc est corpus”, “This is the Body”: What a Catholic priest says during Mass. Apropos of that is [_abracadabra_:](https://www.thejc.com/judaism/jewish-words/abracadabra-1.466709) (Yeah, a little far afield, but it IS my thread.) > It is not widely known that the gibberish incantation of stage magicians and children’s party entertainers probably has Hebrew origins. > > Scholars who support the Hebrew etymology say that abracadabra is a corruption of the Hebrew, _ebrah k’dabri,_ meaning “I will create as I speak,” i.e., that the act of speech will magically create new realities. If this is indeed the derivation, then it would chime with the kabbalistic notion that the words and letters of the Hebrew alphabet have the power to create. > > This idea is expressed in the Talmud’s statement about Bezalel, the master builder of the sanctuary, that “Bezalel knew how to combine the letters through which heaven and earth were created” (Berachot, 55a). Bezalel’s creative ability grew out of his insight into the process by which God created the world through combining words and letters. This, in turn, is related to the midrashic theme that the Torah preceded the world and served as its blueprint: “God looked into the Torah and created the world.” > > The vulgar popular use of abracadabra as a magic spell may be a faint echo of these exalted ideas. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-expressions-in-different-languages/978670/70 "2023-02-06T17:58:35Z")
On a private Facebook page, a friend has posted the picture of a 1950-ish album, presumably children songs – the little boy is offering the little girl an ordinary banana, notwithstanding that she’s got an armload of them. A bit cringe-worthy by modern standards, and that’s the whole (attempted humorous) point of the post. A caption for the album says ‘_Greif hier, nicht her_’. Google Translate turns that into ‘Don’t reach here.’ Right, German ‘_her_’ means ‘here’, and _greifen_ means ‘reach’ (maybe even grab?) - but then what’s the difference between _hier_ and _her_, that the second part of the phrase cancels out the first part? And is the caption totally innocent, or is there some whiff of double entendre, even so? ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-expressions-in-different-languages/978670/71 "2023-02-06T18:23:23Z")
Ah, never mind. The album is a 1988 cover of ‘Don’t Touch Me There’, originally by The Tubes. Yeah, double entendre fully intended. ---
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-expressions-in-different-languages/978670/72 "2023-02-11T23:44:41Z")
Gae seki (ya) is my favorite, Korean for dog (gae) child (seki). Ya is sometimes added for effect. So, son of a b\*tch! This is the cutest I’ve ever heard (bleeped, but obvious) anyone say it! [https://youtu.be/p0X8YCmeVC4?t=35](https://youtu.be/p0X8YCmeVC4?t=35)’ This was on the Korean variety show, _Knowing Bros (Ask Me Anything)_ and the game was to take the last syllable of what the person before you said and make a new phrase. Yuqi’s expression is priceless, made even more so because she’s Chinese. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2023, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-expressions-in-different-languages/978670/73 "2023-02-15T22:52:22Z")
French is a little more humane - it’s striking twice with one stone ( faire d’une pierre deux coups). ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-expressions-in-different-languages/978670/74 "2023-02-16T03:31:51Z")
“Don’t sugarcoat it” is an English equivalent. Chatbots seem pretty good at this type of thing. Using one gives the following answer. _The expression “don’t sugarcoat it” means to be honest and straightforward, without trying to make something seem better or less severe than it really is. Here are some foreign and English expressions that convey a similar meaning:_ 1. French: “ne pas tourner autour du pot” (literally “don’t beat around the bush”). 2. Spanish: “ir al grano” (literally “go to the grain”). 3. Italian: “dire le cose come stanno” (literally “say things as they are”). 4. German: “kein Blatt vor den Mund nehmen” (literally “not to take a leaf in front of the mouth”). 5. Swedish: “säga som det är” (literally “say it as it is”). 6. Portuguese: “ir direto ao ponto” (literally “go straight to the point”). 7. Russian: “не облагораживать” (pronounced “ne oblagorazhivat’”, literally “don’t embellish”). 8. Japanese: “包み隠さず言う” (pronounced “tsutsumikakusazugou”, literally “to say without hiding anything”). _In English, some similar expressions include:_ 1. “Tell it like it is.” 2. “Be frank with me.” 3. “Give it to me straight.” 4. “Don’t hold back.” 5. “Be honest with me.” 6. “Speak plainly.” 7. “Cut to the chase.” 8. “Don’t beat around the bush.” Fairly impressive! ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-expressions-in-different-languages/978670/75 "2023-02-16T21:59:03Z")
If memory serves, when I first joined SDMB I had started a thread asking about equivalent phrases for “being nickeled and dimed to death” (meaning to be charged small amounts which eventually pile up) in countries that don’t have nickels and dimes as currency terms. I can’t remember if I ever got any definite answers, so I thought I’d ask it here. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-expressions-in-different-languages/978670/76 "2023-02-16T22:01:35Z")
I can’t think of a perfect match for that expression in German, but “Kleinvieh macht auch Mist”, literally meaning “Small livestock produces dung, too” conveys a similar meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Moonrise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonrise/32/14764_2.png) [@Moonrise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonrise)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2023, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-expressions-in-different-languages/978670/77 "2023-02-17T08:41:23Z")
In French you could say _les petits ruisseaux font les grandes rivières_ (literally “small brooks make great rivers”), but it’s not specifically money-related and not necessarily negative. > [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > French: “ne pas tourner autour du pot” (literally “don’t beat around the bush”). More accurately, “not turn around the pot”. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2023, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-expressions-in-different-languages/978670/78 "2023-02-18T06:23:19Z")
Had to look up the specific words, but the Italian equivalent is " _Prendere due piccioni con una fava_, which means “to catch two birds with one fava bean”. One of my Italian coworkers says “Feed two birds with one bean.” so maybe his dialect has a variation. As his English is quite good, I expect he’s able to tranlate properly. I guess the killing comes later. [10 Italian expressions you need to know if you‘re coming to Italy | Visititaly.eu](https://www.visititaly.eu/history-and-traditions/italian-expressions-to-know-in-italy#:~:text=Prendere%20due%20piccioni%20con%20una,benefit%20from%20a%20single%20action). ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2023, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-expressions-in-different-languages/978670/79 "2023-02-19T12:24:03Z")
> [@Civil\_Guy](#): > > Right, German ‘_her_’ means ‘here’, and _greifen_ means ‘reach’ (maybe even grab?) - but then what’s the difference between _hier_ and _her_, that the second part of the phrase cancels out the first part? _Hier_ means _here_ in the sense of a specific place. _Her_ indicates movement towards you (_hin_ means away from you). So I’d translate it as “Grab here, not from there”. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2023, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-expressions-in-different-languages/978670/80 "2023-02-19T14:36:37Z")
_Danke schön_. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-expressions-in-different-languages/978670/81 "2023-03-01T19:55:43Z")
Just read the expression “You can’t get blood from a stone” in another thread and found the German equivalent interesting: “Du kannst einem nackten Mann nicht in die Tasche greifen”, “You can’t reach into the pockets of a naked man”. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-expressions-in-different-languages/978670/82 "2023-03-01T21:36:34Z")
There’s also the related but different meaning “don’t blow smoke up my ass”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-expressions-in-different-languages/978670.md?page=3)