# Evocative expressions in other languages **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 14, 2000, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evocative-expressions-in-other-languages/22398 "2000-06-14T21:18:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2000, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evocative-expressions-in-other-languages/22398/1 "2000-06-14T21:18:46Z")
“Enculer des mouches” = to nitpick; literally, “to sodomize flies”. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2000, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evocative-expressions-in-other-languages/22398/2 "2000-06-14T23:22:10Z")
In Dutch, nitpicking would be: “_mierenneuken_”. Literally, this means “to fuck ants” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2000, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evocative-expressions-in-other-languages/22398/3 "2000-06-14T23:29:03Z")
My German teacher taught us this one: “Halte den Mund” means “shut up” (literally, “stop your mouth”). But you can make it insulting by saying, “Halte den Maul,” using the word for an _animal’s_ mouth instead of Mund, which suggests a human mouth. It’s been years since I took German, though, so anyone who’s more fluent than I am, feel free to give me a dope slap if my memory’s faulty on the above… ---
**Author:** ![Suo\_Na](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@Suo\_Na](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suo_Na)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2000, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evocative-expressions-in-other-languages/22398/4 "2000-06-14T23:32:21Z")
According to the topic list, this thread has no replies. Y’all must be invisible! ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2000, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evocative-expressions-in-other-languages/22398/5 "2000-06-14T23:51:31Z")
Cervaise, you are correct. However, in spoken German it would be “Halt’s Maul!”. Rolls off the tongue a bit better 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Osip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4491bb/32.png) [@Osip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Osip)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2000, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evocative-expressions-in-other-languages/22398/6 "2000-06-15T00:35:46Z")
ok let me try this russian in cyrillic text. äâà ñîñêà: def. a small chested woman. (Lit., A board with two nipples.) Çóáîâ áîÿòüñÿ- Ðîò ÍÅ ÄÀÂÀòü: Def. Nothing ventured nothing gained (lit., if you are afraid of teeth, you’ll never get a blowjob.) ÎÒðÛÆÊà ïÜßÍÎÃÎ èÍÄÓÑÀ: def. Bad-tasting food of poor quality. (lit., the burp of a drunken indian). Ïîøåë òû ðàêîì âäîëü çàáî-ðà: def. Get out of here; go to hell. (lit., “walk crabwisw along the fence!”) õó¸â òà÷êó: Def. Nothing doing, there’s no chance (lit., a wheelbarrow full of pricks) Osip ---
**Author:** ![Osip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4491bb/32.png) [@Osip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Osip)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2000, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evocative-expressions-in-other-languages/22398/7 "2000-06-15T00:37:07Z")
argh nevermind Cyrillic text does not work here. _sigh_ Sorry about that. Osip ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2000, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evocative-expressions-in-other-languages/22398/8 "2000-06-15T00:48:22Z")
I always liked the French expression, “Vous parlez francais comme un vache espagnol” (You speak French like a Spanish cow.) I also like the expression “so-so” in various languages. It’s usually a reduplicative (i.e., two words that repeat/rhyme): French: Comme si, comme sa. Italian: Cosi cosi Greek: Etzkyketsky ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2000, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evocative-expressions-in-other-languages/22398/9 "2000-06-15T01:28:12Z")
“Un pet de nonne” (or “de soeur”) is a Quebecois pastry which translates as “nun fart”. In our supermarket, they are coyly labeled in English as “nuns’ pastry”. ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2000, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evocative-expressions-in-other-languages/22398/10 "2000-06-15T04:05:40Z")
in french, the colloquial term for crabs (pubic lice) is papillon d’amour, or butterflies of love. ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2000, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evocative-expressions-in-other-languages/22398/11 "2000-06-15T04:32:45Z")
As linguistic ability goes, I have a tin ear. (In this regard, I strongly suspect Coldfire is a mutant.) But: - in German (probably misspelled): schadenfreude, joy in the misfortune of others. It’s just such a perfect, pungent tag for a human quirk. - regret I can’t repeat the phrase; in Swedish, ::koff:: pertinent parts of the female anatomy are colloquially referred to as “honey lips”. It just seemed like such a nice sentiment. There are more, but my brain is too fogged to recall them at the moment. Veb ---
**Author:** ![brachyrhynchos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brachyrhynchos/32/376_2.png) [@brachyrhynchos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brachyrhynchos)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2000, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evocative-expressions-in-other-languages/22398/12 "2000-06-15T05:54:04Z")
**Itku pitkasta ilosta pieru kauan nauramisesta** “First you cry for joy, then you laugh, then you fart.” We’ve had more discussions trying to figure this one out, but basically we think it refers to the cycle of emotions one can go through in a very short time. ---
**Author:** ![Spiny\_Norman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Spiny\_Norman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiny_Norman)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2000, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evocative-expressions-in-other-languages/22398/13 "2000-06-15T06:51:06Z")
Coldfire: This is interesting - in Danish, nitpicking is known as “myreknepperi”, which - you guessed it - translates into “ant-fucking”. There has to be a Dutch-Danish link somewhere - apart from the fact that both languages sound like you’re talking with your mouth full. (Here in Germany, I’ve been taken for a Dutchman on numerous occasions - I don’t know how to feel about that, really). If a Dane is drunk and annoying, other Danes may accuse him of being “svenskerfuld”, i.e. “drunk like a Swede”. If he’s just quietly drunk, he might be called “pavefuld”, drunk like the pope. A wimp is called a “slapsvans”. “Slap” means weak or limp, and “svans”, unfortunately, sometimes refers to a central part of the male anatomy. Even so, the word “slapsvans” isn’t considered especially rude. Let me think a while… ---
**Author:** ![Loki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3be4f8/32.png) [@Loki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loki)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2000, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evocative-expressions-in-other-languages/22398/14 "2000-06-15T06:55:17Z")
RealityChuck: Apparently in Cantonese, so-so is ‘Mu mu, ha ha’. Translation - Horse horse, tiger tiger. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2000, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evocative-expressions-in-other-languages/22398/15 "2000-06-15T09:23:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > A wimp is called a “slapsvans”. “Slap” means weak or limp, and “svans”, unfortunately, sometimes refers to a central part of the male anatomy. Even so, the word “slapsvans” isn’t considered especially rude. > \*\* Wow! The Dutch word for that is “lapswans”. The first part is actually “slap”, meaning -you guessed it- “limb”, but it is shortened to “lap” for phonetic reasons (well, that’s all I can think of anyway). The second part, “swans” is basically a phonetic Germanism from the word “Schwantz”, which is German for… well, let’s just say a certain Texan 500CC bike racer always got a few laughs at the German Grand Prix 😃 Norman, I’m surprised that Germans mistake you for a Dutchman (although you SHOULD be flattered of course). To me, Danish and Dutch don’t sound alike at all. Apparently, this is different to Germans. Talking with your mouth full… I guess I can see that, yeah. In that same vein, German sounds like talking like you want to spit out everything that’s in your mouth 😉 Oh, and Norman? You’re gonna get your Danish arses kicked tomorrow night 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SwimmingRiddles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SwimmingRiddles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwimmingRiddles)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2000, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evocative-expressions-in-other-languages/22398/16 "2000-06-15T12:56:51Z")
Auf Deutsch: \* Das ist eine dicke hund! \* or “That’s a fat dog!” which means something along the lines of “You don’t say!” or “That’s a big deal!” Our German tour guide had no idea why were were laughing at him. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2000, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evocative-expressions-in-other-languages/22398/17 "2000-06-15T13:22:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > > - regret I can’t repeat the phrase; in Swedish, ::koff:: pertinent parts of the female anatomy are colloquially referred to as “honey lips”. It just seemed like such a nice sentiment. > \*\* Sorry, I’m Swedish, but I can’t say I have ever heard that expression. > [@](#): > > \*\* > If a Dane is drunk and annoying, other Danes may accuse him of being “svenskerfuld”, i.e. “drunk like a Swede”. > \*\* That one I have heard before (that’s Scandinavian brotherly love for you) or rather the expression “Er du fuld eller er du svensker?” (sp?) “Are you drunk or are you Swedish?” And we must not forget the twin expressions “French disease” and “Maladie anglaise”. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2000, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evocative-expressions-in-other-languages/22398/18 "2000-06-15T13:29:54Z")
“To go Dutch” means “to pay for your own share” in English. Yet, a BYOB party is referred to as an “American Party” (‘Amerikaans Feest’) in Dutch 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DVous\_Means](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@DVous\_Means](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DVous_Means)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2000, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evocative-expressions-in-other-languages/22398/19 "2000-06-15T13:40:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > in french, the colloquial term for crabs (pubic lice) is papillon d’amour, or butterflies of love. > \*\* In Australian, they are called **crutch crickets** 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2000, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evocative-expressions-in-other-languages/22398/20 "2000-06-15T13:43:31Z")
OK, here is a list of Arabic sayings that I received years ago. I don’t speak Arabic, so I can’t verify that these phrases are accurate (and trying to spell Arabic with Latin characters is another minefield)–but here goes: Akbar khali-kili haftir lotfan: “Thank you for showing me your marvelous gun.” Fekr gabul cardan davat paeh gush divar: “I am delighted to accept your kind invitation to lie down on the floor with my arms above my head and my legs apart.” Shomaeh fekr tamomeh oeh gofteh bande: “I agree with everything you have ever said or thought in your life.” Auto arraregh davateman mano sepaheh-hast: “It is exceptionally kind of you to allow me to travel in the trunk of your car.” Fashal-eh tupehman na degat mano goftam cheeshayeh mohema rajebehkeshvarehman: “If you will do the kindness of not harming my genital areas, I will gladly reciprocate by betraying my country in public.” Khrel jepaneh maneh va jayeii amrikahey: “I will tell you the names and addresses of many American spies traveling as reporters.” Balli! Balli! Balli!: “Whatever you say!” Maternier ghermez ahlieh, ghorban: “The red blindfold will be lovely, excellency.” Tikeh nuneh ba ob khrelleh bezorg va khrube boyast ino begeram: “The water-soaked bread crumbs are delicious, thank you, I must have the recipe.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evocative-expressions-in-other-languages/22398.md?page=2)