elmuerte Posted July 22, 2014 Oh, or 'fucking ants' (forgot the best one). We do that a lot at the office. Translating Dutch sayings as literally as possible to English, preferably using the wrong words. It's very helpful to our non-Dutch colleagues. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeusthecat Posted July 22, 2014 As if life couldn't get any more stressful, I'm in the hospital with a nasty fucking kidney stone. Even with the morphine the pain is still kind of bad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SecretAsianMan Posted July 22, 2014 As if life couldn't get any more stressful, I'm in the hospital with a nasty fucking kidney stone. Even with the morphine the pain is still kind of bad. I've been there. It is indeed quite terrible. Hang in there man, this too shall pass. And I didn't even mean to make that a pun. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Apelsin Posted July 22, 2014 I'm going to add in a few Swedish idioms to the mix here: - Response to a failed attempt at deception: "That (old) man doesn't walk/work!" (Den gubben går inte!) - Sensing that something isn't as it appears to be, sensing danger: "Sensing owls in the moss" (Ana ugglor i mossen) or alternatively "There is a dog buried here" (Här ligger en hund begraven) - Used when pointing out a decisive detail or point to something: "The beauty in the crow's song" (Det fina i kråksången) - Taking possession of an item, often illegally.: "Putting rhubarbs on something" (Lägga rabarber på något) The use of "rhubarb" seems to come from Swedes confusing the Spanish term Embargo (To seize something) with Embargar (To arrest someone) and the latter word sounding sort of similar to the Swedish word for rhubarb "Rabarber". - Being inspired to continue a new activity, usually after initial success: "Get bloodied teeth" (Få blodad tand) - Having it extraordinarily easy, riding on other peoples work: "Sliding in on a shrimp-sandwich" (Glida in på en räkmacka) Edit: Now also in Swedish! (Nu även på Svenska!) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nappi Posted July 22, 2014 - Someone that moves about restlessly and/or gets in your way: "He/she moves around [or rotates] like a lingonberry in a pussy." (Hän pyörii kuin puolukka pillussa.) - Very easy: "Easy as beating a child." (Helppoa kuin lapsen lyöminen.) - To disappear completely: "To vanish like a fart in the Sahara desert." (Kadota kuin pieru Saharaan.) - Completely wasted: "Asses on one's shoulders" (Perseet olalle.) - Something that is futile/bound to fail: "Won't result in a baby or a shit." (Ei tule lasta eikä paskaa.) Yey, Finnish language! Edit: Now also in Finnish. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dibs Posted July 22, 2014 I want to see the above in their native language too! Some of my favourites from ireland: in Irish black people are called daoine gorm (dee-nie gor-um), which directly translates as "blue people". I'm not sure why. Also, people with intellectual disabilities are called daoine le Dia, which means people with god, since they will all be going straight to heaven, unlike the rest of us. Also, i love the phrase "a dumb priest never got a parish" which is the equivalent of "a squeaky wheel gets the oil". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
atte Posted July 22, 2014 I'm endlessly amused and baffled by finnish expression of shock or being frightened: "Abomination's chicken cage!" (Kauhistuksen kanahäkki!) Nobody seems to know its origins for sure but it's believed that it was first used in some old Donald Duck comics, which are hugely popular over here. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Apelsin Posted July 23, 2014 I just got back from my 2nd solo travel trip. It was in Barcelona, I booked it on Wednesday and flew out on Friday... Yeah I guess I booked a flight out of Schiphol Airport on Wednesday, huh :I It was nice! I didn't make any friends like on my last trip, but my last trip still stands in my heart as proof that I'm a good, approachable, charismatic boy. Lots of fun sight-seeing, stairs-climbing and a bit of existential thinking, it was a packed couple days. Cool! I've been thinking about going on a solo-trip myself actually. Do you tend to stay at hostels or are you doing the couch-surfing thing? Do you have any places you recommend to visit? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
N1njaSquirrel Posted July 23, 2014 I really like the Japanese phrase "Kantan no ayumi" (邯鄲の歩み). Partly because it's a phrase I have only ever heard been used once, and partly because the translation is even more baffling, to a point I don't really understand it myself: "like the young man who tried to walk like the Kantan people, gave up, and forgot how to walk" After more searching, it turns out that this is a reference to a Chinese folk tale where a young man tries to integrate himself into a fabled city of wealth called Kantan, where upon he failed to do so within the community in Kantan, gave up and returned home, only to find he... forgot how to walk? To be honest, even I'm not sure on that part. I guess it's more talking about the swagger or air of walking that's so radically different in Kantan he forgot how to walk normally. I guess the closest interpretation is something along the lines of someone acting as someone they're not, whether it be wealth or status and the phrase would be used to call out that guy's eventual ruin? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
namman siggins Posted July 23, 2014 believed that it was first used in some old Donald Duck comics, which are hugely popular over here.now if only Carl Barks and Don Rosa got the same level of respect and fame in our mainstream culture as they do in Finnland. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
atte Posted July 23, 2014 Yeah, the Barks/Rosa Scrooge is one of my favorite fictional characters ever, and it's easy to forget that most people know him (if they know him at all) from Ducktales. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Apelsin Posted July 23, 2014 Yeah, Scrooge is great! I would say that the Duck family (Donald, Scrooge, Daisy(Called Kajsa in Sweden, not sure about the English name) and the nephews) is far more popular in Sweden than Mickey Mouse or the other "main" Disney characters. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
namman siggins Posted July 23, 2014 Fantagraphics have been doing a beautiful job reprinting the Carl Barks Duck stories and now they're going to reprint Rosa's run; I'm insanely excited! I'm going to be talking to my bosses to see if I could wear my women's--I hate using that word, I don't like the gender separation but I have to because it's so instilled in our society--attire during work. I've been pushing this issue off for a while now and I didn't read anything against it in our rules. Here's hoping! For those wondering, I work at a library. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tegan Posted July 23, 2014 My dad had a bunch of Barks/Rosa Scrooge comics from the fifties that I used to read all the time as a kid. I loooooove those comics. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
namman siggins Posted July 23, 2014 Have you checked out the Fantgraphic reprints, Tegan? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tegan Posted July 23, 2014 Sadly no. I can't really afford them. OnO Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
namman siggins Posted July 23, 2014 Try your local library! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roderick Posted July 24, 2014 Donald Duck is to this day a HUGE thing in the Netherlands, with his own magazine read by over 300,000 Dutchmen, young and old. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nappi Posted July 24, 2014 Donald Duck is to this day a HUGE thing in the Netherlands, with his own magazine read by over 300,000 Dutchmen, young and old. The circulation of the weekly Donald Duck magazine (Aku Ankka) in Finland is roughly 300,000, which is quite amazing considering that our population (5.5 million) is some 3 times smaller than that of the Netherlands. The readership is estimated at 1 million, which makes it the most popular weekly journal in Finland. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeusthecat Posted July 24, 2014 A couple days later and I still haven't passed this goddamn kidney stone. CT scan showed that it's a 4mm stone and they ended up sending me home from the hospital after a couple hours with prescriptions for percocet and flomax. I've barely eaten 2 meals over the last 2 days and the blockage in my kidney is bad enough that if I drink too much water at one time, I end up puking it all up. I'm nauseous as hell and in constant pain and to make matters worse, I'm at work right now trying to get some stuff done that I can't put off any longer. This is one of those times where life really sucks balls. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tegan Posted July 24, 2014 Wait, they're making you work when you're blatantly sick? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeusthecat Posted July 24, 2014 Wait, they're making you work when you're blatantly sick? No. Unfortunately I only have myself to blame for that. On Monday, I promised a couple of deliverables by Tuesday but was never able to get to it because of this stuff. They asked if I could at least get it to them by Friday and I obliged. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roderick Posted July 24, 2014 Ugh, that's horrible, Zeus. My thoughts go to you! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
syntheticgerbil Posted July 24, 2014 Man, I think they need to just hand you cash for your dedication. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
