Literal translation: “It fell between chairs.”
What it means: “It refers to somebody who didn’t have to work to get where they are.” Literal translation: “To slide in on a shrimp sandwich.” We also use ‘Det är ingen fara på taket,’ or ‘There’s no danger on the roof,’ to mean the same thing.” What it means: “There’s no need to worry. Literal translation: “There’s no cow on the ice.” In English, the phrase is “buying a pig in poke,” but English speakers do also “let the cat out of the bag,” which means to reveal something that’s supposed to be secret. Other languages this idiom exists in: We hear from translators that this is an idiom in Swedish, Polish, Latvian and Norwegian. What it means: That a buyer purchased something without inspecting it first. Literal translation: “To buy a cat in a sack.” What it means: “I don’t understand a thing about what that person is saying.’” Literal translation: “I only understand the train station.”
It refers to real objects, though - not abstract meanings.” What it means: “You are not seeing what everyone else can see. Literal translation: “You have tomatoes on your eyes.” Which made us wonder: what are their favorite idioms in their own tongue?īelow, we asked translators to share their favorite idioms and how they would translate literally. As our TED Translator volunteers translate TED Talks into 116 languages (and counting), they’re often challenged to translate English idioms into their language. Why add fuel to the fire? Idioms are those phrases that mean more than the sum of their words. What does it mean to “have tomatoes on your eyes?” Find out below…
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