OT: Idioms

[RockyMTblue2]

Dumb as a doorknob
Not the brightest bulb in the box
Two sandwiches short of a picnic
Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Has this one entered the lexicon, I use it all the time: Be the ball Danny.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

Close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades!

 

[ShmiCO]

Variety is the spice of life.

I learned so much from this one. When my mom first said this to me I thought she was talking about food.😃 (I was a small child at the time.) But she meant people. She'd bring me along when she helped disabled and elderly folks When I'd ask my mom about age, disability and all the other differences I noticed, she'd say "variety is the spice of life." The deaf women teaching me signs in the back seat on the way to appointments, the blind man who showed me how he navigated around his home. It changed people's differences from scary to interesting.

 

[Boreifs]

Ich habe die Nase voll
Alles hat ein Ende; nur die Wurst hat zwei

 

[Viet Vet]

That dog don’t hunt.

 

[Skeets]

Ich habe die Nase voll
Alles hat ein Ende; nur die Wurst hat zwei

What the dickens you say? (Jed Clampet)

 

[Storrsbred]

Close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades!

And government work.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades!

"and Atom Bombs" was common when I was younger. Of course I grew up in "close" proximity to NYC.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

What the dickens you say? (Jed Clampet)

The 2nd translates roughly as Everything has an end, only (or maybe "but") the sausage has two. What exactly it means is beyond me, but my extremely ancient limited German only takes me that far.

The first one I can't get beyond I have the .....

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

 

[Sifaka]

The closer the bones, the sweeter the meat.

Bouncing around like a fart in a mitten,

El hombre propone, Dios dispone,
y la mujer descompone.

Cria cuervos…

Contigo, pan y cebolla.

 

[Boreifs]

The 2nd translates roughly as Everything has an end, only (or maybe "but") the sausage has two. What exactly it means is beyond me, but my extremely ancient limited German only takes me that far.

The first one I can't get beyond I have the .....

Ich habe the Nase voll roughly translates as “I’ve had enough”! Very popular idiom. The second is a very popular folk song title in Bavaria played by every German band.

 

[WiseWillie]

Like beating a dead horse
Bada Bing Bada Boom
Break a leg
It cost an arm and a leg
Can't cry over spilt milk
Hit the nail on the head
Actions speak louder than words
Once in a blue moon
The ball is in your court
Burning the midnight oil

 

[ConnecticutBB]

Keep your friends close and your enemy closer.

 

[TAK]

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

 

[zymurg]

mais ou sont les neiges d'autan.

or where are the snows of yesteryear

 

[PhillyCoach]

The great thing about these wonderful Idioms is that they can tell a "big story" with just a few words. However, one needs to have Life Experiences to understand the Idiom. Sorry to say that my grandchildren and other "yutes" do not have these experiences to understand or to create their own Idioms. Being Old School has many advantages and I feel sorry for those who miss out.
This was a nice exercise during this down time--THANKS for the idea AmeriConn.

 

[FormerCTrez]

A) Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched
B) Show off brings disgrace

Jamaican/Caribbean connection
C) High seat kill Miss Thomas puss (cat)
D) Daag nyam daag — Dog eats dog

 

[DennieEddy]

The great thing about these wonderful Idioms is that they can tell a "big story" with just a few words. However, one needs to have Life Experiences to understand the Idiom. Sorry to say that my grandchildren and other "yutes" do not have these experiences to understand or to create their own Idioms. Being Old School has many advantages and I feel sorry for those who miss out.
This was a nice exercise during this down time--THANKS for the idea AmeriConn.

Exactly, and how many times wait staff, sales staff....almost any staff or personnel of a "younger generation", I guess I'm be age-ist (but of course I think all music stopped in 1969, maybe early '70's) don't get the puns, jokes, sarcasm, idioms that I assume they'll understand, and I come off like a idiot to them...that's OK, because YOUTH IS WASTED ON THE YOUNG!

 

[DennieEddy]

If I knew then what I know now! 🤣🤣🤣

 

[Sifaka]

If I knew then what I know now! 🤣🤣🤣

If I had a nickel for every…

“Grampa, what’s a nickel?”

 

[Bigboote]

If I had a nickel for every…

“Grampa, what’s a nickel?”

“Don’t take any wooden nickels.”

Or a Yogi-ism, “A nickel ain’t worth a dime any more.”