this post was submitted on 02 Mar 2024
163 points (97.7% liked)

Ask Lemmy

26903 readers
2205 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Please don't post about US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

What are some (non-English) idioms, and what do they mean (both literally and in context)? Odd ones, your favorite ones - any and all are welcome. :)

For example, in English I might call someone a "good egg," meaning they're a nice person. Or, if it's raining heavily, I might say "it's raining cats and dogs."

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] NoneOfUrBusiness@kbin.social 3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

My Egyptian ass be like: My time has come. Let's see...

Turn the pot on its mouth, the girl turns out like her mother (no idea why it's like this, literally no purpose other than that it rhymes). Used when a girl is like her mother, basically what it says on the cover. The guy version is "This cub from that lion", which can't be used for girls because lioness is an insult for some reason (kinda like bitch but stronger).

The winds come with what ships don't want: Not everything happens as we want it to.

Going around and spinning: To try to trick someone or dodge a subject by making the conversation go in circles and not touch an important point. Speaking of spinning,

To spin around oneself: To be in trouble and really busy/not know what to do.

To pretend to be from Banha (a place in Egypt): To pretend you have nothing to do with what's going on.

A black (sometimes blue or white) day or night: An unpleasant time/experience. Used as both a statement and a threat (like "your day will be black today" after your parents catch you doing something you're not supposed to).

Have them for lunch before they have you for dinner: Attack before you're attacked.

The monkey would've benefited himself: When you ask someone for something they would've done for themselves if they could.

Kahka with sugar: Zero (on exams). Kahk is an Egyptian biscuit-like sweet eaten on Eid, and it's circular like a zero.

A pot with a hole is emptied on the one that lifts it: If you do something dumb you suffer the consequences.

Edit:

To get spanked: To fail.

To slam (your ass): To make up something (probably incorrect) in the moment. Comes from the idea of slamming your ass onto an exam paper and leaving whatever comes up as the answer.