I really loved Bob's article on "What is a Word." In it they talk about idioms, defining them as expressions with established meanings that cannot be predicted from the meaning of their constituent parts. To me, it is one of the hardest things about learning other languages. Here are a couple of examples that the article gave:

US - out in left field, meaning completely unexpected.
UK - a dog's breakfast, meaning an awful mess.
Australian - come the raw prawn, meaning attempt deception.

I remember from Spanish, there was something about saying "elbow" (in Spanish of course), and pointing to it, meaning that someone is cheap.

Are there others that you know from other languages?

Kalleh, Are you kidding?

US English ==> Are you pulling my leg?

Spanish ==> ¿Estás tomándome el pelo? (Are you pulling my hair?)

Two favorites, also from Spanish:

1.) "En cien anos (with a tilde which I still haven't mastered the art of, so sue me) todos calvos" or, "In a hundred years, everyone's bald" or, more to the point, dead. In other words, don't sweat the small stuff.

2.) "No tienes vela en este intierno" which translates as "You don't have a candle in this funeral" or "Shut up already, this is none of your business!"

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Originally posted by Kalleh:
I really loved Bob's article on "What is a Word." ?

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Much as I'd like to take credit, I can only actually take it for finding the article and perhaps agreeing with it. The authorship credit belongs elsewhere.

However I do have an example to add to the topic.

The phrase "help yourself", polite in English, when translated exactly into German carries the distinctly impolite meaning of "do it yourself".

I received a helpful email correcting my Spanish. My "intierno" above, taken from memory alone and dealing with an off-the-cuff story told by a Spanish instructor decades ago, should be "entierro."

I always have Dictionary.com on standby when I post on this board so why I thought I could get away with posting in another language without similar assistance is beyond me. Apologies.


Now that I've established myself as a non-authority in Spanish, though, allow me to add a couple more examples.

You don't even need to leave one's language to experience confusion of this sort. "Darme una ducha" (again from memory but I'm pretty sure that's the spelling) can mean either "to take a shower" or "to use a douche," depending on what Latin American country you are in. Similarly, "Cucha" is either the name of a soft drink or a slang term for vagina, again depending on where you are. (This one came from a Puerto Rican friend of mine years ago who told of a woman who barely knew him and yet offered him some cucha much to his astonishment.)

And our language is no different. When Kalleh goes to England and R.E. informs her that he will "knock her up" in the morning, I'm sure she'll welcome the attention. Upon her return, however, if I tell her I intend to do the same thing I'm sure Shufitz will have some input on the matter.

[This message was edited by C J Strolin on Thu Mar %78, 2004 at 11:51.]

When Kalleh goes to England and R.E. informs her that he will "knock her up" in the morning, I'm sure she'll welcome the attention. Upon her return, however, if I tell her I intend to do the same thing I'm sure Shufitz will have some input on the matter.
Okay, CJ, I give. What does "knock her up" mean in England?

Let me say firstly that I am aware of the transatlantic meaning of the expression "to knock up" (it applies in Canada as well)

In England it means simply to arouse or call for someone, as in "...I'll knock you up at around 0800 and we can share a car..."

The term arises from the practice a hundred years or so ago, when the "knocker-up" would go round tapping on the windows of the factory and mill-workers to let them know it was time to get up and ready themselves for the day's work. The knocker-up was a factory employee and his job was necessary because few working class people in those days would have been able to afford an alarm clock.

The knocker-up's job has long passed into history but the term still exists.

I have no idea how the transatlantic meaning came about, nor yet how the factory worker of the 19th century managed to get up in the USA.

I'm lost. Are we saying that to knock somebody up (for to tub, fertilise, get somebody up the duff, etc) is an Americanism?

I think I have only ever heard the prase being used with any other meaning humerously, by the type of person who, if he had two toffees, would offer to 'give you one'.

I never believed the bit about the knocker up, who went round arousing people in their beds with his big stick.

Quote "...Are we saying that to knock somebody up (for to tub, fertilise, get somebody up the duff, etc) is an Americanism?
..."

Yes.

And the knocker-up?

Se here: http://www.lancshistory.co.uk/hyndburn/knockerup.htm

There is an interesting article about US/UK language differences here - by Roger Protz the beer writer, of all people - http://celebrator.com/celebrator/9606/Protz_Wanker.html

[This message was edited by Richard English on Fri Mar %79, 2004 at 09:24.]

The Norman Vaughan thing proves my point entirely, I think: a 1960s comedian sounds about right.

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The Norman Vaughan thing proves my point entirely

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I'm missing something here -- What "Norman Vaughan thing"?