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“Can You Score A 15/26 By Matching The Saying To Its Real Definition?”: Challenge Yourself
Every culture has its own rich collection of idiomatic expressions and sayings. 🗣️🌍
Try to remember one – it probably doesn’t make sense when translated, right? That’s what these questions are all about: we give you a saying translated into English, and you have to guess what its real meaning is. Are you up for the challenge?
There are 23 questions for you to answer – and to laugh in the meantime. You are about to discover some quirky and funny sayings from around the world. Let’s dive in and see how well you can decode them!
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Image credits: Nataliya Vaitkevich
Trivia • Guess The Meaning Of The Translated Saying
1. What does it mean if someone says, “something is giving off the taste of zucchinis”?
Something is being bland or uninteresting
That topic is full of surprises
You are taking credit for someone else's work
Something you are always updated
2. Your friend tells you that someone is "hanging pasta on your ears." Should you…?
Get ready for dinner, it's pasta today
Cover your ears - they are talking nonsense
Be cautious, they might be lying to you
Stop wasting time on unnecessary things
3. In which situation would you use the saying, "he who goes slowly goes safely and goes far" from the Italian "chi va piano, va sano e va lontano"?
When a person is driving fast down a highway
When a person rushes to finish a project at the last minute
When someone is working non-stop without breaks
When telling someone to take small steps to complete a long task
4. In Japanese, if someone says there is a "little fish grinding their teeth," what they mean is:
Someone is pretending to be stronger than they really are
Someone is doing something that won't have an outcome
Someone is making noise but not being aware
Someone is being ungrateful
5. In Portuguese, when you are told to "get the little horse out of the rain", it means:
Go get groceries as soon as possible
Put everything in the house, the rain is coming
Stop hoping for something that won't happen
Take care of all animals that come to you
6. If you hear “to buy a cat in a sack”, you know it stands for:
Purchasing something without knowing its true value
Being caring to animals
Bargaining when shopping
To buy in bulk, it will be needed
7. If someone says “you came in like an elephant in a porcelain shop", what do they really mean?
You have expensive taste
You are standing out in a crowd
You are handling things with great care
You are being clumsy
8. The saying “to peel the pineapple” means:
To always be involved in everything
To deal with a difficult situation
To be chosen to do a task everyone wants
To go get pineapples
9. In Turkish, if someone comments on you “being parsley”, it means you are:
Being super healthy and active
The first choice and the best
Unnecessarily inserting yourself into a conversation
Smelling so good that everyone wants to be around you
10. The saying “not my circus, not my monkeys” means:
I don't want to do that task
It’s not my problem
I want to create a circus
I want to go and see monkeys
11. “The donkey called the rooster big-headed” is used in a context where:
A person is bragging about their achievements in front of others
Two animals are having an argument about who is smarter
A person is complimenting another for their intelligence
Someone is criticizing or mocking another person for a trait they themselves possess
12. When someone says they are "taking their heart in their teeth", they are being:
Stressed out about something
Brave and overcoming fear
Overconfident and careless
Angry and ready to fight
13. What does “the habit doesn't make the monk” mean?
People are defined by the clothes they wear
Monks are always, always honest
Always follow the rules of the group
Appearances can be misleading
14. If someone says “call the child by its name", what do they really mean?
To not be disrespectful to their child
To be more attentive to what is being said
To be clear and direct in addressing an issue
To babysit their kid
15. The saying "to cut a mushroom" means:
To be perfect at cutting food
To talk nonsense or mess things up
To be obsessed with cooking
To be detail-oriented
16. The saying “don't look a gift horse in the mouth" is intended to mean:
Always be aware of horses when near them
You have to give a gift to a horse owner
You loved the gift you received
Be grateful for gifts, don't criticize them
17. The saying "cannot see woods behind the trees” means:
To focus too much on the bigger picture
To be very oblivious
To not be able to find a solution
To go to the woods and hide
18. What is the meaning behind "the rain of May makes the wheat of next year"?
Nature dictates your level of success
You need to act quickly to achieve success
Hard work today will pay off in the future
Success is only for the lucky ones
19. What lesson does the saying "if it’s not broken, don't fix it" teach?
Always push yourself to improve things, no matter how they are working
Don't try to change something that is working well
Be cautious when trying something new, it may break
Fix problems is more important than avoiding them
20. If someone "throws the house out of the window", what are they doing?
Moving abroad in no time
Getting rid of everything they own
Making renovations in their house
Spending a lot of money without thinking
21. Which is the sentiment behind "Don't wrap words in cotton"?
Always be polite and considerate
Keep secrets instead of telling the truth
Comfort a friend with gentleness
Be direct and say things bluntly
22. In life, "he who doesn't cry doesn't nurse". What does this suggest?
People should cry in silence
You have to push yourself to get what you want
Only kids will get what they want
Those who complain too much never get what they want
23. What does the saying "to show the goats" mean?
To tell a confusing story
To misbehave and be unreasonable
To make a situation even worse
To hide your true intentions
24. If someone is "jumping from the rooster to the donkey”, what are they doing?
Avoiding responsibilities
Travelling without a destination
Changing topics randomly
Wasting time on irrelevant things
25. If someone says "buttery butter", what are they telling you?
To spread butter more evenly
You are going in a loop about the same topic
It's so warm, it seems you are melting
To be extra smooth
26. When someone tells you "break a leg", what do they mean?
They are advising you to be aware of your leg
They are wishing you good luck
They are telling you to warm up
They are telling you that fortune is coming to you
What do you think ?
Na Schi 8 hours ago
Funny thing: in German "cannot see woods behind the trees" means exact the opposite - being too lost in the details that one misses the greater picture.
Apatheist Account2 7 hours ago
And in English - "can't see the wood for the trees" doesn't mean "oblivious", it means you can't you can't see the whole situation clearly because you're looking too closely at small details, whereas "oblivious" means "not aware of or concerned about what is happening around one". I think "not find a solution" is closer in meaning.
Load More Replies...
Virgil Blue 7 hours ago
"Break a leg" comes from the superstition that it's bad luck to wish the actors in a play good luck when the play starts. Whistling on stage is also bad luck, but for practical reasons, because stage hands used whistle signals to raise and lower pieces of the backdrop. One wrong whistle and you could get a sandbag or prop right on the cranium.
Apatheist Account2 7 hours ago (edited)
It comes from if you break a leg, you'll be in a cast - ie you'll get a job in the play.
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Virgil Blue 8 hours ago
“to buy a cat in a sack” actually means having bought something you though would be a great by how it looks and was presented but turns out to have lots of big and small hidden problems.
Apatheist Account2 7 hours ago (edited)
English equivalent is a pig in a poke - a poke being an old type of sack. The alleged pig would be replaced by a lower-value cat - much like buying stuff on Amazon or ebay.
Load More Replies...
Na Schi 8 hours ago
Funny thing: in German "cannot see woods behind the trees" means exact the opposite - being too lost in the details that one misses the greater picture.
Apatheist Account2 7 hours ago
And in English - "can't see the wood for the trees" doesn't mean "oblivious", it means you can't you can't see the whole situation clearly because you're looking too closely at small details, whereas "oblivious" means "not aware of or concerned about what is happening around one". I think "not find a solution" is closer in meaning.
Load More Replies... Virgil Blue 7 hours ago
"Break a leg" comes from the superstition that it's bad luck to wish the actors in a play good luck when the play starts. Whistling on stage is also bad luck, but for practical reasons, because stage hands used whistle signals to raise and lower pieces of the backdrop. One wrong whistle and you could get a sandbag or prop right on the cranium.
Apatheist Account2 7 hours ago (edited)
It comes from if you break a leg, you'll be in a cast - ie you'll get a job in the play.
Load More Replies... Virgil Blue 8 hours ago
“to buy a cat in a sack” actually means having bought something you though would be a great by how it looks and was presented but turns out to have lots of big and small hidden problems.
Apatheist Account2 7 hours ago (edited)
English equivalent is a pig in a poke - a poke being an old type of sack. The alleged pig would be replaced by a lower-value cat - much like buying stuff on Amazon or ebay.
Load More Replies...
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