You might be surprised how often you use food-related idioms in everyday conversation.
If you feel like doing something a little different and confusing people while you’re at it, why not try out some of the expressions found in other languages below? You might notice that many languages’ idioms seem to be related to typical foods found in the countries where they are spoken, for example there are a fair few Wurst-based idioms in German!
Take a look at the perfect recipe that we’ve put together for a dish of tasty food-related idioms!
A spoonful of insults…
|
French |
Une vraie courge! |
An utter squash! |
Idiot! |
|
French |
Quelle nouille! |
Such a noodle! |
Idiot! |
|
French |
Occupe-toi de tes oignons! |
Mind your own onions! |
Mind your own business! |
|
French |
Va te faire cuire un œuf! |
Cook yourself an egg! |
Go to hell! |
|
German |
Du gehst mir auf den Keks |
You go on my cookie |
You get on my nerves |
|
Hindi |
Bandar kya jaane adrak ka swad? |
What does a monkey know about the taste of ginger? |
You don’t know what you’re talking about |
|
Spanish |
Me importa un pepino |
I care a cucumber |
I don’t give a damn |
|
Danish |
Pølsearme |
Sausage arms |
You’re weak |
|
Danish |
Grødhovede |
Porridge head |
You have no brain |
A dollop of philosophy…
|
German |
Es geht um die Wurst |
It’s about the sausage |
It’s now or never |
|
German |
Alles hat ein Ende, nur die Wurst hat zwei |
Everything has an end, only the sausage has two |
Everything must pass |
|
Portuguese |
Alimentar um burro a pão-de-ló |
To feed the donkey sponge cake |
To treat someone nicely who doesn’t deserve it |
|
Turkish |
Benim basima gelen cig tavugun basina gelmez |
What happened to me would not happen to a raw chicken |
Something happened that is so weird that it’s funny |
|
Turkish |
Incir cekirdegini doldurmayacak sebepler |
Reasons that would not fill a fig seed |
There aren’t good enough reasons to be upset |
|
Turkish |
Armudun iyisini ayılar yer |
The good pears are eaten by bears |
The least deserving people get the rewards |
|
Russian |
Кашу маслом не испортишь |
A little butter won’t spoil your porridge |
There can never be too many good things |
|
Japanese |
Mochi ha mochi ya |
Rice cake, rice cake maker |
Every field has an expert |
A pinch of money…
|
Italian |
L’ho comprato per un tozzo di pane |
I bought it for a piece of bread |
It was a real bargain |
|
Portuguese |
A preço de banana |
To cost the same as bananas |
Cheap as chips |
|
French |
Mettre du beurre dans les épinards |
To add butter to the spinach |
To earn a bit extra |
A sprinkle of personality traits…
|
German |
Schokoladenseite zeigen |
To present yourself from your best side |
To only see good things |
|
German |
Eine treulose Tomate sein |
To be an unfaithful tomato |
To be disloyal |
|
German |
Das Haar in der Suppe finden |
To look for the hair in the soup |
To never be satisfied |
|
Polish |
żyć jak pączek w maśle |
To live like a donut in butter |
To be as happy as a pig in mud |
|
Italian |
E’ buono come un pezzo di pane |
He’s as good as a piece of bread |
He’s a really good guy |
|
Turkish |
Her seye maydanoz olmak |
To be parsley to everything |
To have an opinion and be nosy about everything |
|
Turkish |
Agzinda bakla islanmamak |
A fava bean doesn’t get wet in somebody’s mouth |
If you tell this person a secret, they will tell it to other people |
|
Japanese |
Sansho ha kotsubu de piririto karai |
Sansho (a Japanese pepper) is small, but hot enough |
Even if someone is small, if they are cheerful and talented, you can’t ignore them |
|
Cantonese |
吃醋 |
To be sipping vinegar |
To be jealous |
A heap of conversational skills…
|
French |
Ramener ta fraise |
To bring your strawberry |
To butt in on a conversation |
|
Polish |
Rzucać grochem o ścianę |
Throwing peas onto a wall |
To fall on deaf ears |
|
German |
Seinen Senf dazu geben |
To add one’s mustard |
To have a say |
|
German |
Ich habe mit dir ein Hühnchen zu rupfen |
I have to pluck a chicken with you |
We need to talk |
|
Russia |
вешать лапшу на уши |
To hang noodles on someone’s ears |
To pull someone’s leg |
|
Danish |
En tynd kop te |
It’s a weak cup of tea |
Your argument is not very strong |
And a dash of something extra…
|
German |
Kleine Brötchen backen |
To bake little rolls |
To take small steps to start something |
|
German |
Die beleidigte Leberwurst spielen |
To play the offended liver sausage |
To sulk, be a sourpuss |
|
German |
Extrawurst braten |
I have to fry you a special sausage |
You always need something extra |
|
Spanish |
Pedirle peras al olmo |
To ask for pears from an elm tree |
To try to do something that’s impossible |
|
Spanish |
Agarrar a alguien con las manos en la masa |
To catch someone with their hands in the dough |
To catch someone doing something they shouldn’t |
|
Danish |
Nye boller på suppen |
We need new meatballs in the soup |
We need new input and ideas |
|
Cantonese |
雞毛蒜皮 |
Chicken feather and garlic skin |
Irrelevant or worthless things |
|
Polish |
Bułka z masłem |
A bread roll with butter |
Something that’s easily achieved |
|
Italian |
Rendere pan per focaccia |
To give back bread for focaccia |
To get revenge – an eye for an eye |
|
Italian |
C’entra come i cavoli a merenda |
It fits like a cabbage for the afternoon snack |
It doesn’t fit, it’s inappropriate |
|
Swedish |
Nu blir det andra bullar! |
Now there will be other bread rolls! |
No more Mr. Nice Guy! |
And we’ll leave you with a couple to keep you guessing:
- Swedish: ha rent mjöl i påsen = to have clean flour in one’s bag
- German: Mit dem/der ist nicht gut Kirschen essen = It’s no good eating cherries with him/her
Can you guess how we would express the meanings of these idioms in (good!) English? Let us know! And if you know of any other tasty idioms, please do share them with us!
Sources
https://azimo.com/en/blog/14-polish-phrases-british-people-find-hilarious-say-instead
https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/food-idioms-for-people-who-are-always-hungry
https://eastbayethniceats.com/2012/09/03/food-speaks-in-many-tongues-edible-idioms-in-17-languages/
I always thought it strange that my French mate called his girlfriend a cabbage. 🙂 Then again…….
Thank you for your comment Glynn! That’s certainly not the most flattering nickname! 🙂
Very funny! 🙂
Love it! Thank you – keep ’em coming.
Thank you Francis, we are happy to hear that you are enjoying our articles! 🙂
These blog posts never fail to make me chuckle!
Can you tell me where the phrase “Butter wouldn’t melt ( in her mouth) ” comes from? Describing someone who looks innocent but isn’t…. Doesn’t make sense, does it? CheersGinny
I don’t know the Gaelic version of this but the English is :
Beef to the heels like the Mulingar Heifer
The meaning I will leave to your readers to think of..
Thanks for sharing.
I thoroughly enjoyed the blog.