18 Unusual Idioms from Around the World

18 Unusual Idioms from Around the World 18 Unusual Idioms from Around the World Idioms are pretty much the best thing since sliced bread.But you should only use them once in a blue moon, or people might think youre not playing with a full deck.The idioms we use to express ourselves can sometimes seem out of left field. Sometimes the only reason we understand idioms in English is becausewell, we just know them!Maybe youve wondered where these phrases come from, but then you remember that curiosity killed the cat.Thats nothing compared to what you might feel the first time you encounter an idiom in a foreign language. These bizarre phrases native speakers drop like the most normal thing in the world can leave you questioning your listening comprehension or wondering whether you missed something important when  designing your language learning study plan.Every language has them. Even languages closely related to your native language might have idioms that leave you feeling like you didnt get the memo the first time you hear them.  That said, some idioms really take the cakeâ€"and guessing what they mean isnt  easy as pie. Here are 18 unusual idioms from around the world.18 Unusual Idioms from Around the World 1. Stop ironing my head!Next time someone is annoying you, just tell them to stop ironing your head!The Armenian ?????? ??? ???????? (glukhs mi? ardukeer), or Stop ironing my head, means Stop annoying me!This idiom is so useful that it actually appears in other languages as wellâ€"for example, the Turkish Kafa ütüleme means Dont iron my head!2. Are you still riding the goat?Cheyenne is a fascinating language thats now highly endangered, with only a couple thousand living speakers, mostly on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation.Its also the source of a rather catchy way of asking someone whether theyre separated from their spouse, Mónésótáhoenôtse kosa?â€"literally, Are you still riding the goat?3. Walk around in hot porridgeI wont walk around in hot porridge, Ill tell you right away: Chodit kolem horké kaÅ¡e is the Czech equ ivalent of “beat around the bush.”As if the phrase walk around in hot porridge wasnt already perplexing enough, the Finnish and Norwegians have also brought cats into the picture, using pace around hot porridge like a cat to mean the same thing (kiertää kuin kissa kuumaa puuroa in Finnish, Ã¥ gÃ¥ som katta rundt den varme grauten in Norwegian).4. Emit smoke from seven orificesThe Chinese  ????  (qiqiàoshengyan) to emit smoke from seven orifices means to be extremely angry. You might be wondering exactly what the orifices in question are, so just to clear things up: eyes, ears, nostrils and mouth.If you prefer your fiery anger-related idioms in Hindi, you can also go for ?????? ????? (angaare ugalana)â€"to excrete embers.5. Have other cats to whipThe French Jai dautres chats à fouetter! is analogous to Englishs I have other fish to fry! but literally talks about whipping cats instead.Between this idiom and pace around hot porridge like a cat, you might be sensing that a dispr oportionate number of idioms include cats.This feline fixation holds for English tooâ€"let the cat out of the bag, curiosity killed the cat, etc. Apparently people figured out long before the Internet that cats just make everything better.6. God bless you and may your mustache grow like brushwoodYou might think bless you is a perfectly adequate response to a sneeze, but Mongolians would beg to differâ€"they prefer the more comprehensive ?????? ????? ????? ????? ????? ????  (burkhan orshoo butyn chinee sakhal urga)  which wishes a fine blessing upon your mustache as well.7. Have the cockroachIn English, we sometimes say that to be feeling down is to have the blues. The expression in French is pretty much the same except, well, you replace blues with cockroachâ€"avoir le cafard.8. Live like a maggot in baconYou might think it doesnt sound very appealing to live like a maggot in bacon, but youll think again when I tell you the German Leben wie die Made im Speck refers to living luxurio usly.Just think how happy and well-fed that little maggot must be surrounded by delicious bacon!9. Inflate a cowYou mean, just when science has finally proven that cow-tipping is mathematically impossible, now we have to deal with cow inflation?!No, not so fast! To describe someone as inflating a cow in Chinese, ??  (chuiniú) is simply a way of saying theyre bragging or talking something up to be bigger than it actually is.10. Hang noodles on someones earsInstinctively, you probably understand that you dont want anyone hanging noodles on your ears. Indeed, to hang noodles on someones ears in Russian,  ?????? ????? ?? ??? (veshat lapshu na ushi),  is to fool them or BS them.11. Dumplings instead of flowersThe Japanese  ?????  (hana yori dango), translating literally as dumplings instead of flowers, refers to choosing something useful over something pretty and decorative.Its equivalent to Englishs comparatively unimaginative function over form and substance over style.12. You cant pl uck feathers off a bald chickenNo, you certainly cant. It just aint gonna happen. As the Dutch say, van een kale kip kan je geen veren plukken.13. Ride an elephant to catch a grasshopperIf youve been reading the FluentU blog for a while, you might know a thing or two about an elephant named Butterfly. But you probably havent heard about riding an elephant to catch a grasshopper.The Thai ?????????????????(K ¯hi`changc?bt? ´ktæn)  refers to putting in a lot of work and getting little in return.14. As clear as dumpling brothIt turns out something is klar wie Kloßbrühe in German if its absolutely clearâ€"that is, easy to understand. Now, you might argue that dumpling broth isnt actually clear, and youd be correct.Somewhere along the way, this idiom switched from meaning not at all clear to totally clear, sort of like if clear as mud had come to be synonymous with crystal clear in English.15. Pedal in sauerkrautYou might not be surprised to hear that a plate of sauerkraut isnt the ide al locale for riding a bicycle. Accordingly, the French pédaler dans la choucroute means to get absolutely nowhere.And if youre thinking man, thats such a cool idiom, I wish there were more idioms like that, youre in luck!If you find yourself overusing this expression, you can also choose from pédaler dans le yaourt (pedal in yogurt), pédaler dans la semoule (pedal in semolina), pédaler dans la cancoillotte (pedal in cancoillotte cheese) and pédaler dans le couscous (self-explanatory!).16. A germ across the sea can be seen, an elephant on the eyelid cantThe key to understanding this Indonesian idiom kuman di seberang lautan tampak, gajah di pelupuk mata tak tampak  is not taking it too literally.Essentially, it means that its easy to see other peoples mistakes no matter how small they are, but its hard to see your own even when theyre very large.17. Get stuffed with hayThe Polish wypchac sie sianem is, in literal terms, an instruction to get stuffed with hay. Needless to say, t his isnt an expression youd direct at someone towards whom you feel fondly.18. A dog in churchThe dog  may be mans best friend, but at least in Italy, that friendship does not extend to places of worship. The Italian un cane in chiesa refers to an unwanted guest.For more colorful idioms, you can purchase Adam Jacot De Boinods I  Never Knew There Was a Word for It  (which also covers interesting words from different languages) or check out FluentUs collection of real-world videos. FluentU makes it possible to learn languages  from music videos, commercials, news, inspiring talks and more.With FluentU, you hear languages in real-world contextsâ€"the way that native speakers actually use them.Just a quick look will give you an idea of the variety of FluentU videos on offer:FluentU really takes the grunt work out of learning languages, leaving you with nothing but engaging, effective and efficient learning. It’s already hand-picked the best videos for you and organized them by level a nd topic. All you have to do is choose any video that strikes your fancy to get started!Each word in the interactive captions comes with a definition, audio, image, example sentences and more.Access a complete interactive transcript of every video under the Dialogue tab, and easily review words and phrases from the video under Vocab.You can use FluentU’s unique adaptive quizzes to learn the vocabulary and phrases from the video through fun questions and exercises. Just swipe left or right to see more examples of the word youre studying.The program even keeps track of what you’re learning and tells you exactly when it’s time for review, giving you a 100% personalized experience.Start using FluentU on the website  with your computer or tablet  or, better yet,  download the FluentU app from  the  iTunes store  or  Google Play store.Youll be glad you didâ€"in fact, youll be like a kid in a candy store, or as they say in Norway, youll be in the middle of the butter melting in the p orridge!