18 English Phrases You're Sure To Translate Wrong

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Together with the online school, Lifehacker prepared a test for connoisseurs of the English language and everyone who considers themselves as such. Try to translate these simple sentences and compare the result with the correct answers. There will be many surprises.

To go bananas

I will go bananas if I win a lottery

No, no one is going to spend all the winnings on fruits. This idiom in this case means that the speaker will literally go crazy with joy if he hits the jackpot. His roof will go, he will fly off the coils and move in phase.

To cut the cheese

My grandpa cut the cheese by accident while the whole family was having dinner

And again disappointed expectations. It doesn't smell like cheese. Grandfather just, as they say, gave the gas. This is how this charming phrase is translated.

Happy hour

During a happy hour all drinks are only $ 2 each

I believe you have coped with this task, since everything is pretty obvious. Happy hour is the so-called happy hour, when bars and restaurants offer food and drinks at a decent discount.

To feel a bit under the weather

I did not got to work today because I’m feeling a bit under the weather today

What happened to the hero of the story? Meteosensitivity overpowered? Quite possible. Or caught a cold, for example. Whatever happens to him, this turn means one thing: he feels not entirely healthy.

Once in a blue moon

- Does your boyfriend ever bring you flowers?

- Once in a blue moon.

The blue moon appears in the sky around the days when cancer is whistling on the mountain. That is, very rarely or never at all. With the same probability, the event referred to in the sentence will occur. Most likely, the girl will never get flowers from her boyfriend.

To steal someone's thunder

One of my classmates stole my thunder when he told the professor that he did all the work on the presentation

An offensive situation turned out: an insidious classmate attributed your merits to himself. To steal someone’s thunder is a rather strange expression, and it’s hardly possible to guess its meaning from the context. Just remember it.

To beat around the bush

If you want to ask me something, just ask, stop beating around the bush

If someone asks you like this, it means it's time to stop shirking and dodging the topic of the conversation. Ask directly about what interests you, stop beating around the bush.

A hot potato

A candidate won’t speak about a controversial topic because it’s “a political hot potato”

So they say about a current event that has captured the minds of the masses and is widely discussed. One "but": usually this is a rather controversial issue, so it is worth treating it with a grain of salt. Just like the citizen from the example sentence: he does not want to discuss a controversial topic because of its ambiguity.

Barking up the wrong tree

Peter has been trying to solve this math problem for 30 minutes, but I think he has been barking up the wrong tree

Peter is definitely in trouble. For half an hour he struggled with the task, but in the end it turned out that all this time he was on the wrong path. If you come across this expression, know: it means that someone is mistaken.

To cut the mustard

None of these new houses are cutting the mustard, and I am beginning to doubt that I’ll find one in the area that does

Such a turn will confuse anyone. Mustard? Mustard? What does she have to do with it? We have no explanation for this, but to cut the mustard means "meet expectations" or "meet expectations."

A tough cookie

Tom is a tough cookie. He always demands to see a restaurant manager if he is not happy with something

Tom is a tough guy, a real tough nut to crack. If you try to translate the phrase verbatim and keep the cookie analogy, the guy in question is a real cracker - not so easy to cope with.

A couch potato

Since he lost his job, Nicholas has become a couch potato

If you are thinking about vegetables, you are on the right track. The expression describes just such a "vegetable" person who is lying on the couch for days on end watching TV. Nicholas, stop it now!

To burn the midnight oil

That was a very hard assignment, and I had to burn the midnight oil to get it completed on time

At a time when electric lighting did not exist, it was necessary to work at night under the light of kerosene lamps. Hence this expression, which means "stay up late."

To hit it on the nose

You hit it on the nose when you said she has a controlling personality

Don't worry, no nose was hurt. "To hit the bull's eye" is a rough analogue of this idiom in Russian.

Last straw

Linda has been unhappy with her brother for a long time but when he crashed her car, it was the last straw

Here there is a reference to the parable of the hardy camel, whose back was broken by the last straw. The Russian analogue of the expression is "the last straw". Linda’s cup of patience is overflowing, now her brother will be in trouble.

Your guess is as good as mine

Do you want to know why she left me? Well, I have no idea. Your guess is as good as mine

Well, well, why did the girl leave the guy? We have no idea, no idea. But we know how this turnover is translated - see the previous sentence.

Sweet tooth

I have a sweet tooth and I always crave chocolate

We argue logically: who can have a sweet tooth? Of course, the one who loves all sorts of goodies - in this case, chocolate. "Sweet tooth" - this is how this phrase is translated.

To kiss goodbye

If you lend him money you should just kiss it goodbye

A rare case for idioms - even if you translate this expression literally, its meaning will still be preserved. Say goodbye to what you are going to lend to an unreliable borrower - you will no longer see your money or things.

As you can see, the English language is full of surprises. If you misinterpret a certain verbal turnover, the meaning of the sentence sometimes changes in the most unexpected ways. In this case, getting into an uncomfortable situation is as easy as shelling pears. The problem is that in schools these things are usually not talked about. Output? Learn English with a native speaker. This can be done at the online school.

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