{"id":5754,"date":"2018-04-18T20:47:13","date_gmt":"2018-04-18T20:47:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/icelandic\/?p=5754"},"modified":"2018-04-19T11:46:31","modified_gmt":"2018-04-19T11:46:31","slug":"icelandic-idioms-idioms-everywhere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/icelandic\/2018\/04\/18\/icelandic-idioms-idioms-everywhere\/","title":{"rendered":"Icelandic Idioms, Idioms Everywhere!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today, I thought we’d do something fun and build up some vocabulary. Let’s have a look at a few idioms that I recently learned, and see if you can guess what they mean!<\/p>\n

Eiga vi\u00f0 ramman reip a\u00f0 draga –\u00a0to have to pull a strong rope<\/span><\/p>\n

By original uploader Johnmoore6 at English Wikipedia [GFDL (http:\/\/www.gnu.org\/copyleft\/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/3.0\/)], via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>\n

This phrase means simply to take on a difficult task, to struggle with something.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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A\u00f0 hafa fullu tr\u00e9 vi\u00f0 einhvern –\u00a0to have a full tree with someone<\/span><\/p>\n

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By gillfoto [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0)], from Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>\n

This phrase means “to have a full tree” doesn’t make a lot of sense. So let’s break it down:<\/p>\n

First of all<\/em>, it means “to be somebody’s equal” or \u00a0“to be on even footing.” But doesn’t it seem particularly nonsensical?\u00a0Originally, this phrase referred to a “siglutr\u00e9,” i.e., a mast on a shop – so you would be “full mast” with someone.\u00a0I’m not a seawoman, but I assume that this makes sense to some of my more nautically minded readers.\u00a0There’s a related phrase I’d also like to point out:\u00a0a\u00f0 hafa \u00ed fullu tr\u00e9 vi\u00f0 eitthva\u00f0, <\/em>which means “to\u00a0have a lot of trouble with something”.<\/p>\n

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Falla \u00ed stafi\u00a0– [a barrel] loses its planks<\/span><\/p>\n

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Courtesy of Pexels.com<\/p><\/div>\n

This phrase means to be stricken with wonder, to be stunned.
\nIt goes back to a time when wooden barrels, as those above, would fall apart. The stafirnir (planks) would loosen from the iron banding and the cask would simply “falla” apart.<\/p>\n

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\nVera ekki af baki dottinn –\u00a0not be fallen off (the horse’s) back<\/span>
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Eadweard Muybridge [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>\n

I think you can guess this one: it’s to not have given up (yet) or, perhaps, to not give up at all. To continue to hope, work, and persevere.<\/p>\n

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Fara \u00ed hundana\u00a0– to go to the dogs<\/span><\/p>\n

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I settled on this cute picture of a sleeping puppy because this phrase actually means “your life has gone wrong,” or simply “life has gone wrong”. \u00c9g f\u00f3r \u00ed hundana – my life went all wrong.\u00a0But luckily, you haven’t yet fallen off the horse’s back, so there’s that. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

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A\u00f0 fara fyrir ofan gar\u00f0 og ne\u00f0an –\u00a0to go above the garden and below<\/span><\/p>\n

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Courtesy of Pexels<\/p><\/div>\n

This phrase means to miss the point – to misunderstand.
\nThe way it was explained to me (by a poet, of course) was thus:
\nimagine a farmer throwing hay to the pigs, but his hay goes everywhere but the trough.
\nHe wasn’t able to account for the garden. I know I have so native speaker readers, so I’d be interested in hearing their takes.<\/p>\n

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A\u00f0 fara \u00e1 vonarv\u00f6l – to go on a hope-cane<\/span><\/p>\n

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This one means “to be unable to sustain yourself financially,” to “not be financially independent”<\/p>\n

Which one was your favorite? Would you like to hear more?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0P.S. I mentioned in my last blog that I would link to the essay referred to (The Nationsoul of My Dear Jon) about Icelandic politics and culture through the lens of a folk tale. Here’s the link to that essay<\/a>. And here’s a link to the table of contents<\/a>, where you can read some of my (and many others’) translations of Nordic poetry and prose!\u00a0<\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Today, I thought we’d do something fun and build up some vocabulary. Let’s have a look at a few idioms that I recently learned, and see if you can guess what they mean! This phrase means simply to take on a difficult task, to struggle with something.\u00a0 This phrase means “to have a full tree”…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":145,"featured_media":5757,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[90791,91175],"tags":[82],"class_list":["post-5754","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-icelandic-culture","category-icelandic-grammar","tag-idioms"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t