Swedish Idioms I. (animals) Posted by Tibor on Sep 28, 2011 in Grammar, Swedish Language, Vocabulary
- Det var som katten! or Det var som fan! eng. Well, I´ll be damned
- Att ge katten/fan på. eng. To bet one´s life on it.
- Att lägga lök på laxen. eng. To make matters worse.
- Det är något i hästväg. eng. It´s something extraordinary.
- Arg som ett bi. eng. To be furious.
- Envis som en åsna. eng. Stubborn as a mule.
- Fattig som en kyrkoråtta. eng. Poor as a church mouse.
- Fri som en fågel. eng. Free as a bird
- From som ett lamm. eng. Meek (gentle) as a lamb.
- Glad som en lärka. eng. Glad as a lark.
- Hal som en ål. eng. Slippery as an eel
- Hungrig som en varg. eng. Hungry as a bear.
- Klok som en uggla. eng. Wise as an owl.
- Kåt som fan/en kanin. Horney as hell. (vulg!)
- Pigg som en mört. eng. Fit as a fiddle.
- Rädd som en hare. eng. As timid as a hare.
- Slug/Listig som en räv. eng. Sly as a fox.
- Stark som en björn/oxe. eng. Strong as a lion.
- Stolt som en tupp. eng. Proud as a peacock.
- Tyst som en mus. eng. Silent as a mouse.
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Comments:
Steve Brammer:
Surely “Hungrig som en varg” is Hungry as a wolf, not bear?
Tibor:
Nothing is sure..there can be of course local/dialectal variants. I would buy both even lion in this case if you ask me 🙂
Liza:
Arg som ett bi. eng. To be furious.
*To BEE furious.
🙂
Sheila Morris:
One of my favorites is “ana ugglor i mossen” = to be suspicious, or “something’s not right”. Literally, “to suspect owls in the bog”!