Not Exactly Rock Lyrics

The nominations for this year's inductees into the Rock and Toll hall of fame are out, and it's gratifying to see that Justin Bieber didn't make it (restrictions will keep him off the ballot until 2034...when I will be dead) Anyway, Guns 'n' Roses is on the list, so they get a shout out from me. Great White didn't make it again, and I doubt they ever will, but that song Once Bitten Twice Shy suddenly surfaced this evening.
The Lonely Planet has published a list recently that converted some of the more common English idioms into similar phrases from other countries. Since I just used the old line, "It's raining cats and dogs, and I just stepped in a poodle" yesterday, this comes at a fortuitous moment. Now I can say things like, "It's raining old women with clubs." Not the same, really, and it's doubtful Great White (or GnR, for that matter) will be using any of these in a rock song anytime soon. Still...maybe there's a band somewhere in the world taking advantage of these very phrases even as we speak.
Have fun, and remember to use these phrases often to add spice to your everyday conversations!
In no time, you'll be talking only to yourself!


It’s raining cats and dogs
Afrikaans: Ou vrouens met knopkieries reen
It’s raining old women with clubs

Dutch: Het regent pijpenstelen
It’s raining pipestems

Persian: Baron mesleh dobeh asb mirized
It’s raining like the tail of the horse

Greek: Brékhei kareklopódara
It’s raining chair legs

German: Es regnet schusterbuben
It’s raining young cobblers

Taking coals to Newcastle/Selling ice to the eskimos
Russian: Yezdit’ b Tulu s svoim samovarom
He’s going to Tula, taking his own samovar

German: Eulen nach Athen tragen
Taking owls to Athens

Hungarian: Vizet hord a Dunába
He’s taking water to the Danube

Spanish: Es como llevar naranjas a Valencia
It’s like taking oranges to Valencia

A sledgehammer to crack a nut
Thai: Kee chang jahb thak-a-thaen
Ride an elephant to catch a grasshopper

Mandarin: Tuo kuzi fang pi
To take your trousers offto break wind

Turkish: Pire icin yorgan yakmak
To burn the duvet becauseof one flea

When pigs might fly
Croatian: Kad na vrbi rodi grožde
When willows bear grapes

Hungarian: Majd ha piros hó esik
When it’s snowing red snowflakes

Uzbek: Tuyaning dumi yerga tekkanda
When the camel’s tail reaches the ground

Russian: Kag-da rak svist-nyet
When the crayfish whistles

Like father like son
Portuguese: Filho de peixe sabe nadar
A fish’s child knows howto swim

Hausa, Nigeria: Barewa tayi gudu danta ya yi rarrafe
How can a gazelle’s offspring crawl when its mother is a fast runner?

Arabic: Ibn al bat’awwam
The son of a duck is a floater

Out of the frying pan, into the fire
Czech: Dostat se z bláta do louıe
Out of the mud, into the puddle

Hindi: Aasmaan se gire khajoor mein atke
Down from the skies, into the date tree

Indonesian: Takut akan lumpur lari ke duri
Afraid of mud, escape to thorns

Once bitten, twice shy
Russian: Puganaya vorona kusta
A spooked crow is afraid of a bush

Swahili: Mtafunwa na nyoka akiona unyasi hushtuka
One who has been bitten by a snake startles at a reed

Portuguese: Cão picado por cobra, tem medo de linguiça
A dog bitten by a snake fears sausages

To beat about the bush
Finnish: Kiertää kuin kissa kuumaa puuroa
To pace around hot porridgelike a cat

Italian: Menare il can per l’aia
To lead the dog around the yard

Spanish: Emborrachar la perdiz
To get the partridge drunk