It is similar to the English saying the “ the early bird catches the worm”. In Icelandic, the saying is,” morning time gives gold in the hand”, meaning, if you get up early enough you can achieve more.
morgenstund har gull i munnĮnglish translation: Morning time is gold in the mouth. This is an expression that comes from Old Norse, North Germanic language. There is also a 1959 Norwegian film written and directed by Ivo Caprino called Ugler I mosen its title is derived from the idiom, “ I smell a rat there is mischief afoot”. “ Ugler I mosen” is of Danish origin and was originally “ wolves in the marshes” but it is said that when wolves disappeared from the wild in Denmark, the saying evolved into owls. ugler i mosenĮnglish translation: Owls in the moss. It means that something is happening that is suspicious or amiss. It is the same as the English saying, “Old habits die hard” and means it is hard to stop doing something you have being doing for a significant length of time. Photo: Ken ( Wikipedia) gammel vane er vond å vendeĮnglish translation: Old habbits is difficult to turn. And who wouldn't want to be melting into the middle of a bowl of porridge!? Traditional risgrøt.
To be there simply means to be in a good place. The dish of risgrøt, a warm porridge, is traditionally served with a dollop of butter that melts into the middle, leaving a hole, known as the butter eye. To understand the phrase “to be in the middle of the butter eye” you need to understand Norwegian cuisine. Learn Norwegian Now: Norwegian Class 101 / The Mystery of Nils å være midt i smørøyet The Norwegian equivalent of you shouldn't judge a book by its cover literally translates as you shouldn't judge a dog by its hairs! These days it's more likely to indicate something is totally crazy or bonkers. The original meaning of the phrase was to compare something to the cowboys of the old Wild West, in terms of their unpredictability, and an exciting and/or scary atmosphere. The phrase “it was totally Texas!” may be heard in reference to a wild party, a toxic atmosphere at a sports game, or even crazy traffic, not that the latter occurs very often in Norway.Īlthough the expression became widely known outside the country when US-based media jumped on the bandwagon a couple of years ago, it actually dates back several decades. For example you've done something stupid or been caught cheating. To stand or sit with the beard in the mailbox is a strange expression, but the meaning is fairly easy to work out! It simply means to be stuck in an uncomfortable situation. Norwegians love the outdoors and nothing-not even snow or a rainstorm-will stop them from enjoying it! å stå/sitte med skjegget i postkassen
#Storm in a teacup etymology full
The meaning is fairly obvious, I think! But you can read a full article about the phase here. Remember, there's no such thing as bad weather… Usually, you hear it whilst dripping with rainwater, wringing out your soaking wet socks, before a trip to the nearest outdoor clothing store. det finnes ikke dårlig vær, bare dårlige klærĭepending on the time of year you arrive, this is probably the first Norwegian saying that newcomers hear. If you're learning Norwegian, don't forget to check out the other posts on our language learning blog. Learn Norwegian Now: Norwegian Class 101 / The Mystery of Nils I hope you enjoy this article because it was great fun to write! There are many that only have subtle differences from English equivalents. If you're learning Norwegian there's a weird and wonderful collection of Norwegian phrases to learn. The sayings or idioms often sound odd just based on the words themselves, especially when directly translated. Most countries around the world have their own unique phrases where meaning isn’t always obvious from the words themselves. It's one thing trying to learn a language in class or from textbooks, but a language only really comes alive when you understand the words, phrases and sayings that just don't translate.
Here's a small collection of them to get you started. Norwegian has plenty of quirky sayings that teach you a lot about the society and culture.
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