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common idioms and proverbs
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| 20. |
15 Dec 2006 Fri 05:56 pm |
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Quoting Trudy: Quoting Deli_kizin: Quoting Elisa: Quoting juliacernat:
as for the "To sell ice (cubes) to Eskimos" we say "a vinde castraveti gradinarului" (to sell cucumbers to the gardener). |
Ours is "to sell a fridge to an eskimo"  |
Would this be comparable to the Dutch 'water naar de zee dragen', to carry water to the sea? |
Yes, it is, Deli-Kizin. Same meaning. |
Nooo, I never understood it like that and I never heard it being used like that! It's used for someone who has the ability to sell anything, even the most stupid stuff to people who don't need it at all.
In a wider sense it could also be used for someone who can make people believe whatever he wants I guess..
Your question makes me wonder now DK, how did other people here understand this saying?
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| 21. |
15 Dec 2006 Fri 06:07 pm |
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Quoting Elisa:
Your question makes me wonder now DK, how did other people here understand this saying? |
I can tell you what I understand from the Turkish one:
tereciye tere satmak
To try to teach something to someone who already knows that something better than anyone.
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| 22. |
15 Dec 2006 Fri 06:12 pm |
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Quoting aslan2: Quoting Elisa:
Your question makes me wonder now DK, how did other people here understand this saying? |
I can tell you what I understand from the Turkish one:
tereciye tere satmak
To try to teach something to someone who already knows that something better than anyone. |
Just double-clicked on 'tereciye' to open the dictionary and there was the English translation:
to try to teach one´s grandmother to suck eggs  
To the dear old Blighty people here  : do you ever use that expression?
(sorry, can't help but finding it funny..)
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| 23. |
15 Dec 2006 Fri 06:13 pm |
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Quoting aslan2: To try to teach something to someone who already knows that something better than anyone. |
And (in my opinion) that is exactly 'water naar de zee dragen' (to carry water to the sea) = it is useless, not necessary, a waste of your time.
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| 24. |
15 Dec 2006 Fri 06:17 pm |
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Quoting Trudy: Quoting aslan2: To try to teach something to someone who already knows that something better than anyone. |
And (in my opinion) that is exactly 'water naar de zee dragen' (to carry water to the sea) = it is useless, not necessary, a waste of your time. |
That would be something like "swimming against the tide" (there must be a TR version of that one too..)
I understand what you mean, but there definitely is a shade of meaning.
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| 25. |
15 Dec 2006 Fri 06:24 pm |
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Quoting Trudy: Quoting aslan2: To try to teach something to someone who already knows that something better than anyone. |
And (in my opinion) that is exactly 'water naar de zee dragen' (to carry water to the sea) = it is useless, not necessary, a waste of your time. |
Well not exactly in Turkish. We usually use it for someone being pedantic in a subject to somebody who knows that subject very well.
We have another proverb similar to yours:
Akıntıya kürek çekmek = To row against the current
Meaning a waste of time, useless activity
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| 26. |
15 Dec 2006 Fri 08:03 pm |
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How do you say in turkish :
"All talk , no action "
is there one equivalent?
in spanish it it :
" Mucho ruido , pocas nueces"
Selamlar!
Dilara
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| 27. |
15 Dec 2006 Fri 08:09 pm |
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I have a couple of E-TR requests as well
* to miss with an empty goal
* leave/set the fox to watch the geese
(in Dutch we say "to leave the cat with the milk" actually..)
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| 28. |
15 Dec 2006 Fri 08:29 pm |
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Quoting Elisa: Quoting Trudy: Quoting aslan2: To try to teach something to someone who already knows that something better than anyone. |
And (in my opinion) that is exactly 'water naar de zee dragen' (to carry water to the sea) = it is useless, not necessary, a waste of your time. |
That would be something like "swimming against the tide" (there must be a TR version of that one too..)
I understand what you mean, but there definitely is a shade of meaning. |
In Romanian, by saying "to sell cucumbers to the gardener" we understand that a person is trying to to teach a specialist the subject the latter is expert in.
For things done uselessly,by waisting one's time, we use "a se lupta cu morile de vant"= lit. to fight against the windmills ( you can easilly guess that don quijote has inspired us
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| 29. |
15 Dec 2006 Fri 08:32 pm |
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Quoting Elisa: I have a couple of E-TR requests as well
* to miss with an empty goal
* leave/set the fox to watch the geese
(in Dutch we say "to leave the cat with the milk" actually..)
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we say in Romanian "a lasa lupul stapan la oi"= lit. to allow the wolf to guard the sheep"
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| 30. |
15 Dec 2006 Fri 08:35 pm |
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Quoting Dilara: How do you say in turkish :
"All talk , no action "
is there one equivalent?
in spanish it it :
" Mucho ruido , pocas nueces"
Selamlar!
Dilara |
Laf çok, iş yok.
Selamlar...
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