11 international idioms that sound downright hilarious in English

Fooling people is a universal trick. In English, we say “pulling a fast one” or “pulling the wool over someone’s eyes.” In German, you might say you’re “tying a bear on someone.” It seems like they’d notice that a bear was tied on them, but maybe not. Give it a whirl in English: “Good job tying a bear on your boss with that lateness excuse!”

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Don’t “swallow some camels” – stay the course and ride it out. In Norwegian, this bizarre phrase about camels means to give in to something. It’s a great phrase to use when whatever you’re giving into is absolutely impossible to swallow. Remember it’s not just one camel, it’s at least two! The challenge is clear from Paul Blow’s illustrations, courtesy of Viking blog’s “International Idioms.”

Imagine eating something so delicious that your cheeks absolutely fall right off. If you say the phrase in Japanese everyone will know that you believe your meal is delicious. Go ahead and try this phrase out the next time you’re partaking of a mouth-watering treat.

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Sure, that’ll come to pass – when pigs fly! When speaking French you can offer the same sentiment by saying “when chickens have teeth,” meaning something that is never, ever going to happen. Flying pigs is such a lovely, whimsical image. Chicken with teeth sounds scary, but maybe that’s part of the point.

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It’s so disappointing when your plans “jump the tracks” or when life “throws you a curve ball” or when “there’s a monkey wrench in your spokes.” In Italian, the idiom goes that not all doughnuts come with a hole. That’s not that bad when you think about it. More doughnut! But it means that things aren’t going as well as you’d like.

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Most of us want a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. If you’re conversing in Icelandic, you’d talk about an unexpected surprise at the end of something through a food metaphor. You’d refer to the raisin at the end of the hot dog. Hopefully, the real surprise is actually better.

You’ve probably said “that ship has sailed” or that something “missed the window.” That’s what you say when it’s too late to act because the opportunity has already passed. In Polish, that’s referred to as “mustard after lunch.” It must be a real disappointment to have lunch without mustard. That’s the only way that idiom makes sense.

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Imagine being so hungry, and then your next meal after fasting consists of an onion. If you’re speaking Arabic, that idiom means that you get less than you were expecting. If something is a raw deal, just call it “breaking a fast with an onion.” It makes the right point.

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You may not have heard of a prawn sandwich before, but it sounds like a great idea, kind of like “being born with a silver spoon in your mouth.” In Swedish, “sliding in on a prawn sandwich” means you have an easy life. Kind of like living on easy street. Either way, good deal.

This one does not make a lot of sense. In Dutch to “have hair on your teeth” means that you’re self-assertive. It seems like that condition would make you settle down and keep quiet. Great to know that in some places, hairy teeth means you’re ultra-confident and ready to take charge.

Now check out common English idioms that sound way funnier in foreign languages.