Seacht gcor cainte i dtrí theanga: Béarla, Gaeilge agus Fraincis
Seven idioms in three languages

B:It's raining cats and dogs.
G:Tá sé ag caitheamh sceana gréasaí.
(It's throwing cobbler's knives.)
F:Il tombe des cordes.
(Ropes are falling.)
B:I have a frog in my throat.
G:Tá sceach i mo scornach.
(A bush is in my throat.)
F:J'ai un chat dans la gorge.
(I have a cat in my throat.)
B:Don't count your chickens before they're hatched.
G:Ní breac é go mbeidh sé ar an bport.
(It's not a trout until it's landed.)
F:Ne vends pas la peau de l'ours avant de l'avoir tué.
(Don't sell the bear's skin before you've killed it.)
B:You're skating on thin ice.
G:Tá tú ag rith ar thanaí.
(You're running [sailing] on shallow water.)
F:Tu marches sur des oeufs.
(You're walking on eggs.)
B:She's buttering him up.
G:Tá sí ag cur meala faoi.
(She's putting honey around him.)
F:Elle lui passe de la pommade.
(She's rubbing ointment on him.)
B:He's pushing up daisies.
G:Tá sé ag tabhairt an fhéir.
(He's bestowing grass.)
F:Il mange les pissenlits par la racine.
(He's eating dandelions by the roots.)
B:She wants to have her cake and eat it.
G:Tá an craiceann agus a luach uaithi.
(She wants the skin and its price.)
F:Elle veut avoir le beurre et l'argent du beurre.
(She wants to have the butter and the money both.)

Dennis King
1997-06-27

1997-07-08 CPD