Chitchat Language Exchange

[Stone Cold]

Hello. I’m looking for a few new friends on the site and just some people to chat with. I’m interested in learning new languages and so I thought to start here. What’s an interesting word/phrase in a different language (other than English) do you know?

The phrase my friend taught me, “Faire le boss de bécosses” literally translated in English it is “to be the boss of the toilets”. Oddly enough, it doesn’t actually refer to the bathroom or other bodily functions. It means someone who is too bossy when they don’t need to be or when someone’s tone is too aggressive.

 

[GlitterBomb]

A fun phrase you learned there, my friend. I'm no expert but I'll assume it's French?

Got another treat for you (well I've got a lot of weird sayings but this is the first I can think of). Swedish, by the way.
"Jag anar ugglor i mossen." Which straight off translates to "I'm sensing owls in the moss." It means that someone is sensing that the situation isn't right, suspicious about things not being what they seem.

 

[Stone Cold]

A fun phrase you learned there, my friend. I'm no expert but I'll assume it's French?

Got another treat for you (well I've got a lot of weird sayings but this is the first I can think of). Swedish, by the way.
"Jag anar ugglor i mossen." Which straight off translates to "I'm sensing owls in the moss." It means that someone is sensing that the situation isn't right, suspicious about things not being what they seem.

It’s French. But French-Canadian and localized to Quebec. At least that’s what my Canadian friend was saying. He uses this in conversation when people are talking over him so it’s funny to me.

Swedish, nice. I can see that. Owls would be creepy at night. The can do the whole exorcist spin with their heads. Can’t trust it.

Thanks. Now, I got a new one to use when someone acting a little sus.

 

[Heatherling]

Got another treat for you (well I've got a lot of weird sayings but this is the first I can think of). Swedish, by the way.
"Jag anar ugglor i mossen." Which straight off translates to "I'm sensing owls in the moss." It means that someone is sensing that the situation isn't right, suspicious about things not being what they seem.

I love the image of that so much.

German is my second language, and Bavaria has so many dialects that even after 20 years there will still be phrases that throw me off completely. A relatively recent one that delights me is "Der ganze Bua a Depp." which, "That guy is a complete moron." Though I've only heard it used fondly, in the context of "I can't really be angry with that person, because I knew he was an idiot and I still love him."

A northern German one is "Gib mal Butter bei die Fische" - "Add some butter to those fish". But what it means when someone says that is "Get to the point".
I had never been so confused in my life, the first time I heard it.