A friend of mine sent me an article where people had been asked to sum up the British using only five words. Suggestions included:“Turned out nice again”
“Sorry, is this the queue?”
“At least we’re not French”
Hmm. A nation of weather-obsessed, French-hating queuers. That’s us. So then I thought: how do our idioms sum us up as a nation? And can other nationalities also be summed up by their idioms? I took a look and though I’m stereotyping outrageously, here goes.
English:
That’s not my cup of tea
Make hay while the sun shines
There’s plenty more fish in the sea
He’s taken French leave (he’s gone AWOL)
Yes, that’s right – we are a tea-loving people, relentlessly chipper about our terrible weather and secure in our position as an island nation. Oh – and we still hate the French.
French
That will put butter on the spinach (That will put food on the table).
Look after your onions (Mind your own business)
He’s taken English leave (he’s gone AWOL)
These show the French as a nation of food-obsessed onion-lovers…… who hate the English.
German
That is not your beer. That’s none of your business
He’s looking silly amid the laundry. He’s been caught with his trousers down
It’s about the sausage! It's do or die!
Yes, it’s always about the sausage for the Germans. These people don’t like to look a fool and are partial to a beer.
English:
That’s not my cup of tea
Make hay while the sun shines
There’s plenty more fish in the sea
He’s taken French leave (he’s gone AWOL)
Yes, that’s right – we are a tea-loving people, relentlessly chipper about our terrible weather and secure in our position as an island nation. Oh – and we still hate the French.
French
That will put butter on the spinach (That will put food on the table).
Look after your onions (Mind your own business)
He’s taken English leave (he’s gone AWOL)
These show the French as a nation of food-obsessed onion-lovers…… who hate the English.
German
That is not your beer. That’s none of your business
He’s looking silly amid the laundry. He’s been caught with his trousers down
It’s about the sausage! It's do or die!
Yes, it’s always about the sausage for the Germans. These people don’t like to look a fool and are partial to a beer.
Italian
If one Pope dies, we can always get another. There’s plenty more fish in the sea.
He’s taken English leave (gone AWOL)
You can't have a full bottle and a drunken wife. “you can't have your cake and eat it”,
As we suspected, the Italians are a nation of wine-guzzling, women-loving, pragmatic Catholics - who also hate the English.
Dutch
It's easy to cut big chunks from someone else's cheese. " It’s easy to spend someone else’s money
He's such a liar, you can feel it with your wooden shoes. ???
You’re sticking feathers up my a**e You’re flattering me
It seems the Dutch are a clog-wearing, cheese-making nation who are not averse to performing the occasional dubious practice in Amsterdam after dark.
If one Pope dies, we can always get another. There’s plenty more fish in the sea.
He’s taken English leave (gone AWOL)
You can't have a full bottle and a drunken wife. “you can't have your cake and eat it”,
As we suspected, the Italians are a nation of wine-guzzling, women-loving, pragmatic Catholics - who also hate the English.
Dutch
It's easy to cut big chunks from someone else's cheese. " It’s easy to spend someone else’s money
He's such a liar, you can feel it with your wooden shoes. ???
You’re sticking feathers up my a**e You’re flattering me
It seems the Dutch are a clog-wearing, cheese-making nation who are not averse to performing the occasional dubious practice in Amsterdam after dark.
1 comment:
AHAHAH
i particularly loved the Dutch one!! :P
moreso this article as i know that friend rather well!!
Dilan
x
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