396Kviews
Illustration3 years ago
10 Crazy Things Russians Say And What They Mean
396Kviews
We know every country has their own idioms, which often make no sense to anyone other than those who have grown up with them, but for those in the know, they make perfect sense!
We are bringing you Russia’s TOP TEN idioms, with a helping hand from renowned artist Nathan James. By the time you’ve familiarised yourself with these, we’re hoping you won’t get overexcited… but you’ll jump out of your pants!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Russians Don’t Exaggerate, They 'Make An Elephant Out Of A Fly'
Final score:
81points
#2
A Russian Won’t Lie To You, He’ll 'Hang Noodles On Your Ears'
Final score:
54points
#3
You Are Not Just Talented Or Skilled, You Can 'Shoe A Flea'
Final score:
47points
#4
It’ll Never Happen – ‘A Lobster Whistles On Top Of A Mountain’
Final score:
39points
#5
A Russian Person Doesn’t Swear Something Is True… He Will ‘Give You His Tooth For It’
Final score:
39points
#6
Russians Don’t Show Off… They ‘Throw Dust In Your Eyes’
Final score:
31points
Ahmad AlKhalaf 3 years ago
In Syria they go, "how about I make your mind fly away!" Sort of a "blow ur mind" thing
#7
A Russian Doesn’t Say He’s In A Crowded Place, He Says He’s 'Like Herring In The Barrel'
Final score:
30points
#8
A Russian Doesn’t Get Overexcited, He 'Jumps Out Of His Pants'
Final score:
30points
#9
Russians Don’t Have A Snack, They 'Kill The Worm'
Final score:
27points
#10
Russians Don’t Say You Have An Interesting Aspect To Your Character, They Say You Have A 'Raisin'
Final score:
22points
Add New Image
Popular on Bored Panda 
Some of the pictures are factually incorrect. In the case of the flea, it's shoes as in horseshoes, from Leskov's "Levsha" (The Tale of Cross-eyed Lefty from Tula and the Steel Flea). In the case of the worm, you do not kill the worm by eating it - it's the imaginary worm that lives in your stomach and give you stomach ache when you are hungry, so you throw something in your stomach to quieten it.
As a Russian speaking person these sound really ridiculous when you think about what you're saying. Then again, so do a lot of idioms.
We have very similar ones in spanish. I.e. no herring in the barrel but sardines in a can. All but the one about the raisin sounded quite logical to me lol i may adopt a few.
Like it's not a plane bread, it's got something interesting in it - a raisin
The same goes for German: sardines in a can, make an elephant out of a mosquito, to jump out of the pants. Then there exist regional variations... to lie to someone: To bind a bear on someone or to nail a schnitzel onto someones knee.
There are the usual cupcake and have a cupcake with raisins! Cupcake with raisins - a more pleasant and interesting) When a person has unusual positive properties, it is said that he "has a little raisin" ))
"Matar el gusanito"
In Brazil we have some even more dramatic sayings, like if you've been through some difficult time in your life, we say you're basically "killing a dog with a yell" (matando cachorro a grito), a "give your tooth for it" is silly compared to "I'd kill my mother I wasn't telling true".
Idioms are the best. They're culturally essential and usually make no sense to people who are not from that culture -even when explained. I'd love to see idioms from other languages!
In iTunes there is an app called "English idioms illustrated". Great stuff, but have to pay if you want to see more. Also giving explanations.
Yes! Could you give any idiom from your language? It would be interesting as well
In some parts of latin america, instead of saying "I'm taking a nap" we say we're gonna "Iron the ear" (Planchar la oreja)
Some of the pictures are factually incorrect. In the case of the flea, it's shoes as in horseshoes, from Leskov's "Levsha" (The Tale of Cross-eyed Lefty from Tula and the Steel Flea). In the case of the worm, you do not kill the worm by eating it - it's the imaginary worm that lives in your stomach and give you stomach ache when you are hungry, so you throw something in your stomach to quieten it.
As a Russian speaking person these sound really ridiculous when you think about what you're saying. Then again, so do a lot of idioms.
We have very similar ones in spanish. I.e. no herring in the barrel but sardines in a can. All but the one about the raisin sounded quite logical to me lol i may adopt a few.
Like it's not a plane bread, it's got something interesting in it - a raisin
The same goes for German: sardines in a can, make an elephant out of a mosquito, to jump out of the pants. Then there exist regional variations... to lie to someone: To bind a bear on someone or to nail a schnitzel onto someones knee.
There are the usual cupcake and have a cupcake with raisins! Cupcake with raisins - a more pleasant and interesting) When a person has unusual positive properties, it is said that he "has a little raisin" ))
"Matar el gusanito"
In Brazil we have some even more dramatic sayings, like if you've been through some difficult time in your life, we say you're basically "killing a dog with a yell" (matando cachorro a grito), a "give your tooth for it" is silly compared to "I'd kill my mother I wasn't telling true".
Idioms are the best. They're culturally essential and usually make no sense to people who are not from that culture -even when explained. I'd love to see idioms from other languages!
In iTunes there is an app called "English idioms illustrated". Great stuff, but have to pay if you want to see more. Also giving explanations.
Yes! Could you give any idiom from your language? It would be interesting as well
In some parts of latin america, instead of saying "I'm taking a nap" we say we're gonna "Iron the ear" (Planchar la oreja)