One Idea, Many Mouths: A Global Idiom Tour

We’ve all heard someone say, “it’s raining cats and dogs,” and probably never stopped to picture the meteorological chaos that would entail. Idioms are the spice of language—phrases where the whole means something entirely different from the sum of its parts. They’re often seen as one of the final, fiendish hurdles for language learners.

But what if we flip the script? Instead of looking at a single language’s quirky phrases, let’s take a universal human idea and see how the world talks about it. Welcome to our global idiom tour, where one concept splinters into a dozen fascinating, funny, and culturally rich expressions. We’re about to discover that while we all experience the same things, our imaginations have taken us in wildly different directions.

All Aboard! First Stop: The Downpour

Let’s start with that classic: heavy rain. The English-speaking world has its famous “cats and dogs”, an idiom whose origins are still debated (some say it comes from animals washing out of thatch roofs, others from mythology). But how do other cultures describe a torrent from the heavens?

• In Norway, they’re more mythological, claiming, “Det regner trollkjerringer” — “It’s raining troll-wives.” You can just picture grumpy, ancient troll-wives being flung from the sky.
• The French keep it simple and visual with “Il pleut des cordes,” or “It’s raining ropes.” It’s an elegant, effective image of thick, straight sheets of rain.
• In South Africa, speakers of Afrikaans get wonderfully specific and a bit violent: “Dit reën ou vrouens met knopkieries,” which translates to “It’s raining old women with clubs.”
• Not to be outdone, Colombian Spanish offers a glimmer of hope in the deluge with “Están lloviendo hasta maridos” — “It’s even raining husbands.”
• And for pure, delightful randomness, look no further than Greece, where a downpour is described as “Βρέχει καρεκλοπόδαρα” (Vréchei kareklopodara), meaning “It’s raining chair legs.” Why chair legs? Who knows, but the image is unforgettable.

Shh! The Art of Spilling the Beans

Next up: revealing a secret. In English, we might “let the cat out of the bag” or “spill the beans.” The first phrase is so evocative that it has a near-identical twin in German, “Die Katze aus dem Sack lassen.” This shared imagery hints at a common history, likely from a marketplace scam where a cat was substituted for a piglet in a sack. But other cultures got more creative.

• Swedish chefs up a fantastic phrase: “Nu är det kokta fläsket stekt,” or “Now the boiled pork is fried.” It beautifully captures the idea that a situation has passed a point of no return. The secret is out, and things have irrevocably changed.
• Japanese culture gives us an idiom from the theatre: “馬脚を露わす” (Bakyaku o arawasu), which means “to reveal the horse’s legs.” This comes from Kabuki or Bunraku theatre, where two actors would create a horse costume. If they were clumsy, an actor’s legs might be exposed, ruining the illusion and revealing the truth.
• In Poland, they go for the fantastical with “Wypuścić dżina z butelki” — “To let the genie out of the bottle.” Like a genie, once a secret is released, it’s impossible to put back.

That’ll Cost You… What Exactly?

“It costs an arm and a leg.” This English idiom paints a painful picture of a high price. The concept of something being incredibly expensive is universal, but the body parts and objects offered in exchange vary dramatically across the globe.

• The French are on a similar wavelength but aim a little higher: “Ça coûte les yeux de la tête” — “It costs the eyes from the head.” A few other Romance languages, like Portuguese, use the same metaphor.
• For a truly unique expression, we turn to Serbia. A high price is described as “Кошта као Светог Петра кајгана” (Košta kao Svetog Petra kajgana). This means, “It costs as much as Saint Peter’s scrambled eggs.” The legend goes that Saint Peter, traveling with Jesus, was once charged an exorbitant price for a simple meal of eggs, and the phrase stuck.
• The Dutch offer up a single, valuable body part with “Het kost een rib uit m’n lijf” (“It costs a rib from my body”), likely a nod to the biblical story of Adam and Eve.
• And in Russia, they think on a much grander, more industrial scale. Something expensive “Стоит как чугунный мост” (Stoit kak chugunnyy most), or “costs as much as a cast-iron bridge.”

The Lights Are On, But Is Anyone Home?

Describing someone as not particularly intelligent is a delicate art, and idioms provide a wealth of humorous, indirect ways to do it. English has a whole toolkit: “not the sharpest tool in the shed,” “a few fries short of a Happy Meal,” and so on. Here’s how the rest of the world stacks up.

• The Germans look in their kitchen cupboards: “Er hat nicht alle Tassen im Schrank” translates to “He doesn’t have all the cups in the cupboard.” It’s a wonderfully domestic and slightly absurd image.
• The French get practical, lamenting that “Il n’a pas inventé le fil à couper le beurre” — “He didn’t invent the wire for cutting butter.” The implication is that if someone couldn’t even conceive of such a simple, useful invention, they must not be very bright.
• And for our final, and perhaps most charming example, we go to Finland. If someone is a bit slow on the uptake, you might say, “Hänellä ei ole kaikki muumit laaksossa,” which means, “He doesn’t have all the Moomins in the valley.” This modern idiom references the beloved, hippo-like characters created by Tove Jansson, suggesting a mind that isn’t quite complete or harmonious.

One World, Many Voices

This whirlwind tour only scratches the surface, but it reveals a beautiful truth about language. While we all shelter from the rain, guard our secrets, and assess value, the metaphors we use are unique fingerprints of our culture, history, and collective imagination.

Idioms aren’t just obstacles for learners; they are keys. They unlock a deeper understanding of how a group of people sees the world—whether through a lens of mythology, theatre, food, or even cast-iron bridges. The next time you hear a strange turn of phrase, don’t just translate it. Ask what it says about the minds that created it. After all, it’s in these weird and wonderful expressions that language truly comes alive.