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| It's raining cats and dogs outside right now, but my neighbour is adamant that "it's raining like a pissing cow" ("Il pleut comme vache qui pisse")!
Do you have your own regional / national colourful weather expressions? I am curious from a linguist point of view to see how many animals are associated with weather expressions. | |
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Leje jak z cebra - Polish
Ní hé lá na báistí lá na bpáistí. - Irish
1. Argentina: "It's raining dung head-first."
In Spanish: Esta lloviendo caen soretes de punta.
2. China Hong Kong: "Dog poo is falling."
In Cantonese: ???
3. Denmark: "It's raining cobbler boys," or "raining shoemakers' apprentices."
In Danish: Det regner skomagerdrenge.
4. France: "It's raining like a pissing cow."
In French: Il pleut comme vache qui pisse.
5. Faroe Islands: "It's raining pilot whales."
In Faroese: Tađ regnar av grind.
6. Finland: The direct translation (apparently) is "It's raining as from Esteri's ass," but a better interpretation is "It's raining like Esther sucks," which can be used for both rain and snow. The origin is disputed here, but the phrase comes either from an old brand of water pumps used by firemen, or a goddess Esteri who has mostly disappeared from history except for in this idiom. (Anyone have additional info on this story?)
In Finnish: Sataa kuin Esterin perseestä.
7. Germany: "It's raining puppies."
In German: Es regnet junge Hunde.
8. Greece: "It's raining chair legs."
In Greek: Rixnei kareklopodara. (?????? ?????????????)
9. Ireland: "It's throwing cobblers' knives."
In Irish: Tá sé ag caitheamh sceana gréasaí.
10. The Netherlands: "It's raining old women," and "It's raining pipestems."
In Dutch: Het regent oude wijven and Het regent pijpestelen.
11. Norway: "It's raining troll women," or "It's raining witches."
In Norwegian: Det regner trollkjerringer.
12. Poland, France, Romania: "It's raining frogs."
In Polish: Pada ?abami.
In French: Il pleut des grenouilles.
In Romanian: Plou? cu broa?te.
13. Portugal, Brazil, and other Portuguese-speaking countries: "It's raining pocketknives," and "It's raining frogs' beards."
In Portuguese: Está chovendo canivetes or Está chovendo barba de sapo.
14. Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia: "The rain kills the mice."
In Serbian: Pada kiša, ubi miša. (???? ???? ??? ????)
15. Slovakia, Czech Republic: "Tractors are falling."
In Slovak: Padajú traktory.
16. South Africa and Namibia: "It's raining old women with clubs."
In Afrikaans: Ou vrouens met knopkieries reen.