Here's a good new year's resolution for you: make your speech more colourful. There's a wonderful guy on Twitter named Adam C Sharp who assiduously collects interesting turns of phrase from around the world. If you're on Twitter (we won't call it X), you should follow him.

Here are some of the ways he's found to say, 'You're pulling my leg.' Or, as I've often heard the Germans say, 'Du willst mich auf'n Arm nehmen.'

Scepticism Around the World

• Et mon cul, c'est du poulet? French for: Is my ass made of chicken?
• Lügenkuchen mit einer Glasur aus Scheisse. German for: Cakes with a glaze of manure.
• Also German: Erzähl mir nichts vom Pferd. Don't tell me about the horse.
• Shtuyot b'mitz agvaniot. Hebrew, meaning: That's nonsense in tomato juice.
• Nie múw mi ze za ma pióra. In Polish: Don't tell me that a frog has feathers.
• This one's from Africa: Usenga ezimithiyo.You're milking pregnant cows (isiZulu).
• Apekool is 'monkey cabbage' in Dutch.
• Bybiené is Lithuanian for 'a load of bull'. It means 'a soup of penises'.
• 'Rahat cu apa rece is Romanian for 'Turkish delight with cold water'. The utility of this phrase depends on your reaction to rahat lokum, a sticky Turkish confection that you either love or loathe.

Does your language or region have a particular way to speak jocularly about nonsense? Let us know. We will apply the phrases liberally when reporting on politicians.

Dmitri Gheorgheni

01.01.24 Front Page

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