Sunday, August 3, 2008

Global Idiomatic Wisdom

1. Сами с усами:
We weren't born yesterday. We didn't come down in the last shower.
(literally: "We have moustaches too").



2. No se pescan truchas a bragas enjutas:
No pain, no gain.
(literally: "One does not catch trout in tight pants").

3. Tá seacht ngalar na sléibhte orm:
I feel sick as a dog.
(literally: "The seven diseases of the mountains are upon me").

4. Avoir d'autres chats à fouetter:
To have other fish to fry.
(literally: "To have other cats to whip").

5. Panne d’oreiller:
A lie-in, sleep-in.
(literally: a "pillow failure").

6. Avoir un chat dans le gorge:
To have a frog (literally: "a cat") in one's throat.

7. Appuyer sur le champignon:
To put the pedal to the metal; to accelerate.
(literally: "to press the mushroom").

8. Eulen nach Athen tragen:
To bring coals to Newcastle.
(literally: "to bring owls to Athens").

9. Das letzte Hemd hat keine Taschen:
You can't take it with you.
(literally: "A shroud has no pockets").

10. Mедведь на ухо наступил:
Said of someone who has no ear for music.
(literally: "A bear has crushed his ear").

Buenos Aires

I heard back from the apartment rental folks in Buenos Aires, who confirmed my reservation for this apartment:

link to apartment at Cordoba and Uruguay

It seems very centrally located, and - as far as I can judge* - is about 8 to 10 blocks from the school.

As it gets closer to my departure date, I'm hitting my Spanish books again, and am getting excited about the trip.

*: An oddity of google maps is a complete lack of the street overlay option for Buenos Aires, and for cities throughout Argentina, as far as I can ascertain. Whatever subvariation of Murphy's Law that governs maps naturally ensures that the location of the school vanishes into the fold of the book in my Fodor's guide, which makes it a little hard to figure things out exactly.