In October, we celebrated World Animal Day. Have you ever wondered how many expressions involving animals there are in your mother tongue?
Test your knowledge of these expressions and their equivalents when translated from other European languages with this short quiz: (several answers possible)
1-What does this expression mean: “prendere due piccioni con una fava” (Italian)?
- a) To make two hits with one stone
- b) To solve two problems with one solution
- c) To kill two birds with one stone
2- What does this expression mean: “Ne fais pas ta poule mouillée!”(French)?
- a) Don’t be a frog!
- b) Don’t chicken out!
- c) Don’t be afraid of jumping off the cliff!
3- What does this expression mean:“Det regner trollkjerringer.” (Norwegian)?
- a) It is raining cats and dogs
- b) You will wake up underwater
- c) It’s raining like a pissing cow
4- What does this expression mean: “aus einer Mücke einen Elefanten machen”(German)?
- a) To exaggerate something that happened to you
- b) To take someone for what he/she is not
- c) A small beast won’t eat a big one like you
- d) To make a mountain out of a molehill
5- What does this expression mean: “buscar tres pies al gato” (Spanish)?
- a) To look for the white wolf
- b) To complicate simple things
- c) To look for noon at 2pm
Answer 1: All answers are correct. c) is the same expression in English, b) what it means, a) the literal translation of the same expression in French: “faire d’une pierre deux coups”
Answer 2: Answers a) and b) are correct. Answer b) is the same expression in English and answer a) the literal translation of the German expression:”sei kein Frosch”
Answer 3: Answers a) and c) are correct. It’s raining cats and dogs is the well-known English version while c) is the translation of a slang expression in French: “il pleut comme vache qui pisse”
Answer 4: Answers a) and d) are correct. In Italian as well the same expression is used, just with a different insect: “fare di una mosca un elefante”. Fun fact: answer c) is the translation of what you say in French when someone is afraid of a spider or an insect: “les petites bêtes ne mangent pas les grosses”
Answer 5: Answers b) and c) are correct, b) is the explanation and c) is again the literal translation of the same expression in French: “(il ne) faut pas chercher midi à 14h”
If you liked this quiz and want to learn more expressions in your working languages or just want to try to spot these ones, take a look at our speeches about animals in different languages. Do not be a wet chicken- have fun!