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Comment on What is a metaphor you like in your language?

Argentine here! Some of my favourites:

" Para andar a los pedos más vale cagarse "

Roughly translates to: “better shit yourself instead of going farting around” Worth noting: “andar a los pedos” also means being in a hurry.

" _A caballo regalado no se le mira los dientes _ "

Roughly translates to: “Don’t look at the teeth of a gifted horse”, meaning you don’t look for defects in things that have been handed to you.

" Siempre hay un roto para un descosido "

I think the English equivalent is “there’s a lid for every pot”.

" Lo atamos con alambre "

Translates to: “tie it down with wire”. Usually refers to get something going even if it’s barebones or a shaky fix.

I’ll be thinking of more and maybe drop another comment later.

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BmeBenji@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
I like the horse one way more than the English saying “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” Yours makes way more sense

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- corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  
  “Don’t look at the teeth of a gifted horse”
  
  “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” Yours makes way more sense
  
  Um, it’s the same statement: One could be a direct translation of the other. How can one make more sense?
  
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  - BmeBenji@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    One is phrased with specificity, implying the action is extremely particular. The other one makes it sound like the horse is likely to bite you if you’re looking in its mouth too closely
    
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    zealshock@slrpnk.net ⁨23⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    I always thought it was about how good were the horse’s teeth, since older horses usually get dental health issues and that usually has to do with how much care it had and / or it’s age.
    
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    AppaYipYip@lemmy.world ⁨18⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    So I think the “horse is likely to bite you if you’re looking in its mouth too closely” is an assumption we both had about this phrase. I grew up in the suburbs and rarely saw horses so I assumed this phrase was about it possibly bitting. However I now live in a more rural area and horses are pretty sweet and the only reason anyone looks in their mouth is to make sure they’re healthy or figure their age. I’m guessing you, like me, also grew up not around horses so we assumed the English version means something different than it probably did in the past when horses were common place.
    
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