Quiz - Idioms in European languages

A group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words. Sounds too serious? Do not throw in the towel, we all use them on daily basis.

This year’s quiz has ended – replies were accepted until 6 October 2024. The name of the lucky winner of the gift bag will be announced on this site by 14 October 2024.

Correct answers

  1. In English we throw in the towel, the Spaniards throw the rope together with the bucket. Where do they throw a spear into a thorn bush (Baciti koplje u trnje)?
    a/ Croatia
    b/ Greece
    c/ Hungary
    correct answer: a/

  2. If we find ourselves in a miserable situation and our effort to get out of it gets us into a similarly bad situation, we have jumped out of the frying pan into the fire. Where do they „run from the wolf to the bear“ (Nuo vilko ant meškos)?
    a/ the Balkans
    b/ Baltic countries
    c/ Benelux
    correct answer: b/

  3. Czech idiom “Koupit zajíce v pytli“ means the same as “to buy a pig in a poke“ in English. What animal do they buy in a poke in Czechia?
    a/ a hare
    b/ a dog
    c/ a cat
    correct answer: a/

  4. If you have no bats in belfry, you are not out of the woods. They might come back eventually. Unless cuckoos take the belfry first. In the south, they have “little monkeys in the attic“ (macaquinhos no Sotão). Where exactly?
    a/ Spain
    b/ Greece
    c/ Portugal
    correct answer: c/

  5. “It is all Greek to me“ is an idiom expressing that something is difficult to understand. Where do the Germans find themselves if they do not have the slightest clue about what is going on?
    a/ a Czech village
    b/ a Czech film
    c/ a Russian village
    correct answer: a/ Für mich sind das böhmische Dörfer. Czech films confuse the Poles and Russian villages the Danes.

  6. For some French people it is not unusual to have a frog in their throat. In case of difficulty in speaking, they however refer to a different animal. Which one?
    a/ a rooster
    b/ a cat
    c/ a hedgehog 
    correct answer: b/ Avoir un chat dans la gorge. The rooster dwells in Swedish throats and the hedgehog in Hellenic throats.

  7. When you know something or someone very well, you say “I know it/him inside out.” Many European languages use a comparison to a very familiar object – to know something as one’s shoes, pocket etc. The Bulgarians know very well their…
    a/ fingers
    b/ hair
    c/ underwear
    correct answer: a/ да познаваш нещо като пръстите на ръцете си.

  8. In one European country they say that something is “expensive as hell“ (gholi infern) to express that something costs an arm and a leg. Where?
    a/ Malta
    b/ Portugal
    c/ Belgium
    correct answer: a/

  9. Comparing apples and oranges is considered a flaw in one’s logic. There is a wide selection of fruit and vegetables in Europe when it comes to this idiom: cabbage and carrots (FR), lettuce and cabbage (MT), garlic and oak apple (PT). Where do they compare apples and bananas (Sammenligne æbler og bananer)?
    a/ Slovakia
    b/ Denmark
    c/ Estonia
    correct answer: b/

  10. It is wise to save something for a rainy day. Rainy days come, don’t they? For what occasion do they save in Spain?
    a/ for times of skinny cows
    b/ for dark days
    c/ for wartime
    correct answer: a/ Para tiempos de vacas flacas