if there's one thing that i think is really fun in this world, it's comparing idioms across languages. the ones that have equivalents and the ones that don't are equally delightful.

tonight i got to talking about this with my housemates, who are from lithuania. i'm english and have spent a portion of my life in thailand, so we had 3 languages to compare notes across. the best discovery was that the english 'out of the frying pan and into the fire' has much more zoological equivalents in the other languages: the thai 'escape from the tiger and meet the crocodile' and the lithuanian 'flee from the wolf and you may run into a bear'.

other particularly evocative things they have taught me are the insult 'a peppery goat' and to say a person or animal is clingy by calling them 'a wet leaf'

i'd love to hear any favourites from speakers of other languages!

Finished my Lithuanian course today with an oral exam. Got a ten. Do I feel like I know the language? Well, no. It's about an A1/A2, which doesn't feel like knowing the language. BUT, I had very little difficulty finding the words and expressions to answer questions. Which is absolutely something.

Remembered my fave latvian/lithuanian false friend. The words for deer and elk are flipped.

Briedis, alnis = elnias, briedis.