10 Bizarre Swedish Sayings Explained
Three Star Vagabond Three Star Vagabond
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 Published On Mar 3, 2024

Sweden has some pretty interesting sayings and idioms. There's no cow on the ice. Now you've pooped in the blue cupboard. Sensing owls in the bog. What's the meaning behind all of them? And where did these expressions come from? In this video I dive into the strangest Swedish idioms and expressions I could find, and the etymology of them.

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The ten sayings that I'm exploring in this video are:

- "Lägga rabarber på" - putting rhubarbs on something, which essentially means to grab something for yourself.
- "Skitit i det blå skåpet" - pooped in the blue cupboard, which means that you made a big mistake.
- "Finns det hjärterum så finns det stjärterum" - if there's room in the heart, there's room for the butt.
- "Här blir inga barn gjorda" - no babies are being made here. Let's go do something productive instead.
- "När katten är borta dansar råttorna på bordet" - when the cat's gone, the rats are dancing on the table. The English equivalent would be when the cat's away, the mice will play.
- "Få betalt för gammal ost" - to get paid for old cheese, or to pay someone back for a bad deed.
- "Fastna med skägget i brevlådan" - getting stuck with the beard in the mailbox. To end up looking like a fool.
- "Ana ugglor i mossen" - sensing owls in the bog, which means to suspect that some foul play is afoot.
- "Ingen ko på isen" - no cow on the ice. This actually means that everything is fine.
- "Björntjänst" - a bear favor, a well-meaning favor that ends up hurting the recipient.

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