Things that make you go hmmm...
 

I'm from Canada and last night I got to think about some of the strange phrases you can hear locally. For instance we have such lovely illustrative phrases as to "piss like a race horse" and "mad as a skinned cat". Also had an odd reaction from folks lately when I described people as "rubber knecking" as they crained to get a better look at an accident as they drove by.

I was just wondering on your travels what are some of the more colourful and interesting phrases you've heard. Especially the ones where you do a double take and go "huh?" cause they're just so odd.

There is a Dutch saying which translates as "don't stand in the sun if you have butter on your head" -- the meaning: tell the truth in order to have a clear conscience.

..big six and a small seven

..no flies on him (her)

..dumb as a fox

Whereas our roosters say,"Cock a doodle do", the French ones say,"Co co ri co!".
:-)

I've always thought some of the funniest ones were:
His elevator doesn't go to the top floor.
He's a sandwich short of a picnic.
and a whole list of similar ones.

I have heard all kinds of expressions when I first came to live in the US. However the one that really puzzled me and could not figure out was;
" Good Night and dont let the bed bugs bite...(Yack)
Even now after all these years,it does not makes sense..

Patrick, how about "Not the brightest porch light on the block"?

Patrick, Another one for you: Last evening we were having dinner with some friends, and one said a guy's driveway didn't go all the way to the road...I hadn't heard that one before!

The biting bugs is not US alone.

We were brought up (in Scotland) with

Night, night, sleep tight
Don't let the bugs bite
If they bite, squeeze them tight
They won't come back another night.

I tell the cats every night "sleep tight, don't let the bugs bite." Dad said that to us all the time.

Also - "at sixes and sevens" - meaning in between things; not sure which way to go.

Another that confused a Mexican friend: at starting something, "Now, then . . . ." Which? he asked.

"Not the brightest star in the night sky."

A favourite British saying, one used by my Aunt Beryl: She's so daft that Grace Poole is her gaoler. (Americans may not get it unless they are literary.)

When I arrived in this exotic land of New York City, my husband would say that something was " six of one, half dozen of the other"
A definite cause for me to go "huh?"

I like the way the British use the word piss...so many uses! who knew??

Not the brightest bulb in our chandelier

Some Australianisms for you. Mad as a cut snake. He's got kangaroos loose in his top paddock.

Not the sharpest tool in the shed.

doesn't have both oars in the water

the lights are on but nobody's home


but what's with "dressed to the nines"?

What about "daft as a brush" :D

And also some of the interesting Scottish slang words meaning disgusting: boggin', hummin' (= smelly), mingin', bowfin', clingin' were just some of the adjectives in use when I was at school. Also "barry" meaning great, and "rat-arsed" for drunk.

We had a fellow from the UK visiting us here in the states, and thought it a bit odd when he said he was going to put on his 'jumper' and his 'trainers'.
In the US, we call them sweaters and sneakers!

Local for Coloradoans: She hasn't been a girl since Pikes Peak was a hole in the ground.

For Patrick: One brick short (of a full load).

If something was worn out and ready to go in the garbage, my mom would say that "it had the biscuit."
As in "these socks have had the biscuit", or "isn't it time to throw away those old pajamas? They've really had the biscuit."
Huh? If anyone is able to explain the origin of that one, I'd be eternally grateful :)