Euphemisms and Idioms

Your squid just got fried!.

Conversing entirely in Cantonese is a struggle for me with my limited vocabulary of the Chinese language. And having a dialogue with my mom-in-law is the biggest challenge as she does not speak English.

Me: How's Grand Aunt?

Mom-in-law : Gone to sell salted eggs.

Me: I didn't know she was in the salted egg business.

My mom-in-law burst into laughter, shaking her head at me. OOPS! Caught again! Dang those euphemisms! The Chinese language is full of them.

''Sell salted eggs" is the Cantonese euphemism for croaked, bite the dust, six feet under, kicked the bucket or pushing up daisies. You get the picture.

I didn't know what a camel-toe and the phrase "Aunt Flo is in town" were until I started blogging!

Here's a list for the verbally -challenged

1. Bat in the cave
Booger stuck in the nose

2. Step on a frog
To pass gas loudly

3. I’ve got the flags out
Having your period (Australia)

4.Burp the baby
Male masturbation

5. Up the duff
Unplanned pregnancy ( UK and Australia)

6. Pinch a loaf
Defaecate

7. Driving the porcelain bus
Puking (Australia)

9. Fried squid (Chinese)
Getting fired

Funnily, the Malays seem to have something against the chicken as you can see from the following idioms. Poor bird! Ayam is chicken in Malay.

1. Chicken scratch ( cakar ayam)
Bad handwriting

2. As warm as chicken poop ( hangat-hangat tahi ayam)
A short-lived interest (chicken poop cools as soon as it reaches the ground)

3. Mother hen (ibu ayam)
Prostitute

4. Like a chicken pooping chalk (seperti ayam berak kapur)
Looking pale when one is unwell.

And what's with the Yiddish and onions!!

1. He should grow like an onion with his head in the ground
Go take a hike

2. Onions should grow from your navel
An insult

3. Onion tears
Crocodile tears

Do you have an interesting idiom/euphemism to share?

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