A freca menta
Meaning: To waste time; to loaf around doing nothing useful.
Language: Romanian
Literally: To rub the mint
Category: Daily Life
Origin: Said to come from idle shop boys with nothing to do but rub fragrant mint leaves between their fingers.
Equivalents in other languages
- Japanese: 油を売る (Abura ouru) — literally: To sell oil
- Italian: Stare con le mani in mano — literally: To stand with your hands in your hand
- Russian: Бить баклуши (Bit' baklushi) — literally: To beat the baklushi
More idioms — Daily Life
- A-i pica fisa — To finally understand something.
- חבל על הזמן (Ḥaval ʿal ha-zman) — Amazing, fantastic — though it literally means 'a waste of time'.
- בא לי (ba li) — I feel like it; I'm in the mood for it.
- قربونت برم (ghorbunet beram) — An affectionate thank-you or term of endearment — 'you're so dear to me'.
- زیر آب کسی را زدن (Zir-e āb-e kasi rā zadan) — To secretly sabotage or betray someone behind their back.
- Tong kosong nyaring bunyinya — Those who know the least often talk the most.
More Romanian idioms
- A se uita ca pisica în calendar — To stare blankly, understanding nothing.
- A tăia frunză la câini — To do pointless work; to idle away the day.
- A o da în bară — To mess up or fail.
- A face din țânțar armăsar — To exaggerate something enormously.
- A tăcea ca porcul în păpușoi — To keep guiltily quiet.
- A umbla cu cioara vopsită — To try to deceive people with falsehoods.
From our untranslatable words
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