Að leggja höfuðið í bleyti

Meaning: To sleep on a problem and think hard about it.

Language: Icelandic

Literally: To put your head in soak

Category: Body & Senses

Origin: Soaking the head like a piece of laundry pictures letting a difficult question steep overnight.

More idioms — Body & Senses

• Að kasta til höndunum — To do a job carelessly and in haste.
• Að taka einhvern á beinið — To give someone a stern talking-to.
• Mať dlhé prsty — To be light-fingered; a thief.
• Biti ob živce — To be a nervous wreck.
• Sukti galvą — To rack your brains.
• Ņemt kāju pār plecu — To hurry off at once.

More Icelandic idioms

• Þetta reddast — Things will work out fine in the end.
• Að ganga með grasið í skónum — To be secretly in love or full of longing.
• Rúsínan í pylsuendanum — A pleasant, unexpected bonus at the very end.
• Að fara í geitarhús að leita ullar — To seek something where it can't possibly be found.
• Að leggja árar í bát — To give up and stop trying.

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