a monkey's wedding
Meaning: A sunshower, when rain falls while the sun shines.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “Grab the washing; it's a monkey's wedding out there.”
Category: Animals
Origin: South African English, often linked to the Portuguese "casamento de macaco"; many languages have a wedding-of-animals name for the sunshower.
Equivalents in other languages
- Afrikaans: Jakkals trou met wolf se vrou — literally: Jackal marries wolf's wife
More idioms — Animals
- as scarce as hen's teeth — Extremely rare.
- like a headless chicken — In a frantic, disorganized way.
- Ça ne casse pas trois pattes à un canard — It's nothing special or impressive.
- Avoir le cafard — To feel depressed or down.
- Poser un lapin — To stand someone up on a date.
- Avoir d'autres chats à fouetter — To have more important things to do.
More English idioms
- off one's trolley — Crazy or foolish.
- half a loaf is better than none — Getting part of what you want is better than getting nothing.
- have a big mouth — To talk too much, especially about things that should be kept secret.
- an army marches on its stomach — People cannot work well without food.
- come down hard on someone — To punish or criticize someone severely.
- when it rains, it pours — Bad things tend to happen together.
From our proverbs
- Wool sellers know wool buyers. — Those sharing similar interests or professions understand each other's needs and motivati…
- Few words are best. — Silence demonstrates wisdom; excessive talk reveals ignorance and wastes others' time.
- Wranglers never want words. — Quarrelsome people exhaust themselves through constant conflict rather than resolving dis…