IdiomAnimals
Romanian
RomanianA tăia frunză la câini
Meaning: To do pointless work; to idle away the day.
Literally: To cut leaves for the dogs
Example: “Toată vara a tăiat frunză la câini în loc să-și caute de lucru.” — He was bone idle all summer instead of looking for work.
English equivalent: To be bone idle
Origin: Dogs do not eat leaves, so cutting leaves for them is work with no purpose. A tăia frunză la câini is to idle about, doing nothing useful. The phrase is colloquial Romanian with no particular story behind it.
Equivalents in other languages
French: Avoir un poil dans la main Literally: To have a hair in the hand
English: be bone idle
More Romanian idioms
- 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.
- A se face luntre și punte To do absolutely everything to help.
- A freca menta To waste time; to loaf around doing nothing useful.
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- Eres más lento que el caballo del malo You're painfully slow — the villain's horse never catches the hero.
- Testa di rapa A blockhead who isn't thinking.
- Du hast doch einen Vogel You're a bit out of your mind.
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