IdiomAnimals
Romanian
RomanianA umbla cu cioara vopsită
Meaning: To try to deceive people with falsehoods.
Literally: To go around with a painted crow
Example: “Nu mai umbla cu cioara vopsită, știu că n-ai fost la bibliotecă.” — Stop trying to pull the wool over my eyes; I know you weren't at the library.
English equivalent: To pull the wool over someone's eyes
Origin: "To go around with a painted crow": trying to pass off a crow, painted to look like a finer bird, as something it is not. The phrase means trying to deceive people with lies. No particular story is documented behind it.
Equivalents in other languages
French: Raconter des salades Literally: To tell salads
Russian: Не вешай лапшу на уши (Ne veshay lapshu na ushi) Literally: Don't hang noodles on my ears
Latvian: Pūst pīlītes Literally: To blow little ducks- Russian: пудрить мозги (pudrit' mozgi) Literally: To powder the brains
English: pull the wool over someone's eyes- French: Jeter de la poudre aux yeux Literally: To throw powder in the eyes
- English: tell tall tales
More Romanian idioms
- A se face luntre și punte To do absolutely everything to help.
- A freca menta To waste time; to loaf around doing nothing useful.
- A-i pica fisa To finally understand something.
- 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.
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