IdiomBody & Senses
Hebrew
Hebrewעל הפנים (al hapanim)
Meaning: Terrible, awful, in a wretched state.
Literally: On the face
Example: “השירות במסעדה היה על הפנים.” — The service at the restaurant was the pits.
English equivalent: The pits
Equivalents in other languages
English: the pits
Origin: "On the face": like someone who has fallen flat on their face. Israeli slang uses it for anything that is awful or a total failure, as in ha-seret haya al ha-panim (the film was terrible). No first use is documented.
More Hebrew idioms
- לאכול סרטים (Le'ekhol sratim) To overthink and imagine dramatic worst-case scenarios.
- קופצים על המציאה (Kofsim al hamtsi'a) To seize a great opportunity at once.
- תפסת מרובה לא תפסת (Tafasta merubah lo tafasta) Overreach for too much and you end up with nothing.
- שבר את הראש (shavar et harosh) To rack your brains over something.
- יצא מכליו (Yatsa miklav) To lose your temper; to be beside yourself.
- חבל על הזמן (Ḥaval ʿal ha-zman) Amazing, fantastic — though it literally means 'a waste of time'.
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- 石頭 (Ishiatama) A stubborn, inflexible person who won't budge.
- Tu as du chien You have a certain irresistible magnetism — a je-ne-sais-quoi that draws people in.
- Tu as la tête sur les épaules You're grounded, sensible, and dependable — not easily swept off course.
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