Anar a pams
Meaning: To proceed carefully, step by step.
Language: Catalan
Literally: To go by hand-spans
Category: Body & Senses
Origin: Measuring out a single hand-span at a time pictures slow, methodical, unhurried progress.
Equivalents in other languages
- Dutch: De kat uit de boom kijken — literally: To watch the cat out of the tree
- Japanese: 石橋を叩いて渡る (Ishibashi o tataite wataru) — literally: To tap a stone bridge before crossing
More idioms — Body & Senses
- Tocar el dos — To clear off; to leave in a hurry.
- Að leggja höfuðið í bleyti — To sleep on a problem and think hard about it.
- 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.
More Catalan idioms
- Fer figa — To give way or fail — of legs, knees or a plan.
- Fer dissabte — To give the house a big clean-up.
- Anar de bòlit — To be rushed off your feet.
- Pixar fora de test — To go off topic or be plainly mistaken.
- N'hi ha per llogar-hi cadires — The drama is so good it's worth watching like a show.
- Déu n'hi do — Wow — that's quite something.