At have rotter på loftet
Meaning: To be a little crazy.
Language: Danish
Literally: To have rats in the attic
Category: Animals
Origin: The head as a house with vermin scurrying around upstairs — a Scandinavian cousin of 'bats in the belfry'.
Equivalents in other languages
- Finnish: Ei ole kaikki muumit laaksossa — literally: Not all the Moomins are in the valley
- French: Avoir une araignée au plafond — literally: To have a spider on the ceiling
More idioms — Animals
- Päästä kuin koira veräjästä — To escape consequences entirely; to get off scot-free.
- Dělat z komára velblouda — To blow something tiny wildly out of proportion.
- Egyik kutya, másik eb — Two things are exactly the same; six of one, half a dozen of the other.
- Bagoly mondja verébnek, hogy nagyfejű — The pot calling the kettle black.
- 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.
More Danish idioms
- Det blæser en halv pelikan — It is extremely windy.
- At tisse i bukserne for at holde varmen — A quick fix that makes the problem worse soon after.
- At save den gren over man selv sidder på — To undermine your own position.
- At gå over åen efter vand — To do something in a needlessly roundabout way.
- At trække det store læs — To do the heavy lifting and carry the work.
- At træde i spinaten — To put your foot in it; to blunder.
From our compliments & insults
- Eres más corto que las mangas de un chaleco — You're not the sharpest — a bit slow on the uptake.
- Du bist nicht die hellste Kerze auf der Torte — You're a little dim — not the smartest in the room.
- Tu as une cervelle de moineau — You're scatterbrained and forgetful.