IdiomBody & Senses
Danish
DanishAt slå koldt vand i blodet
Meaning: To calm down and keep a cool head.
Literally: To pour cold water into the blood
Example: “Slå koldt vand i blodet, vi når det nok.” — Keep your cool; we'll make it.
English equivalent: Keep one's cool
Origin: "To pour cold water into the blood": cooling one's blood so as not to act in the heat of the moment. Danish also says koldblodig (cold-blooded) for calm, and German has kaltes Blut bewahren (to keep cold blood). The phrase is used as an order or advice, slå koldt vand i blodet!, calm down. No first use is documented.
Equivalents in other languages
Arabic: حط في بطنك بطيخة صيفي (ḥuṭṭ fī baṭnak baṭīkha ṣayfī) Literally: Put a summer watermelon in your belly
English: keep one's cool
More Danish idioms
- At gå agurk To go crazy or berserk.
- At have rotter på loftet To be a little crazy.
- 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.
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