away with the fairies
Meaning: Daydreaming, or not quite in touch with reality.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “Grandpa's been away with the fairies all afternoon, humming to himself in the garden.”
Category: The Absurd
Origin: From the folk belief in Britain and Ireland that fairies could carry people off, leaving them dazed or strange. The phrase is common in British and Irish English from the 20th century.
Equivalents in other languages
- Portuguese: Viajar na maionese — literally: To travel in the mayonnaise
More idioms — The Absurd
- something is rotten in the state of Denmark — Something is seriously wrong, often something being hidden.
- all hell breaks loose — Chaos and disorder suddenly erupt.
- Ça ne casse pas trois pattes à un canard — It's nothing special or impressive.
- C'est comme pisser dans un violon — A completely pointless effort.
- Da steppt der Bär — It's going to be a great party.
- Ich glaub mein Schwein pfeift — I can't believe it! That's outrageous!
More English idioms
- drop the ball — To make a mistake, especially by failing to do something one was responsible for.
- come out of the closet — To tell people openly that one is gay or lesbian; more broadly, to reveal something kept…
- neither here nor there — Not relevant to the matter being discussed.
- at this stage of the game — At this point in a process, usually when it is late to change things.
- get the hang of something — To learn how to do something.
- the eye of the storm — The center of a crisis; sometimes a brief calm in the middle of it.
From our proverbs
- Forced fruits fail in flavour. — Artificial acceleration of growth produces inferior results lacking the quality time natu…
- Eaten bread is soon forgotten. — Past favors fade from memory unless gratitude is cultivated and reinforced through contin…
- Friday's sail, sure to fail. — Sailors who depart on Friday face unpredictable winds and treacherous seas, making ventur…