Σιγά τα λάχανα
Meaning: Big deal! (extreme sarcasm)
Language: Greek
Literally: Easy with the cabbages!
Category: Food & Drink
Origin: Two rival theories compete, and neither is confirmed. Writer Takis Natsoulis traces it to a specific pre-1821 village incident: an Ottoman bey's tax collector arrived to gather the customary tithe, and the villagers, hoping to avoid paying, insisted their vegetable harvest had gone completely unsold that year — the phrase supposedly preserving that transparent, unconvincing excuse. A second, considerably older theory reaches instead for ancient Greek comic oath-taking: "μὰ τὰς κράμβας" (by the cabbages), a deliberately absurd, non-serious substitute for swearing by a god, used specifically to signal that whatever was being said shouldn't be taken too seriously. Either way, the modern phrase keeps the same core function — dismissing something as far less significant or impressive than it's being made out to be.
More idioms — Food & Drink
- Ayıkla pirincin taşını — Deal with it yourself; it's your mess.
- Armut piş, ağzıma düş — Wanting everything handed to you without effort.
- Avoir le beurre et l'argent du beurre — To want to have it both ways.
- Faire la fine bouche — To be overly picky or hard to please.
- Tourner autour du pot — To beat around the bush.
- Casser du sucre sur le dos de quelqu'un — To talk behind someone's back.
More Greek idioms
- Τρώω τα νύχια μου — I'm extremely anxious and impatient.
- Φέρνω νερό στο μύλο κάποιου — Unwittingly help someone achieve their own goals while thinking you're working against th…
- Τα έκανε θάλασσα — He made a complete mess of it.
- Μου άναψες τα λαμπάκια — You made me furious.
- Τρώω κουτόχορτο — To be gullible and easily fooled.
- Μου έφυγε το καφάσι — I was utterly shocked.
From our tongue twisters
- A aranha arranha a rã. A rã arranha a aranha. — Contrasts the soft single r of aranha against the hard rolled rr of arranha — one letter…
- 네가 그린 기린 그림은 못 그린 기린 그림이고 내가 그린 기린 그림은 잘 그린 기린 그림이다. (Nega geurin girin geurimeun mot geurin girin geurimigo, naega geurin girin geurimeun jal geurin girin geurimida.) — geurin, girin and geurim rotate through nearly the same syllables with only the vowel mov…
- 앞 집 팥죽은 붉은 팥 풋팥죽이고, 뒷집 콩죽은 햇콩 단콩 콩죽이다. (Ap jip patjugeun bulgeun pat put-patjugigo, dwitjip kongjugeun haetkong dankong kongjugida.) — Stacks Korean's aspirated p and k against the final consonants, so every word ends where…