Dělat z komára velblouda
Meaning: To blow something tiny wildly out of proportion.
Language: Czech
Literally: To make a camel out of a mosquito
Category: Animals
Origin: A Czech escalation of the molehill-into-mountain idea, leaping from the smallest pest to the most outlandishly large beast.
Equivalents in other languages
- Russian: Делать из мухи слона (Delat' iz mukhi slona) — literally: To make an elephant out of a fly
- French: Faire d'une mouche un éléphant — literally: To make an elephant out of a fly
- Arabic: يعمل من الحبة قبة (Ya'mal min al-ḥabba qubba) — literally: To build a dome out of a seed
- Romanian: A face din țânțar armăsar — literally: To make a stallion out of a mosquito
- Turkish: Pireyi deve yapmak — literally: To make a camel out of a flea
More idioms — Animals
- 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.
- ขี่ช้างจับตั๊กแตน — To use enormous means for a trivial result.
- Die Katze im Sack kaufen — To buy something sight unseen and get cheated.
More Czech idioms
- Spadnout z višně — To be naive and clueless about how things really work.
- Mít kliku — To be lucky.
- Házet flintu do žita — To give up prematurely.
- Mít všech pět pohromadě — To be of sound mind.
- Být v rejži — To be in trouble.
- Přijít s křížkem po funuse — To arrive uselessly too late.
From our compliments & insults
- Eres más bueno que el pan — You are a genuinely good, kind soul.
- Sei in gamba — You're sharp, capable, and on the ball.
- Sei un tesoro — You're a darling — precious to have around.