Ei ole kaikki muumit laaksossa
Meaning: Someone isn't quite all there.
Language: Finnish
Literally: Not all the Moomins are in the valley
Category: The Absurd
Origin: A distinctly Finnish twist on 'not the full shilling', borrowing Tove Jansson's beloved Moomin characters and their valley home.
Equivalents in other languages
- Danish: At have rotter på loftet — literally: To have rats in the attic
- French: Avoir une araignée au plafond — literally: To have a spider on the ceiling
More idioms — The Absurd
- לאכול סרטים (Le'ekhol sratim) — To overthink and imagine dramatic worst-case scenarios.
- خر بیار و باقالی بار کن (khar biyār o bāqālī bār kon) — Utter chaos; an endless, overwhelming mess.
- Da wird der Hund in der Pfanne verrückt — An exclamation of utter disbelief.
- 杯弓蛇影 (bēi gōng shé yǐng) — To frighten yourself with imaginary fears.
- Μου άναψες τα λαμπάκια — You made me furious.
- नौ दो ग्यारह होना (nau do gyaarah hona) — To flee or run away quickly.
More Finnish idioms
- Maksaa maltaita — To cost a fortune.
- Heittää lusikka nurkkaan — To die.
- Olla pipo kireällä — To be uptight, grumpy or in a foul mood.
- Päästä kuin koira veräjästä — To escape consequences entirely; to get off scot-free.
- Olla kuin Ellun kanat — To live a carefree, comfortable life.
- Vetää lonkalta — To improvise; to wing it.
From our tongue twisters
- 黑化肥发黑会挥发；灰化肥发灰会挥发。(Hēihuàféi fā hēi huì huīfā; huīhuàféi fā huī huì huīfā.) — A 'hēi/huī/huì/fā' four-tone minefield — the tones alone change every meaning.
- De kat krabt de krullen van de trap. — A 'kr' cluster drill — Dutch consonant pileups that beginners approach with dread.
- Als vliegen achter vliegen vliegen, vliegen vliegen vliegen achterna. — The same noun/verb homograph trap as the German version — vliegen does triple duty.