IdiomDaily Life
Turkish
TurkishEtekleri zil çalıyor
Meaning: To be visibly bursting with joy.
Literally: Their skirts are ringing bells
Example: “Sınavı geçtiğini öğrenince etekleri zil çalıyordu.” — When she found out she'd passed the exam, she was over the moon.
English equivalent: To be over the moon
Equivalents in other languages
English: be on cloud nine
German: Aus dem Häuschen sein Literally: To be out of your little house
French: Être aux anges Literally: To be at the angels- English: be over the moon
Origin: "Their skirts are ringing bells": said of someone so happy and excited that they can hardly keep still. The usual explanation is the dancers of the Ottoman period, whose skirts were hung with little bells; the story is traditional rather than documented.
More Turkish idioms
- Pabucu dama atılmak To fall out of favor and be cast aside.
- İğneyle kuyu kazmak To undertake a painfully slow, laborious task.
- Havadan sudan konuşmak To make idle small talk.
- Pireyi deve yapmak To blow something tiny out of all proportion.
- Armudun sapı var, üzümün çöpü var To find fault with absolutely everything.
- Pabuç pahalı Things are getting dangerous; time to be careful.
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