
IdiomDaily Life
Swedish
få bukt med
Meaning: To overcome, resolve, or take control of a difficult problem or challenging situation.
Literally: To get a loop around
Example: “Skolan har äntligen fått bukt med mobbningen.” — The school has finally got to grips with the bullying.
English equivalent: To get to grips with something
Equivalents in other languages
English: get to grips with something
Origin: Bukt is a bend or loop, as in a bay or a coil of rope. Getting a loop around something is getting it under control, the way a rope is thrown around an animal or a load. No first use is documented.
More Swedish idioms
- få betalt för gammal ost To be punished or retaliated against for a past wrong, to receive belated payback.
- tidens tand The slow decay and wearing away of things through the passage of time, the gradual damage…
- ha luktat krutrök To be experienced in battle or conflict; to have been tested under fire.
- ingen ko på isen There is no danger or immediate problem; the situation is safe.
- djungelns lag Survival of the fittest; a state of lawlessness where brutal competition and violence det…
- reta gallfeber på To infuriate or enrage someone intensely.
Explore another collection: False Friends
Words that look familiar in another language but mean something else entirely.
- Sensible Actually means 'sensitive'. For sensible/level-headed, say raisonnable.
- Librairie Actually means 'bookshop'. A library is une bibliothèque.
- Constipado Actually means 'having a head cold'. Estoy constipado = I have a cold.
Keep exploring