go around the houses

Meaning: To take a needlessly long or roundabout way.

Language: English

Literally: (Already vivid in English)

Example: “Stop going around the houses and tell me what you want.”

Category: Daily Life

Origin: Walking the long way around a block of houses instead of cutting through. The phrase is chiefly British, common from the 20th century.

Equivalents in other languages

Japanese: 二階から目薬 (Nikai kara megusuri) — literally: Eye drops from the second floor
Danish: At gå over åen efter vand — literally: To cross the stream to fetch water

do the heavy lifting — To do the hardest part of a job.
a bad workman blames his tools — People who do poor work blame their equipment instead of themselves.
ask for trouble — To behave in a way likely to cause problems for oneself.
worth the price of admission — So entertaining that it would be worth paying to watch.
out of this world — Wonderful; extraordinarily good.
the pits — The worst; extremely bad.

pull a long face — To look sad, sulky or disappointed.
rushed off one's feet — Extremely busy.
the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence — Other people's situations always seem better than one's own.
every cloud has a silver lining — Something good can come out of any bad situation.
sleep on it — To delay a decision until the next day to think it over.
it'll all come out in the wash — Things will work out in the end.

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.