Havadan sudan konuşmak
Meaning: To make idle small talk.
Language: Turkish
Literally: To talk of weather and water
Category: Nature
Origin: Chatting about trivial, neutral things like the weather is the Turkish picture of light conversation.
Equivalents in other languages
- English: To chew the fat — literally: To chew the fat
- Afrikaans: Koeitjies en kalfies — literally: Little cows and calves
More idioms — Nature
- آب از سرش گذشته (âb az sarash gozashte) — It is already too late to save the situation.
- Sambil menyelam minum air — To accomplish two things in one go.
- Air tenang menghanyutkan — Quiet people can run surprisingly deep.
- Að ganga með grasið í skónum — To be secretly in love or full of longing.
- Mlatiti praznu slamu — To engage in pointless talk or effort.
- Bacati drvlje i kamenje — To hurl furious abuse at someone.
More Turkish idioms
- 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.
- İki ayağını bir pabuca sokmak — To rush and pressure someone relentlessly.
- Ayıkla pirincin taşını — Deal with it yourself; it's your mess.
- Nazar değmesin — Knock on wood; hope nothing ruins this good thing.
From our false friends
- 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.