Τα έκανε θάλασσα
Meaning: He made a complete mess of it.
Language: Greek
Literally: He turned it all into a sea
Category: Nature
Origin: Seafaring Greece pictured a botched job as a swamped deck — everything underwater, nothing where it should be.
Equivalents in other languages
- Portuguese: Pisar na bola — literally: To step on the ball
- Spanish: No dar pie con bola — literally: To not give foot to ball
More idioms — Nature
- Je to za vodou — To be out of trouble; home free.
- Spadnout z višně — To be naive and clueless about how things really work.
- Lóg az eső lába — It looks like it's about to rain.
- Як сніг на голову (Yak snih na holovu) — Completely out of the blue; totally unexpected.
- น้ำขึ้นให้รีบตัก — Seize an opportunity while it lasts.
- ชักแม่น้ำทั้งห้า — To give a long-winded, roundabout justification before getting to the point.
More Greek idioms
- Μου άναψες τα λαμπάκια — You made me furious.
- Τρώω κουτόχορτο — To be gullible and easily fooled.
- Μου έφυγε το καφάσι — I was utterly shocked.
- Άλλα λόγια ν' αγαπιόμαστε — You're dodging the point or talking nonsense.
- Κάνω την πάπια — To feign ignorance; to play dumb.
- Τρώω πόρτα — To be refused entry or turned down flat.
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.