IdiomDaily Life
Turkish
Turkishİğneyle kuyu kazmak
Meaning: To undertake a painfully slow, laborious task.
Literally: To dig a well with a needle
Example: “Tek başına bir sözlük yazmak iğneyle kuyu kazmak gibi.” — Writing a dictionary on your own is an uphill battle.
English equivalent: An uphill battle
Origin: Digging a well with a needle is a task so slow it seems endless. The phrase is used of patient, painstaking work that takes great effort for slow progress, such as learning a language or writing a dictionary. No particular story lies behind it.
Equivalents in other languages
Urdu: لوہے کے چنے چبانا (lohe ke chane chabana) Literally: To chew chickpeas of iron
English: an uphill battle
More Turkish idioms
- 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.
- İki ayağını bir pabuca sokmak To rush and pressure someone relentlessly.
- Bir taşla iki kuş vurmak To get two results from a single action.
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