Kibújik a szög a zsákból
Meaning: The hidden truth comes out.
Language: Hungarian
Literally: The nail pokes out of the sack
Category: Daily Life
Origin: A sharp nail eventually pierces the bag concealing it, just as a secret betrays itself in the end.
Equivalents in other languages
- Dutch: Nu komt de aap uit de mouw — literally: Now the monkey comes out of the sleeve
- French: Découvrir le pot aux roses — literally: To discover the pot of roses
More idioms — Daily Life
- A o da în bară — To mess up or fail.
- İğneyle kuyu kazmak — To undertake a painfully slow, laborious task.
- حبل الكذب قصير (ḥabl al-kadhib qaṣīr) — Lies never last; they are soon exposed.
- نوشدارو بعد از مرگ سهراب (Nushdaroo ba'd az marg-e Sohraab) — A solution that arrives uselessly too late.
- קופצים על המציאה (Kofsim al hamtsi'a) — To seize a great opportunity at once.
- תפסת מרובה לא תפסת (Tafasta merubah lo tafasta) — Overreach for too much and you end up with nothing.
More Hungarian idioms
- Sok lúd disznót győz — There is strength in numbers.
- Lóvá tesz valakit — To dupe or make a fool of someone.
- Nem enged a negyvennyolcból — To stubbornly refuse to compromise.
- Felkopik az álla — To go hungry and be left with nothing.
- Lóg az eső lába — It looks like it's about to rain.
- Nem fenékig tejföl — It's not all rosy; things aren't as good as they seem.
From our proverbs
- When the cat winketh, little wots the mouse what the cat thinketh. — A predator's benign appearance masks hidden intentions; never trust surface calm from tho…
- Though the cat winks awhile, yet sure she is not blind. — Temporary inattention doesn't indicate genuine inability; the cat merely feigns sleep whi…
- A cat loves fish, but she's loth to wet her feet. — Desire for something doesn't overcome reluctance to pay its necessary cost or risk.