IdiomAnimals
Afrikaans
AfrikaansKoeitjies en kalfies
Meaning: Idle small talk.
Literally: Little cows and calves
Example: “Ons het oor koeitjies en kalfies gesels terwyl ons gewag het.” — We chewed the fat while we waited.
English equivalent: To chew the fat
Origin: From Dutch over koetjes en kalfjes praten (to talk about little cows and calves), recorded in Dutch in Justus van Effen's Hollandsche Spectator (1730s) for chatting about everyday trifles, as farmers talked about their animals. Afrikaans kept the phrase from its Dutch roots.
Equivalents in other languages
English: To chew the fat
Turkish: Havadan sudan konuşmak Literally: To talk of weather and water
More Afrikaans idioms
- So skaars soos hoendertande Extremely rare; almost non-existent.
- 'n Halwe eier is beter as 'n leë dop Half a loaf is better than none.
- Nou is die gort gaar Now we're really in trouble.
- Jakkals trou met wolf se vrou A sunshower — rain while the sun shines.
- Hy is van sy trollie af He has lost his mind.
Explore another collection: Untranslatable Words
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- Schadenfreude The guilty little pleasure of taking satisfaction in someone else's misfortune.
- Wabi-sabi Finding beauty in imperfection, impermanence, and the worn or incomplete.
- Tsundoku Buying books and letting them pile up unread — a habit, not a crime.
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