IdiomThe Absurd
Hebrew
Hebrewלאכול סרטים (Le'ekhol sratim)
Meaning: To overthink and imagine dramatic worst-case scenarios.
Literally: To eat films
Example: “הוא לא ענה לטלפון, ואני כבר אוכלת סרטים.” — He hasn't answered his phone and I'm already afraid of my own shadow.
English equivalent: To be afraid of one's own shadow
Equivalents in other languages
Chinese: 杯弓蛇影 (bēi gōng shé yǐng) Literally: Bow in the cup, snake in the reflection
English: be afraid of one's own shadow
Origin: "To eat films": to imagine dramatic worst-case scenarios, as if watching one's own disaster movies. The phrase is modern Israeli slang, and no first use is documented.
More Hebrew idioms
- 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.
- שבר את הראש (shavar et harosh) To rack your brains over something.
- יצא מכליו (Yatsa miklav) To lose your temper; to be beside yourself.
- חבל על הזמן (Ḥaval ʿal ha-zman) Amazing, fantastic — though it literally means 'a waste of time'.
- על הפנים (al hapanim) Terrible, awful, in a wretched state.
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- Camera Actually means 'room'. A camera (device) is una macchina fotografica.
- Pretendere Actually means 'to demand' or 'to expect'. Pretende troppo = He demands too much.
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