Maksaa maltaita
Meaning: To cost a fortune.
Language: Finnish
Literally: To cost malts
Category: Food & Drink
Origin: Malted grain for brewing was once a precious, taxed commodity in Finland, so paying in malts meant paying dearly.
Equivalents in other languages
- Spanish: Costar un ojo de la cara — literally: To cost an eye from the face
- English: To cost an arm and a leg — literally: To cost an arm and a leg
- French: Coûter un bras — literally: To cost an arm
- French: Coûter la peau des fesses / Coûter les yeux de la tête — literally: To cost the skin off one's backside / the eyes out of one's head
More idioms — Food & Drink
- Mít máslo na hlavě — To have a guilty conscience or something to hide.
- Nem fenékig tejföl — It's not all rosy; things aren't as good as they seem.
- Передати куті меду (Peredaty kuti medu) — To overdo something well past the right measure.
- نمکگیر شدن (namakgir shodan) — To feel bound by gratitude after sharing someone's food or hospitality.
- Ăn cháo đá bát — To be ungrateful and turn on those who helped you.
- Avoir un cœur d'artichaut — To fall in love easily and often.
More Finnish idioms
- Heittää lusikka nurkkaan — To die.
- Olla pipo kireällä — To be uptight, grumpy or in a foul mood.
- Päästä kuin koira veräjästä — To escape consequences entirely; to get off scot-free.
- Olla kuin Ellun kanat — To live a carefree, comfortable life.
- Vetää lonkalta — To improvise; to wing it.
- Mennä metsään — To go completely wrong.
From our proverbs
- One bad apple can spoil the whole bunch — Corruption spreads contagiously; a single morally compromised person can undermine an ent…
- One's time is one's own — (uncommon) A time when one's work or efforts in a certain setting are free from constant…
- On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog — Online anonymity removes social accountability, allowing anyone to misrepresent themselve…