метать бисер перед свиньями (metat' biser pered svin'yami)

Meaning: To offer something precious or refined to someone incapable of appreciating it.

Literally: To cast pearls before swine

Example: “Объяснять ему оперу — метать бисер перед свиньями.” — Explaining opera to him is casting pearls before swine.

English equivalent: To cast pearls before swine

Equivalents in other languages

Japanese: 猫に小判 (Neko ni koban) Literally: A gold coin to a cat
Hindi: बंदर क्या जाने अदरक का स्वाद (bandar kya jaane adrak ka svaad) Literally: What does a monkey know about the taste of ginger?
Arabic: اللي ما يعرف الصقر يشويه (illi ma yaʿrif al-ṣaqr yishwīh) Literally: He who doesn't know the falcon, grills it
Swedish: kasta pärlor för svin Literally: Cast pearls before swine
English: cast pearls before swine
French: Donner de la confiture à un cochon Literally: To give jam to a pig

Origin: A biblical image from Matthew 7:6, where Jesus warns against giving holy things to those who will trample them.

сушить сухари (sushit' sukhari) To prepare oneself mentally and materially for imprisonment or arrest.
чепуха на постном масле (chepukha na postnom masle) Complete and utter nonsense or rubbish.
пан или пропал (pan ili propal) To risk everything on a single venture; all or nothing, sink or swim.
до посинения (do posineniya) To do something with extreme effort or persistence, usually futilely.
горе луковое (gore lukovoye) A person who is accident-prone, hapless, or bumbling; one who causes trouble by their own…
огород городить (ogorod gorodit') To start a laborious and pointless undertaking; to make a big fuss over nothing.

Compliments and insults from around the world, from the sweet to the savage.

У тебя золотые руки (u tebya zolotye ruki) You're extraordinarily skilled — able to make or fix anything with your hands.
Золотые руки (Zolotye ruki) You're wonderfully skilled with your hands — a true master at making and fixing things.
Без царя в голове (Bez tsarya v golove) Foolish and reckless — with no one in charge upstairs.

Keep exploring