IdiomFood & Drink
Portuguese
Portuguesenem carne nem peixe
Meaning: Something or someone that does not fit into any clear category and remains ambiguous or undefined.
Literally: Neither meat nor fish
Example: “O novo partido não é nem carne nem peixe.” — The new party is neither fish nor fowl.
English equivalent: Neither fish nor fowl
Equivalents in other languages
French: Ni chair ni poisson Literally: Neither flesh nor fish
English: neither fish nor fowl
Origin: The usual explanation is the Christian calendar, in which meat and fish were the two kinds of food that counted: meat on ordinary days, fish on fast days. Something that is neither is hard to classify and fits nowhere. The phrase is shared with English "neither fish nor flesh" and German weder Fisch noch Fleisch.
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