Olla kuin Ellun kanat
Meaning: To live a carefree, comfortable life.
Language: Finnish
Literally: To be like Ellu's hens
Category: Animals
Origin: An early-1900s Helsinki cabby named Ellu let his hens roam freely, and they became the picture of an easy existence.
More idioms — Animals
- Sok lúd disznót győz — There is strength in numbers.
- Lóvá tesz valakit — To dupe or make a fool of someone.
- A face din țânțar armăsar — To exaggerate something enormously.
- A tăcea ca porcul în păpușoi — To keep guiltily quiet.
- Pireyi deve yapmak — To blow something tiny out of all proportion.
- الجمل ما يشوف عوجة رقبته (Al-jamal mā yshūf 'awjat raqabatuh) — People are blind to their own faults.
More Finnish idioms
- Vetää lonkalta — To improvise; to wing it.
- Mennä metsään — To go completely wrong.
- Olla pinna kireällä — To be on edge and short-tempered.
- Lyödä rahoiksi — To cash in; to profit handsomely.
- Ei ole kaikki muumit laaksossa — Someone isn't quite all there.
- Maksaa maltaita — To cost a fortune.
From our tongue twisters
- Apelle figlio di Apollo fece una palla di pelle di pollo e tutti i principi della città di Capua la palpeggiarono. — A wall of 'p/ll/l/a' that seems to grow longer as you speak it faster.
- Se la serpe si avvicina alla siepe del serpente, il serpente scappa dalla siepe. — A sibilant 's/se/si/sci' minefield; both words (serpe and serpente) slither through the s…
- Chi è Ciccio Capece? Ciccio Capece è un capocaccia che caccia con la cacciaballa. — A 'c/ci/ccia' onslaught — Italian's hard and soft c in the same sentence, non-stop.