Pireyi deve yapmak
Meaning: To blow something tiny out of all proportion.
Language: Turkish
Literally: To make a camel out of a flea
Category: Animals
Origin: A Turkish exaggeration image leaping from the smallest pest to the largest beast of the caravan.
Equivalents in other languages
- Russian: Делать из мухи слона (Delat' iz mukhi slona) — literally: To make an elephant out of a fly
- French: Faire d'une mouche un éléphant — literally: To make an elephant out of a fly
- Arabic: يعمل من الحبة قبة (Ya'mal min al-ḥabba qubba) — literally: To build a dome out of a seed
- Czech: Dělat z komára velblouda — literally: To make a camel out of a mosquito
- Romanian: A face din țânțar armăsar — literally: To make a stallion out of a mosquito
More idioms — Animals
- الجمل ما يشوف عوجة رقبته (Al-jamal mā yshūf 'awjat raqabatuh) — People are blind to their own faults.
- आ बैल मुझे मार (Ā bail mujhe mār) — To deliberately invite trouble upon yourself.
- گربه را دم حجله کشتن (gorbe rā dam-e hejle koshtan) — To assert authority firmly from the very start.
- จับปลาสองมือ — To chase two goals at once and risk losing both.
- Cõng rắn cắn gà nhà — To bring in an outsider who harms your own people.
- Jakkals trou met wolf se vrou — A sunshower — rain while the sun shines.
More Turkish idioms
- Armudun sapı var, üzümün çöpü var — To find fault with absolutely everything.
- Pabuç pahalı — Things are getting dangerous; time to be careful.
- İki ayağını bir pabuca sokmak — To rush and pressure someone relentlessly.
- Ayıkla pirincin taşını — Deal with it yourself; it's your mess.
- Nazar değmesin — Knock on wood; hope nothing ruins this good thing.
- Armut piş, ağzıma düş — Wanting everything handed to you without effort.
From our untranslatable words
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- Vergüenza ajena — The squirming embarrassment felt on behalf of another person, who may be entirely untroub…