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sitta med skägget i brevlådan

Meaning: Be in a pickle or difficult predicament.

Language: Swedish

Literally: sit with the beard in the mailbox

Category: The Absurd

Origin: Origin uncertain; the image is absurdist—a trapped or stuck position suggested by having one's beard wedged in a mailbox.

More idioms — The Absurd

  • en koloss på lerfötter — Something that appears powerful and impressive but rests on a fundamentally weak foundati…
  • så till den milda grad — To such an extent; to a remarkable or extreme degree, often used ironically.
  • lägga sig i — To insert oneself into a situation uninvited; to meddle or interfere.
  • slåss mot väderkvarnar — To engage in a futile struggle against imaginary or trivial enemies.
  • błędne koło — A logical fallacy or impossible situation in which the solution requires solving the prob…
  • nic a nic — Not at all; not in the slightest.

More Swedish idioms

  • ta sig vatten över huvudet — Get in over one's head; take on more than one can manage.
  • under kniven — Undergoing surgery, or under intense pressure to perform.
  • fjällen falla från någons ögon — To suddenly understand something that was previously hidden or obscured.
  • köra med — To tease, bully, or push someone around.
  • sätta till alla klutar — To make a maximum effort or remove all restraints in pursuit of something.
  • falla till föga — To surrender one's position or resistance; to give in.

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