медведь на ухо наступил
Meaning: To lack musical ability or have poor sense of pitch and rhythm.
Language: Russian
Literally: a bear stepped on one's ear
Category: Animals
Origin: Russian folklore where bears represented wild, uncontrolled forces; stepping on the ear symbolized disrupting musical sensitivity.
More idioms — Animals
- att vara rädd som en hare — To be extremely fearful and jumpy, ready to flee at the slightest danger.
- let the cat out of the bag — to reveal a secret inadvertently.
- go belly up — to fail completely; to go bankrupt.
- bark up the wrong tree — to pursue a wrong course; to blame the wrong person.
- get your ducks in a row — to organize yourself; to prepare systematically.
- in a pig's eye — absolutely not; never; expressing strong disagreement.
More Russian idioms
- пускать пыль в глаза — To deceive or mislead someone, creating false impressions through trickery.
- Ни пуха ни пера — Good luck — to which the ritual reply is 'To the devil!'.
- Ехать зайцем — To ride a train or bus without paying.
- После дождичка в четверг — Never — or certainly no time soon.
- Кот наплакал — A laughably tiny amount.
- Зарубить на носу — To remember something firmly, once and for all.
Loading the full interactive collection…