ขี่ช้างจับตั๊กแตน
Meaning: To use enormous means for a trivial result.
Language: Thai
Literally: To ride an elephant to catch a grasshopper
Category: Animals
Origin: Mounting Thailand's mightiest animal to chase a tiny insect is the perfect image of wasteful overkill.
More idioms — Animals
- Die Katze im Sack kaufen — To buy something sight unseen and get cheated.
- Dar gato por liebre — To swindle by passing off something inferior as the real thing.
- Tagliare la testa al toro — To settle a matter decisively, once and for all.
- 猫の額 (Neko no hitai) — A very small space, especially of land.
- Водить за нос (Vodit' za nos) — To deceive or string someone along.
- Nem que a vaca tussa — No way; under no circumstances.
More Thai idioms
- น้ำขึ้นให้รีบตัก — Seize an opportunity while it lasts.
- ชักแม่น้ำทั้งห้า — To give a long-winded, roundabout justification before getting to the point.
- จับปลาสองมือ — To chase two goals at once and risk losing both.
- ตำน้ำพริกละลายแม่น้ำ — To squander resources for nothing.
From our untranslatable words
- Drachenfutter — A peace-offering gift brought home to a partner after staying out too late or doing somet…
- Verschlimmbessern — To make something worse in a well-intentioned attempt to improve it.
- Sturmfrei — The liberating feeling of having the house entirely to yourself — when parents or a partn…