IdiomBody & Senses
Catalan
CatalanTocar el dos
Meaning: To clear off; to leave in a hurry.
Literally: To touch the two
Example: “Quan va començar a ploure, tothom va tocar el dos.” — When it started raining, everyone made themselves scarce.
English equivalent: To make oneself scarce
Origin: "To touch the two": to clear off, to leave in a hurry. Its origin is not documented; one popular explanation is the two legs set in motion, another a bell or a signal numbered two, but neither has a source.
Equivalents in other languages
Spanish: mandarse a mudar Literally: To order oneself to move
Dutch: zich uit de voeten maken Literally: To make oneself away with the feet
English: make oneself scarce
More Catalan idioms
- Fer figa To give way or fail — of legs, knees or a plan.
- Fer dissabte To give the house a big clean-up.
- Anar de bòlit To be rushed off your feet.
- Pixar fora de test To go off topic or be plainly mistaken.
- N'hi ha per llogar-hi cadires The drama is so good it's worth watching like a show.
- Déu n'hi do Wow — that's quite something.
Explore another collection: Untranslatable Words
Words that capture a feeling or idea English needs a whole sentence for.
- Beloruchka Someone who dodges dirty or hard work — a person whose hands stay conspicuously clean.
- Zapoi A bender running for days, in which a person drops out of ordinary life entirely.
- Saudade A deep, nostalgic yearning for someone or something absent — tinged with the bittersweet…
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