IdiomBody & Senses
Finnish
FinnishVetää lonkalta
Meaning: To improvise; to wing it.
Literally: To pull from the hip
Example: “En ehtinyt valmistella puhetta, joten vedin lonkalta.” — I had no time to prepare the speech, so I winged it.
English equivalent: To wing it
Origin: "To pull from the hip," like a gunslinger drawing and firing without aiming: to improvise, answer or act on the spot without preparation. The phrase matches English "shoot from the hip" and is modern colloquial Finnish.
Equivalents in other languages
English: wing it
More Finnish idioms
- Mennä metsään To go completely wrong.
- Olla pinna kireällä To be on edge and short-tempered.
- Lyödä rahoiksi To cash in; to profit handsomely.
- Ei ole kaikki muumit laaksossa Someone isn't quite all there.
- Maksaa maltaita To cost a fortune.
- Heittää lusikka nurkkaan To die.
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