“Blow off steam”in other languages
Let out anger, stress or energy in a harmless way.
English
Dutch
German
EnglishDutchGermanSame idea, different pictures
All three come from the steam engine: a boiler under pressure has to release steam or it explodes. English blows it off, Dutch blows it off too, stoom afblazen, and German lets it out, Dampf ablassen.
The image is about prevention: the point of letting off steam is to avoid a bigger blow-up later.
More sayings in other languages
- Born with a silver spoon in one's mouth
- Born yesterday
- Borrow trouble
- Make a hash of something
- Bow out
- Breathe down someone's neck
- Take the bull by the horns
- Burn one's bridges
- Butter someone up