“Sow one's wild oats”in other languages
Behave wildly while young, before settling down.
English
French
German
Same idea, different pictures
English sows wild oats, a useless weed, the work of a young man with more energy than sense. German knocks off its horns, sich die Hörner abstoßen, like a young animal butting everything in sight.
French jeter sa gourme comes from horses: la gourme is strangles, an illness young horses get once and then are over. The phrase looks at the end of the wild years, when they're behind you.
More sayings in other languages
- Speak of the devil
- Spin one's wheels
- Split hairs
- Stake one's life on it
- Stick to one's guns
- Storm clouds are gathering
- A storm in a teacup
- Many hands make light work
- A stroke of luck