Invent an Idiom

[legolasean]

yihya la-safra tab' min-'ayshin
future3sg.To-be to-count money from tree.Pl
jiːhja ɫa saːfɾa tabʕ mɪn ʕaɪ̯ʃin
He counts [his] money from the trees

Next:
Don't do your friend bad things you don't want to happen to you.

[ashmoonfruit]

onatagu kegugrar to seda
imperitive-negative-thing-take(don't-buy) red-eating-part-plural(apples) with brown-material(mud)
don't buy apples with mud

next: 'the obvious thing that nobody wants to mention, the elephant in the room'

[Imralu]

Ahu:

kiáu e xeqa kaqkaha bahanda
k<i>au e xeq-a kaqka-h-a ba<h>n-da
eat<UTILITATIVE.DIM> ATTR in.contact.with-OBL tooth-h-OBL pater.familias<AUG>-large
"Food on the tooth of the emperor"
= "The elephant in the room"

Next: to be hungover, to have a hangover

[Colonel Cathcart]

Next: to be hungover, to have a hangover

Icastrian:

prassiargais ar hirbea úhaegtog
[ˈpraʃʃargaʃ ar ˈhɪrbea ˈuːhaɪktox]
suffer-INF the-GEN barley-GEN revenge-ELA
to suffer the barley's revenge

"Hangover" itself is ar hirbea úhaeg "the barley's revenge," optionally replacing "barley" with whatever the alcohol you got drunk on is made from. The most common variation is ar liptea úhaeg "the grapes' revenge," for a hangover after drinking wine. For a hangover after a really wild night of binging, you might say ar náthája úhaeg "the night's revenge."

Next: to be in a good mood

[Left]

-----

[Das Baron]

Next: To be two-faced

Ṡimtā
kā ṡiṡtrā ēmē kum motum ēmē āṡliġenċe
"His hands put the lie to his mouth."
From the phrase ē kaibis ṡiṡtraibis telpċe "He speaks with his hands", i.e. his actions match his words. Thus, being two-faced is saying one thing and doing another.

Next: "To give your all, knowing failure means you'll lose everything"

[Colonel Cathcart]

Next: "To give your all, knowing failure means you'll lose everything"

Icastrian:

haeláis a sochtot (ahot) hûvája sfíral
[ˈhaɪlaːʃ a ˈsoxtot aɦot ˈhyːʋaːja ˈʃfiːɾal]
hang-INF the hope-PL-ACC upon knife-GEN edge-ADE
to hang one's hopes on the edge of a knife

Next: to go apeshit: to react in a bizarre, irrational, unpredictable, possibly violent manner

[Das Baron]

Next: to go apeshit: to react in a bizarre, irrational, unpredictable, possibly violent manner

Ṡimtā:
ēnas dō ṡemē knutē horālīċe
“to rage for a trinket”
The phrase carries connotations of childishness and violence, like something a toddler would do.

Next: "to take pains to make sure someone doesn't like you, specifically because having that person like you would make you feel like you're not a good person"
(An example of this would be a performer, such as a singer or a comedian, going to the trouble to make sure people like racists and homophobes wouldn't like their music or comedy, because having racist or homophobic fans would imply that there's something about the performer that attracts those kinds of people)

[maıráí]

Next: "to take pains to make sure someone doesn't like you, specifically because having that person like you would make you feel like you're not a good person"

La-Pu:

ustan khiikar siaji
to wear a razor collar

This implies that it hurts the person. For instance, the performer avoiding the homophobic or racist fans, even though they would bring in a lot of cash.

ikdii khiikar siaji
to wear a high collar

More like general snubbing.


Next:
to daydream, esp. when one really, really should not be

[Colonel Cathcart]

I just want to say this is probably my favourite thread on the ZBB right now.

Next:
to daydream, esp. when one really, really should not be

Icastrian:

siáis máth (jotaiste) rakuvó áigiarkannufionnyt
[ˈʃaːʃ ˈmaː(θ) jotaʃte ˌrakʊʋoː ˈaːjjarkannʊwɪonnət]
be.located-INF far.away somewhere build-PRES.ACT.PART air=castle-PL-ACC
to be off (somewhere) building air castles (flying castles)

I borrowed the expression "air castle" (though not the meaning) from Swedish. In Swedish a luftslott is like a pipe dream. In Icastrian an áigiarkannu refers to private, internal fantasy worlds, and usually connotes whimsical eccentricity. The related idiom olikais áigiarkannuiste "to live in an air castle" can refer to a person, especially a child, who's especially imaginative and creative, but it can also be used negatively to refer to someone who's totally out of touch with, oblivious to, or in denial about what's really going on.

Next: to be on the warpath: to look for someone in order to confront or punish them

[Imralu]

I borrowed the expression "air castle" (though not the meaning) from Swedish. In Swedish a luftslott is like a pipe dream. In Icastrian an áigiarkannu refers to private, internal fantasy worlds, and usually connotes whimsical eccentricity. The related idiom olikais áigiarkannuiste "to live in an air castle" can refer to a person, especially a child, who's especially imaginative and creative, but it can also be used negatively to refer to someone who's totally out of touch with, oblivious to, or in denial about what's really going on.

We have that in English too.

Next: to be on the warpath: to look for someone in order to confront or punish them

Ahu:

uírin daua u etso
[ˌwi.ɾin.ˈda.wa.ˈwe.tso]
"(to be) an avalanche heading towards someone/something"

uín : moves down
uírin : is a large thing which moves down

daua : is a mountain
uírin daua : is an avalanche : is a landslide

u [adverbial particle]

ets/a χ : moves towards χ
-o [INDEF.SG]

Next: to (habitually) (be able to) eat a lot in one sitting

[din]

Tormiott

sieruadi muackett /'ɕərwædʑə 'mwak:ət/ – to eat a large amount of food; to be famished
: sieruadi, to take a bite from, from sie- (prefix), away; changing in shape, material or form + ruadi (verb), to bite
: muackett, table, from muat- (prefix) under (static or moving under), out of something; down or downwards; low (as a property) + kett (noun) board, plank; plaque, plate, sign

--

next: taking care of / guiding / teaching / supporting someone

[Yagia]

next: taking care of / guiding / teaching / supporting someone

Vayardyio:

Amanio té pari vasou disantara
someone OBL on-past road OBL accompany INF
'to guide, accompany someone along the road'

next:
to act incredibly stupid without even being aware of it

[SalsburySteak]

next:
to act incredibly stupid without even being aware of it

Palnaghiiya:
Peifarar shema-karait or Car shema-karait ['paɪ.far.ar 'ʃɛ.ɱa qar.'aɪt] / [tsar 'ʃɛ.ɱa qar.'aɪt]
speak INF mouse PRO.P* like or be INF mouse PRO.P like
To speak/to be like a mouse. (This saying also has some connotations of naivete.)

Palnaghiiyan culture is strewn with Aesop-esque animal fables. One of the better-known ones revolves around a mouse in a forest; short version is, he finds a pile of food, unmarked by any animal, and hastens to tell his friend, the deer, about it. The deer goes to eat and it turns out to be a trap set by a hunter. The deer, of course, is shot and killed, and the mouse has to deal with the fact that, because he did not do his research, it was entirely his fault.

*pro-positional; in essence an affirmative adpositional case -- karait, "like, in the manner of," when used with the other case, the anti-positional, takes on the opposite meaning.

Next:
to become shrill of voice, especially due to positive emotion rather than negative

[Yagia]

Next:
to become shrill of voice, especially due to positive emotion rather than negative

čyiatisima gryani
/θiçiă’tisimə gri’çani/
exhilarate-ADV exclaim(with a shrill voice)-INF

"to exclaim shrilly, with exaltation"
gryio shrill
čyiata fiery from čya sparkle, ember

also:
lo či andri dénase éfilatara
over mountainGEN topOBV PL shout outINF
to shout out joy over the mountain tops

next: to get from the frying pan into the fire

[ol bofosh]

next: to get from the frying pan into the fire

uratir vashaw bacaf pa jix puwer vashaw shoñ bacakaf.
[u.ˈɾa.tiɾ ˈva.ʂaw ˈba.ʈʂaf pa ɖʐix ˈpu.weɾ ˈva.ʂaw ʂoŋ ba.ˈʈʂa.kef]
to.begin to.fight a.soldier CON with to.end.up to.fight POSS-3s army.
to start fighting a soldier and end up fighting his/her army.

next: to persevere until success

[Imralu]

next: to persevere until success

Ahu
Utsu sauam uáhu i mol.
utsu sau-a-m uáhu i mol
shoot until-OBL-C bird PRED dead
"Shoot until the bird is dead."

Next: A storm in a teacup.

[ZMoring]

Next: A storm in a teacup.

My as-of-yet-unnamed/pseudo-kinda-Thai language:
Buyu chak-ti ngao-phang
['bu.jù 'tɕʰak.ti 'ŋaw̯.pʰáng]
to.call freshwater.fish-tiny saltwater.fish-warrior
to call a minnow a swordfish

Next: to wander around looking for someone, while they're wandering around looking for you

[Atalant]

carokhe tøynríu adhíu
[caro'kʰe tʰøyn'riu at'hi:u]
hunt-INF deer-MASC eager-MASC
To hunt the eager stag (look for someone who's looking for you)

Next:
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade (make the best out of a bad situation)

[Pazmivaniye]

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade (make the best out of a bad situation)

Palethian:
Zejos dukurama kaw tila-tilos.
[zɛ.ʑɔ.ʐdu.ku.ʁã.ma kʰaʊ̯.tʰi.la.ti.lɔʂ]
Meet the witch but keep walking. (The assumption being that the witch would lay a curse on/predict a bad future for the addressee.)

Next: to pretend to be disappointed about sonething but actually be happy

[Matrix]

Next: to pretend to be disappointed about sonething but actually be happy

Maja:
On ki sar latha.

[on ki sa:ɹɾ 'la.θa]

Roughly something like, "Playing at being the dragon." Dragons appear a lot in maja idioms. They kind of make a mark on your culture when in ages past one coming around could fuck up entire countries. In such idioms the dragons are typically characterized as angry and destructive, something to avoid.

Next: when one thinks they know exactly what they are doing but is actually completely incompetent

[GrinningManiac]

Lwydn hysa it fagnn air.
(He) grabs it by the tooth.

"Tooth" is often used to refer to the toolbit of a pick, axe, drill or blade or any description. Thus it has a humorous double meaning - it means firstly that the person has incorrectly (and brazenly) handled a tool by the wrong part and it has a secondary meaning of having grabbed a creature or something by the tooth - meaning he has both enraged the animal and put himself close to danger - namely the teeth.

Next: To openly dislike someone (ideally with connotations of the situation making said open dislike rather uncomfortable (i.e. your wife and mother hate each other at a birthday party))

[ivazaéun]

To openly dislike someone (ideally with connotations of the situation making said open dislike rather uncomfortable (i.e. your wife and mother hate each other at a birthday party))

eɣáveve uizén zú aɣá iéžis šú
[eˈɣaveve ʋiˈzɛn zu aˈɣa ˈyeʒis ʃu]
IPFV.know ERG.3p ABS.self how PLUR.cow two
They are acquainted like two bulls

Next: A Pyrrhic victory

[Matrix]

Next: A Pyrrhic victory

Nahakhontl:

Janihtken chyuh tlohk fruh.

[dʒan'ɪt.kɛn 'tʃʲʌ tɬok 'fɹʌ]

victory with lie PLURAL

"Victory with lies."

The ansu of Shorrag - who speak nahakhontl - are rather sensitive to slight, small movements. This makes it rather easy for them to discern lies from body language, hence them believing they have what they call zhakir-dhuhyen, "truth-sight", hence truth being a very important concept in their culture. Therefore, even if someone is able to successfully lie to an ansu once, it is rather likely that it couldn't happen again; thus once one lie is rooted out, it's likely that the whole house of cards will come falling down and all your victories won with lies will destroy you.

Next: When you have some idea, have made some decision, or have had some thought, then something momentarily distracts you and you forget.

[Das Baron]

When you have some idea, have made some decision, or have had some thought, then something momentarily distracts you and you forget.

Ṡimtā:
Markintattas
"Fairy-thought"

In Ṡimtā, the word markō, "fairy", derives from the verb marō "to shimmer". Fairies in Pīrzānas stories often appear and disappear in a sparkle of light and a twinkling sound, coming and going out of the corner of one's eye, so one is never quite certain whether there was ever really a fairy there or not.

Next: To be neither very wise nor very stupid -- to know enough to deal with the important things, without having any great knowledge about specialized things (in essence, to be streetsmart)