# Geographical idioms



## Dymn

Hi!

Do you have any idioms that mention geographical locations, preferably of your own language area? I'm talking about idioms whose topic is not the actual place. For example:

*Catalan*:

_no anem bé per anar a Sants _"we're not doing well to go to Sants [neighbourhood in Barcelona]"
"we're lost / fucked up"

_roda el món i torna al Born _"roll the world and go back to the Born [another neighbourhood in Barcelona]"
"no matter how far you go you always end up home again"

_estar a la lluna de València_ "to be in the moon of Valencia"
"to be distracted, inattentive"

*Spanish*:

_estar entre Pinto y Valdemoro _"to be between Pinto and Valdemoro [two towns near Madrid]"
"to be confused, undecided"

_irse por los cerros de Úbeda _"to stroll through the hills of Úbeda [town in Andalusia]"
"to beat around the bush"

_poner mirando a Cuenca _"to put looking towards Cuenca [town in Castile]"
"to fuck someone doggy-style"

_quien se va a Sevilla pierde su silla _"who goes to Sevilla [city in Andalusia] loses their chair"
"move your feat, lose your seat"


----------



## Yendred

*French:*

_"cela va faire du bruit dans Landerneau_" (lit.: "this will make noise in Landerneau") = people will be talking about it

Landerneau is indeed an existing small town of Brittany. The expression comes from a line in an 18th century theater play.
From this expression, Landerneau has become a common noun, since we still talk for example of “_le landerneau de la politique_”, to mean the political circles where people know each other and talk together.​
"_coup de Jarnac_" = betrayal

It comes from _Guy Chabot_ (16th century), _baron de Jarnac_ and denotes a secret thrust he used to win against another lord in a duel with swords.
Jarnac is an existing small town of Charente, also known to be the birthplace of former French president François Mitterrand and the place where he is buried.
Today, the expression denotes any sneaky betrayal, generally from the point of view of the person betrayed.​
Another one: There have been recently a thread in the French-English forum about the expression "_Revenir de Pontoise_"


----------



## merquiades

For America

*Will it play in Peoria?* (a tiny town in Illinois)  Said when one wonders if a person, film, song, product, idea, etc.... can appeal to mainstream America.  The idea being that if something catches on there it is sure to catch on anywhere.  If it doesn't it may end up being rejected by most people.

*In a New York minute*.    Life is supposed to be quick paced in this city compared to other areas, so the expression is used when something seems to have happened quickly, or have come and gone quickly.  Also when you promise to do something for someone as quickly as possible.

*Time to get (the hell) out of Dodge.  *(town in Kansas).  Said when you realize you can't stay one minute longer in a place and really need to leave as soon as possible.  It could be a personal reason or because of what is happening there.  Said of people escaping this town before a tragic gun battle occurred.

*What happens in Vegas... (stays in Vegas)*.  (Las Vegas, city in Nevada known as sin city).  Said to someone when you are someplace away from home, and decide to do things you wouldn't do otherwise at home where people know you.  The secret remains there.

*Dressed like a Philadephia lawyer.*   Conservative looking, business suit, tie, shiny shoes, appearance perfect looking, not one hair out of place, impeccable but maybe too much.


----------



## Circunflejo

*Spanish:*

Estar a la luna de Valencia (Same as the Catalan variant quoted by @Dymn).
Estar en Babia (to be in Babia (a Comarca - Wikipedia of León)). To be absentminded, unaware of what's going on around you.
Estar en las Batuecas (to be in las Batuecas (a valley of the South of Salamanca province). Same meaning than to be in Babia.
Tomar las de Villadiego (to take the one's of Villadiego (a town in Burgos province). To unexpectly run away from where you are.
Aprovechando que el Pisuerga pasa por Valladolid (taking profit than Pisuerga river goes through the city of Valladolid). Sentence used to anounce that you are going to say something unrelated (or barely related) with the subject you were talking about.


----------



## atcheque

Bonjour,

*French:*
_Image d'Épinal_ (Épinal print - Wikipedia): cliché.
From Épinal, Eastern France, were those prints were developed.


> The expression _image d'Épinal_ has become proverbial in French and refers to an emphatically traditionalist and naïve depiction of something, showing only its good aspects.


----------



## alfaalfa

Ciao,

*Italian:*

Roma non fu fatta in un giorno = _Rome wasn't built in a day (It takes time to do things a certain way)_
Tutte le strade portano a Roma = _All roads lead to Rome (All activities lead to most important thing)_
Stare tra Scilla e Cariddi = _To be between  Scylla and Charybdis (To be between two opposite dangers)_
Rivedersi a Filippi = _To meet up again in Filippi (historical place in ancient Greek) (To take revenge in the future)_
Parigi val bene una messa = _Paris is well worth a mass (To give up before, aiming to a great advantage after)_


----------



## Circunflejo

alfaalfa said:


> Roma non fu fatta in un giorno = _Rome wasn't built in a day (It takes time to do things a certain way)_



The Spanish variant of that one is Zamora no se tomó (or ganó) en una hora.



alfaalfa said:


> Tutte le strade portano a Roma = _All roads lead to Rome_



Todos los caminos llevan a Roma (all roads lead to Rome) exists in Spanish meaning there's not a unique way to achieve a goal.


----------



## djara

A few examples drom Tunisian Arabic:
*Istanna ya djaja / hatta ijiik el qamh min Beja.* 
You can wait, chicken, for wheat to be brought to you from Beja.
Beja is a town in North-West Tunisia, famous for wheat production.
Meaning: Wake up! Stop dreaming. What you're waiting for will never come.

*Yalli dakhil Bab Aleoua minnink alouf*.
You, who are entering Bab Aleoua; there are thousands like you.
Bab Aleoua is one of the main gates of the city of Tunis.
Meaning: Be humble. Don't think too much of yourself. 

*Ki qindil Bab Mnara, ma yidhwi kan 'al barrani*
Bab Mnara is another of the main gates of the city of Tunis.
Like the lights of Bab Mnara, they're only useful to outsiders (because they are outside city walls).
Meaning: (About a person) s/he's useless for his own folk and is only useful to outsiders. 

*Mil Marsa bdina n-maqdhfou*
From Marsa we started rowing
Marsa is a coastal suburb of Tunis and a general term for harbor
Meaning: This isn't a good start; this doesn't augur well. (because a ship is supposed to only sail out with a favorable wind)


----------



## Olaszinhok

Dymn said:


> _quien se va a Sevilla pierde su silla _"who goes to Sevilla [city in Andalusia] loses their chair"
> "move your feat, lose your seat"



In Italian: *Chi va a Roma perde la poltrona* " who goes to Rome loses the armchair"


----------



## Yendred

Dymn said:


> _quien se va a Sevilla pierde su silla _"who goes to Sevilla [city in Andalusia] loses their chair"
> "move your feat, lose your seat"





Olaszinhok said:


> In Italian: *Chi va a Roma perde la poltrona* " who goes to Rome loses the armchair"



In French, the equivalent is "_Qui va à la chasse, perd sa place_" (Who goes hunting loses their seat), but no geographical reference there.


----------



## Stoggler

merquiades said:


> *What happens in Vegas... (stays in Vegas)*.  (Las Vegas, city in Nevada known as sin city).  Said to someone when you are someplace away from home, and decide to do things you wouldn't do otherwise at home where people know you.  The secret remains there.



This one would be heard in the UK too, thanks to its usage in films like Swingers and The Hangover (inter alia).  The name of the city is also often changed depending on circumstances ("what happens in Brighton... (stays in Brighton)").



alfaalfa said:


> Ciao,
> 
> *Italian:*
> 
> Roma non fu fatta in un giorno = _Rome wasn't built in a day (It takes time to do things a certain way)_
> Tutte le strade portano a Roma = _All roads lead to Rome (All activities lead to most important thing)_


We have those in English too.

A British English one to add to the mix is *to be sent to Coventry*, which means to ostracize someone.  The origin isn't really known (although apparently it's possibly from the Civil War), but it refers to the Midlands city famous for being bombed to smithereens* in the war and for Lady Godiva.

*great word!!


----------



## Penyafort

Catalan: (A few more)
*
Val més un veí a la porta que un parent a Mallorca. *_Better a neighbour next door than a relative in Majorca.  --_Quite obvious, in case of help needed.
*Fot-li que és de Reus!* _Beat him, he's from Reus! _--It may encourage treating something or someone with a certain impunity, but also used as an exclamation for something that is perceived as a surprising abuse.
*Quan el mal ve d'Almansa, a tots alcança.* _When evil comes from Almansa (= the West), it reaches everyone. _--Reference to the defeat in the Battle of Almansa (1707), the Kingdom of Valencia losing its liberties after being conquered by the Franco-Spanish troops.
*Qui no ha vist Barcelona no ha vist cosa bona. *_Those who have not seen Barcelona have not seen something good yet. (I partially agree)
Also _*Qui no ha estat a Olot no ha estat enlloc. *_Those who have not been to Olot have not been anywhere._

Spanish equivalent of the latter: *Quien no ha visto Granada no ha visto nada. *_Those who have not seen Granada have not seen anything. (I agree too)_



Circunflejo said:


> The Spanish variant of that one is Zamora no se tomó (or ganó) en una hora.



Catalan variants: 
*Barcelona i Montjuïc no es feren en una nit.* _Barcelona and Montjuïc hill were not done in one night._
*València no s'ha fet en un dia.*_ Valencia was not done in one day._​


----------



## Circunflejo

Penyafort said:


> Spanish equivalent of the latter: *Quien no ha visto Granada no ha visto nada.*



Talking about Granada, it makes me recall "_el que tiene un tío en Alcalá, ni tiene tío ni tiene ná_" and its variant using Graná (short for Granada) instead of Alcalá (who has an uncle in Alcalá (or Granada), doesn't have an uncle and doesn't have anything). It's used with people proud of having things/relatives/friends when they aren't useful for them and with people that like to show off they have what they don't really have (for example, a millionaire relative on a foreign country when if they have a relative in a foreign country, s/he isn't rich at all).


----------



## apmoy70

Greek:

*«Τρία κάπα κάκιστα, Καππαδόκες, Κάρες, Κίλικες»*  [ˈtri.a ˈka.pa ˈka.ci.sta ˈka.paˈðɔ.ces ˈka.res ˈci.li.ces] --> _the three C of cacodemons: Cappadocians, Carians, Cilicians_ or *«...Καππαδόκες, Κρήτες, Κίλικες»* [ˈtri.a ˈka.pa ˈka.ci.sta ˈka.paˈðɔ.ces ˈkri.tes ˈci.li.ces] --> _the three C of cacodemons: Cappadocians, Cretans, Cilicians_ (the Cappadocians in both variants come first).

*«Δύο μυ παγκάκιστα, Μυτιλήνη και Μοριάς»* [ˈði.o mi paŋˈga.ci.sta mi.tiˈli.ni ce mɔˈrʲas] --> _the two M of misery: Mytilene and Morea_

*«Όλοι οι Χιώτες ειν' λωλοί, άλλοι λίγο άλλοι πολύ»* [ˈɔli i ˈçɔ.tes in.lɔˈli ˈali ˈli.ɣo ˈa.li pɔˈli] --> _All Chians are crazy, some less, some more_

*«Είδες πράσιν' άλογο; Είδες Χιώτη φρόνιμο;»* [ˈi.ðes ˈpra.siˈna.lɔ.ɣɔ ˈi.ðes ˈçɔ.ti ˈfrɔ.ni.mɔ] --> _Have you seen a green horse or a wise Chian?_

*«Ο διάβολος έχει τρεις θυγατέρες, μια πάντρεψε στην Κρήτη, μια στη Μάνη, την τρίτη στην Κεφαλονιά»* [ɔ ˈðʲa.vɔ.lɔs ˈe.çi tris θi.ɣaˈte.ɾes mɲa ˈpan.dre.p͜se stiŋ ˈgri.ti mɲa sti ˈmani tin ˈdri.ti stiŋ ɟe.fa.lɔˈɲa] --> _The devil has three daughters, one was married in Crete, one in Mani, the third one in Cephalonia_

*«Είδες γουρούνι παστρικό; Είδες Μανιάτη γνωστικό;»* [ˈi.ðes ɣuˈɾu.ni pas.triˈkɔ ˈi.ðes maˈɲa.ti ɣnɔs.tiˈkɔ] --> _Have you seen a clean pig or a savvy Maniot?_


----------



## alfaalfa

My granny was used to say:

Non ti basta l'Ofanto! = _The Ofanto river isn't enough for you!. (That river was the most important one, where she lived. Meaning: you are greedy/avid/glutton)_
Chi ha lingua va in Sardegna = _Who's bold/cheeky will go in Sardinia (At my granny's times it wasn't easy to move fast and easily but...Where there's a will there's a way)_



Olaszinhok said:


> *Chi va a Roma perde la poltrona*


_but _

Sono andato al Campidoglio e la poltrona la rivoglio  = _I went to the Capitol and I want the armchair back (the tipical reply while kidding)_


----------



## Sardokan1.0

*Sardinian*

*Andende e indiscende s'est agattada Roma :* Going and inquiring has been found Rome (Literal meaning : asking directions along the road you can find Rome = if you ask you can go everywhere)

*Faghere su fràigu de Roma :* To make the construction of Rome (it's said when one complains of a difficult work or because he's tired)

*E ite fisti fattende? Su fràigu de Roma? :* And what were you doing? The construction of Rome?

_*E in ue che fisti? Mortu in Libia? :* _And where were you? Dead in Libia? (it's said to a person that you haven't seen for a very long time)

_*Quie est merda in hoche, est merda in Frantza : *_Who is a shit here, is a shit also in France (the sense is : it's useless to emigrate to elevate your status if you are a low level person)


*P.S.*



Olaszinhok said:


> In Italian: *Chi va a Roma perde la poltrona* " who goes to Rome loses the armchair"



The Sardinian version doesn't mention a geographical place, but the sense is the same :

*Preíderu mortu, cadréa leáda :* Dead priest, taken chair (Literally means that once a priest dies another takes his place)


----------



## Olaszinhok

Sardokan1.0 said:


> _Preíderu mortu, cadréa leáda_



In my view, the meaning is slightly different, the equivalent in Italian should be *morto un papa se ne fa un altro*. However, I may be wrong… I am not very fond of sayings.


----------



## Sardokan1.0

Olaszinhok said:


> In my view, the meaning is slightly different, the equivalent in Italian should be *morto un papa se ne fa un altro*. However, I may be wrong… I am not very fond of sayings.



The literal meaning is different, but it's used in the same way of *Chi va a Roma perde la poltrona*, if someone occupy your place and you have something to say, he answers like that.


----------



## Olaszinhok

Sandokan, just out of curiosity, how do you say in Sardinian: _morto un papa se ne fa un altro_?


----------



## Sardokan1.0

Olaszinhok said:


> Sandokan, just out of curiosity, how do you say in Sardinian: _morto un papa se ne fa un altro_?



Literal translation_

Mortu unu papa/paba si nde fàghet un'àteru/àter'unu._


----------



## bibax

Czech "geographical" idioms:

*jíti do Prčic* = to go to Prčice;
*býti v Prčicích* =  to be in Prčice;
(Prčice is a small town in Bohemia, about sixty kilometers south of Prague);

In this idiom the name of the town of *Prčice* stands for the noun *prdel*  (= arse/ass), so the request *Jdi do Prčic!* is a polite variant of *Jdi do prdele!*  (lit. Go to arse!).

*Jdi do Prčic!* → Jdi do prdele! = Go to Prčice→arse! (= Piss off! Fuck off!) 
*Jsme v Prčicích.* → Jsme v prdeli. = We are in Prčice→arse. (= We are fucked.) 

In 1966 some jokers founded a long-distance (75 km) march Prague-Prčice, so we can go to Prčice once a year in May.


----------



## Olaszinhok

Sardokan1.0 said:


> _Mortu unu papa/paba si nde fàghet un'àteru/àter'unu._



Is it used in Sardinian or is it just a literal translation of the Italian saying?


----------



## Sardokan1.0

Olaszinhok said:


> Is it used in Sardinian or is it just a literal translation of the Italian saying?



No it's not used in Sardinian, it's just a literal translation. There isn't a corresponding saying in Sardinian.


----------

