# to be more papal than the pope



## ilocas2

Hello, do you use this idiom in your language? Thanks

to be more papal than the pope

Czech: být papežštější než papež


----------



## apmoy70

In Greek:

«Βασιλικότερος του βασιλέως»
[vasili'koteros tu vasi'le.os]
lt. "to be more royal than the king"


----------



## rayloom

In Arabic we also use the king idiom.

أن تكون ملكيا أكثر من الملك
'an takuuna malakiyyan 'akthara min al-malik
Lit: "To be a royalist more than the king"


----------



## ThomasK

Dutch: *heiliger dan de paus* (holier than the Pope).


----------



## Maroseika

*Russian*
Быть святее Папы Римского (to be holier than the Patriarch of Rome)


----------



## DearPrudence

In *French*, we also use the king's image:
*"être plus royaliste que le roi."* (_to be more royalist than the king_)


----------



## sound shift

In British English the idiom is "to be more Catholic than the Pope."


----------



## vianie

> Czech: být papežštější než papež



Slovak: byť pápežskejší než pápež


----------



## ancalimon

in Turkish we have a saying:

Kraldan çok kralcı olmak :  To be more king than the king himself.

It means the same things as:

Kraldan çok krala katılmak. To agree with the king more than the king himself.

There is actually some kind of train of coincidences with the word catholic and katılık.

In Turkic, katılık means three things. One of them is strictness~hardness. The other one is to be annexed as a whole, those that have joined with yourself as a whole. The last meaning is "Those that agree with your ideas"

Kralın kurallarının katılığı çok fazlaydı: The rules of the king was extremely harsh, strict
Düşüncelerine katılıyorum: I agree with (affiliate with) your ideas.


----------



## mataripis

Tagalog: Isa ngang Banal! ( really, you are holy)


----------



## Montesacro

apmoy70 said:


> In Greek:
> «Βασιλικότερος του βασιλέως»
> [vasili'koteros tu vasi'le.os]
> lt. "to be more royal than the king"





rayloom said:


> In Arabic we also use the king idiom.
> أن تكون ملكيا أكثر من الملك
> 'an takuuna malakiyyan 'akthara min al-malik
> Lit: "To be a royalist more than the king"





DearPrudence said:


> In *French*, we also use the king's image:
> *"être plus royaliste que le roi."* (_to be more royalist than the king_)



Same in *Italian*: _essere più realista del re_.


----------



## Youngfun

So in Italian realista=realistic but also "royaliste" (I suppose something to do with the king)?


----------



## Montesacro

Yes, Youngfun (guarda qui)

Apparently the "king" idiom was first uttered by the French historian and politician Adolphe Thiers.
I suspect the "Pope" idiom is a simple "translation" used in predominantly non-catholic Countries (I've got no evidence to support my hypothesis, though).


----------



## Youngfun

Grazie, Montesacro!
È perfino il primo significato della parola "realista" e manco lo conoscevo!


----------



## Montesacro

Prego, Youngfun!
Sarà il primo significato listato, ma non è certo il più comune..


----------



## darush

Hi ilocas,
A Persian equivalent:
a bowl hotter than the soup


----------



## Frank78

In German these two exist:

"päpstlicher als der Papst sein" - be more papal than the pope

"katholischer als der Papst sein" - be more catholic than the pope

According to my experience the latter is a little less common.


----------



## Encolpius

*Hungarian*

pápább a pápánál


----------



## tFighterPilot

Hebrew:

קדוש יותר מהאפיפיור /qadósh yotér meha'apifyór/ "holier than the pope"


----------



## Outsider

In Portuguese: *mais papista que o papa*, more of a papist than the pope.


----------



## Encolpius

*Polish*: być bardziej papieskim niż sam papież


----------



## caelum

darush said:


> Hi ilocas,
> A Persian equivalent:
> a bowl hotter than the soup



I really love this one. Could you possibly write it in Farsi with a transliteration?


----------



## Dymn

Outsider said:


> In Portuguese: *mais papista que o papa*, more of a papist than the pope.


Same in *Spanish*: _más papista que el papa_.


----------

