«Wet streets, dry cash»

Val. «Carrer banyat, calaix eixut»

It doesn’t rain a lot in the Valencian Country and sometimes when it does showers are so heavy that people don’t go out the streets and prefer to stay at home. That is why rainy days are damaging for shopkeepers and bar owners. They temporarily run out of customers and profits.

Linguistic clarifications:

The metaphor of estar sec (‘to be dry’) has the same meaning of the English ‘to be skint’, ‘busted’, or ‘broke’, that is, to have no money. Calaix literally means ‘drawer’ but in this context one must infer that it means the ‘drawer’ where a storekeeper keeps the money.

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No plou gaire al País Valencià, i quan plou els ruixats de vegades són tan forts que la gent prefereix quedar-se a casa. Per això els dies de pluja són tan perjudicials per a botiguers i amos de qualsevol establiment o negoci. Es queden sense clients, i per tant, sense els beneficis del dia. Aquesta expressió explica de manera senzilla i concisa aquesta relació causa-conseqüència.

Women! Soft spicy sausages hanging from the ceiling!

Val.

Dones! Sobrassades penjades del sostre!

This expression original from the Balearic islands means that one prefers sausages rather than women. Obviously it's a sign of frustration after a failed love affair.

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Aquesta expressió pròpia de les Illes Balears significa que hom prefereix una salsitxa de sobrassada a les dones. Òbviament, açò és un indici de la frustració després d'una relació amorosa fallida...

To raise neither dust nor whirlpool

Val. «No alçar ni pols ni remolí»

This expression is used for showing when someone acts with discretion or when something happens without being noticed, and if noticed, it is understood as irrelevant.

Its metaphorical value can be inferred from its literal meaning, as something that happens without raising dust —something invisible, not awkward— usually goes unnoticed.

Eg. The publication of Torrent’s last novel has not raised dust or whirlpool in the media

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Aquesta expressió s’utilitza per a fer notar la discreció d'alguna persona o la falta de trascendència o rellevància d’un fet.

El valor metafòric de l’expressió es dedueix de la imatge literal que suggereix, çò és, que allò que ocorre sense alçar pols —sense ser visible o molest— sol passar desapercebut.

Ex. La publicació de l’última novel·la de Torrent no ha alçat ni pols ni remolí als mitjans de comunicació

The rope goes where the bucket is

Val. «On va la corda va el poal»*

It is usually said when two people are always together. They may be two close friends or a couple. Generally the expression is used to mean that there exists a certain co-dependency between two people or two things. The metaphor of a bucket tied by a rope is helpful to understand the meaning of this expression, as these two objects must be together in order to take water out of a well.

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Se sol dir quan dues persones van sempre juntes, per exemple dos bons amics o una parella. En general, l’expressió s’aplica a persones o coses entre les quals hi ha una certa relació de dependència. Hom fa servir la metàfora del poal que trau aigua d’un pou amb l’ajut d’una corda, ja que els dos objectes han d’estar, per força, units per tal de dur a terme aquesta tasca.

Ex 1. Mira’ls, allà van aquells dos altra volta, on va la corda va el poal!

E.g. 1 Look at those two, hanging out together again. Certainly, the rope goes where the bucket is!

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Ex. Hi ha crisi als EEUU, i Europa en recessió. I és que on va la corda va el poal!

E.g. Crisis sweeps through US economy, and Europe goes in recession. The rope goes where the bucket is!

*Also «Ser la corda i el poal» (To be the rope and the bucket)

To be freezing like a chick

Val. «Estar gelat com un poll»

Aquesta és una de les expressions més utilitzades en valencià quan una persona té molt de fred. L’expressió prové, probablement, del fet que els pollets pateixen molt de fred abans d’esdevenir adults, a causa de la falta de plomatge. Sorprenentment, les nostres darreres investigacions han descobret que alguns parlants d’anglés s’han trobat a si mateixos fent servir aquesta expressió en la seua llengua materna. És que potser s’estan valencianitzant? Estem regalant manlleus paremiològics als anglòfons? Al davall trobareu algunes proves que donen suport a aquesta teoria.
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This is one of the most usual expressions in Valencian to mean that weather is very cold. Its origin probably comes from the fact that baby chicks suffer from cold in their early days of life, due to their lack plumage. Surprisingly, our last research works have brought to light that some English speakers are surprised to find themselves using this expression in their own language. Are they Valencianizing themselves? Is English adapting expressions from Valencian? Hereunder you’ll find some pieces of evidence:

Evidence 1:
Some people are just incredibly gifted at coming up with sayings that are unique, expressive and often, hilarious. [...] One of my best friends often passes on funny things she’s heard. Recently, she was waiting in a queue for something. [...] A woman in front of her was waffling away on cell phone, and going to into detail about the cold weather and how she was ‘freezing like a chicken’. Since then, ‘freezing like a chicken’ has become somewhat of an insider joke within our friendship circle. At first glance, ‘freezing like a chicken’ makes absolutely no sense, and is a poorly-constructed metaphor, and yet we all know exactly what it means. I feel cold just thinking about it.


Evidence 2:
“I’m freezing like a chicken”. That is what Seth proclaimed the other evening as he got out of the bath tub. I'm not sure I know why a chicken is a freezing animal. But it sounded funny as heck.

Ex. Quin fred que fa ací fora, m'he quedat gelat com un poll!

E.g. It's damned cold out there, I'm freezing like a chick!

Nose and compass are two of a kind

Val. «Segons el nas, el compàs»


Penis size is often believed to be related to the size of the nose. This expression shows how Valencian people bear in mind one of the most popular myths about the male organ of copulation.

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Un mite molt estés arreu del món és que la mida de l’òrgan masculí erèctil està estretament relacionada amb la del nas. L’ús d’aquesta expressió fa palesa aquesta creença popular.

Linguistic clarifications:

The word "compass(es)" (compàs, in Valencian) in this context is an euphemism for ‘penis’. Another words referring penis in this language are piu ("peg", "pin" or "bolt"), pardal ("bird"), xufa ("tiger nut"), tita ("turkey hen"), cigala ("crayfish"), etc.

To have one’s first ears

Val. «Tindre les primeres orelles»

It means to be very young. You may use this expression as a reply when somebody tries to make you believe that he is younger than he really is. When it's your turn to talk, you may tell him: Yes, you are so young, you still have your first ears! This would be a subtle way to mean that you don’t believe him.

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Vol dir ser molt jove. Aquesta expressió es pot utilitzar, per exemple, com a constestació a algú que, pels seus comentaris, tracta de destacar la seua joventut o de fer veure que és més jove del que realment és. L’altre li pot contestar irònicament:

Tu, sí, tens encara les primeres orelles!