German Phrases That Make No Sense In English

Having a pig? Horses vomiting? Making like Franz? What does it all mean?!

1. To have had pig

Wishing to have pig may seem a bit dubious in English, but in Germany, having pig is a blessing. You may have won the lottery, casually run into a famous celebrity, or gotten into the university of your dreams. Essentially, you had pig!

2. Lies have short legs

This one makes a lot of sense, in a roundabout sort of way. Lies will always catch up to you!

3. They've already seen horses vomit

Okay, this is a little on the gross side, but it sort of makes sense. Horses cannot, in fact, vomit. It basically means that nothing is impossible, some people have even seen horses throw up.

4. Give up the spoon

Giving up the spoon has nothing to do with food. Sadly, when someone gives up their spoon, they are shuffled loose from the mortal coil, they croaked, they bit the dust. Dead.

5. Carry owls to Athens

Why would anyone carry owls to Athens? Athens has owls already! Exactly. It means to do a job that, when you really think about it, you don't really need to do.

6. Make someone into a snail

Would you want to be a snail? If your boss makes you into a snail, he yells at you and tears you down.

7. Get the cow from the ice

When you have a huge project planned and the printer stops working and you spill coffee on yourself and your car won't start, you need to stop, take a deep breath, and rescue the cow from the ice. Basically, pull it together at the last second.

8. Leave the church in the town

Leaving the church in the town means to avoid making a fuss about something.

9. To stand on the hose

Standing on the hose means no water is flowing, which means you are at a loss. Try to avoid standing on the hose at work.