I think the list is kind of intentionally misleading to provide that assumption.
The non-English ones are all translations of whatever that language uses as its onomatopoeia that represents any quick succession of sounds.
In English, Snap Crackle Pop is most known as the slogan of Rice Krispies cereal. The saying was not common speech in English until 1932, when the then-5-year-old brand used the phrase in radio jingles for the first time.
The universal English equivalent to any of those would probably be something more like “bang bang bang”. Or in British English they say “bish bash bosh” which would be a true direct translation. In American English we dropped that saying, so our closest equivalent would probably be “wham, bam, thank you ma’am”
Czechs say wheelbarrows too, specifically the open ones that cannot carry liquids without loading them with buckets. In fact, our way of saying them (trakař) is easier to confuse with Tracker (German for tractor) than the Slovak tragáč, the latter coming clearly from German tragen (carry). Not to be confused with the more common sheet metal wheelbarow, which is kolečko (Bohemian) / tůčko (Moravian) / fúrik (Slovak).
Do French people generally know what a Halberd is? Because I think at least in Canada only RPG nerds and medieval history nerds have ever heard that word before...
The French do know how to decapitate heads. Usually they use a guillotine, but I guess they also know a halbard for when the guillotine is out of order.
The halberd expression I've only personally heard once from my wife who is a walking French expression generator. There's a new one every other day. I generally hear the rope expression used a lot more.
Au Québec on dit encore "Pleuvoir à siaux", bien que c'est le seul temps qu'on utilise encore cette vieille forme du mot sceaux. Par contre, jamais entendu l'expression des vaches ou des hallebardes
One urban legend has it that Esteri was the goddess of rain in pre-Christian Finland, but in fact the name is of Biblical origin. Another folk etymology suggests the phrase derives from Esteri, a brand of water pumps used by fire brigades.
Pijp is (ook) een oud woord voor buis.Een regenpijp is een afvoerbuis van een dakgoot bijvoorbeeld. Een orgel heeft pijpen, een mergelpijp (of mergpijp) is een stuk bot gevuld met beenmerg.
In lokaal dialect is een rietje ook een "peppeke" (pijpje).
Honestly I've only heard the expression used on snow, not rain. So it wouldn't be a troll squirting, it would be huge, mean trolls falling from the sky.
"It's raining twines/threads/strings" also works, but that's reserved for somewhat strong, sustained rain. "Buckets" is obviously the escalation of that.
Just adding one more, in spanish it's raining from jugs ("cántaro", more like an amphora, never used this old word outside of this expression)
I personally don't use this expression anymore. My family and I now only say something my brother came up with because we find it hilarious: it's a rain so hard it's like two rains
Fun fact: when it's raining, but the sun is shining, we say the Devil is beating his wife. Southeast USA, btw. I can see how some of these sayings came to be, but this one has never, ever made sense to me.
It makes me feel better that we're not the only ones. Maybe there's some kind of common thread. There were a lot of French Protestant immigrants here in South Carolina prior to the American Revolution.
That honestly sounds more vulgar, or at least in English it does. Do you have the expression of "shooting rope" cause that's what I think of, or maybe I just have a dirty mind.
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“It’s Raining Men” and “Let The Bodies Hit The Floor” are actually one song
Yup! Just told from very different perspectives.
Reminds me of the Rice Krispies onomatopoeic noises in different languages:
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_Krispies
Interesting that English is the only language where this isn't alliterative.
I think the list is kind of intentionally misleading to provide that assumption.
The non-English ones are all translations of whatever that language uses as its onomatopoeia that represents any quick succession of sounds.
In English, Snap Crackle Pop is most known as the slogan of Rice Krispies cereal. The saying was not common speech in English until 1932, when the then-5-year-old brand used the phrase in radio jingles for the first time.
The universal English equivalent to any of those would probably be something more like “bang bang bang”. Or in British English they say “bish bash bosh” which would be a true direct translation. In American English we dropped that saying, so our closest equivalent would probably be “wham, bam, thank you ma’am”
Are people fucking this cereal or do we have wildly different interpretations as to what "wham, bam, thank you ma'am" means?
While you are correct, I feel it's important to point out how lately you've been missing your 'outside enrichments'...
I love how sometimes language unites us and sometimes it makes us humorously question the sanity of anyone too different from us 😄
I had no idea that vowel progression (I A O/U) was so common in European languages. Interesting!
That Belgian version doesn't sound right. Never heard.or seen that one.
Polish: "Under the dog weather"
Slovaks use “wheelbarrows” not tractors
Czechs say wheelbarrows too, specifically the open ones that cannot carry liquids without loading them with buckets. In fact, our way of saying them (trakař) is easier to confuse with Tracker (German for tractor) than the Slovak tragáč, the latter coming clearly from German tragen (carry). Not to be confused with the more common sheet metal wheelbarow, which is kolečko (Bohemian) / tůčko (Moravian) / fúrik (Slovak).
I have been to Slovakia and never heard anything like that (wheelbarrows or tractors). How common is it?
In France we have a few more:
Il pleut des cordes (It's raining ropes) Il pleut à sceau (It's raining buckets) Il tombe des hallebardes (it's raining halberds)
I'm also quite partial to "on s'est fait saucer", literally "we got sauced", which refers to getting soaked in the rain.
Do French people generally know what a Halberd is? Because I think at least in Canada only RPG nerds and medieval history nerds have ever heard that word before...
The French do know how to decapitate heads. Usually they use a guillotine, but I guess they also know a halbard for when the guillotine is out of order.
The halberd expression I've only personally heard once from my wife who is a walking French expression generator. There's a new one every other day. I generally hear the rope expression used a lot more.
According to this expression it's "frequent" but no idea what that means: https://www.lesexpressions.fr/expression/il-tombe-des-hallebardes
Au Québec on dit encore "Pleuvoir à siaux", bien que c'est le seul temps qu'on utilise encore cette vieille forme du mot sceaux. Par contre, jamais entendu l'expression des vaches ou des hallebardes
L'expression des vaches est assez fréquente en France mais très vulgaire donc on ne l'utilise pas aussi souvent que pleuvoir des cordes par exemple.
We also use nails sometimes (il pleut des clous)
J'ai pris la saucé 😁
Norwegian here. Never heard the troll one before. Might be from a different part of the country. We have a lot of other sayings about rain though.
Det regner trollkjerringer
It's raining like a troll's jerking it?
I've heard it used on snow, but never rain.
"Dat regnar så på Bergen" should be an expression
what the hell happened to esteri to get that honor
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kuin_Esterin_perseest%C3%A4
frogs or "like from a pot" (polish)
Brazil: Canivetes (pocket knives)
Canivete aberto (open pocket knives) for emphasis, if it's really strong rain.
pé d'água caindo o céu entre outros
Pipe sticks (The Netherlands) (het regent pijpenstelen)
Other option: tuberculosis hard. (het regent tering hard)
More like pipe stems, no? As in the stems of pipes for smoking tobacco.
Also used: it's dog weather (het is hondenweer)
I was thinking about broomstick stelen. But yeah, 'stem' makes sense.
Hondenweer technically is about the weather in general, not rain specifically. A snow blizzard or a storm can also be hondenweer.
Pijp is (ook) een oud woord voor buis.Een regenpijp is een afvoerbuis van een dakgoot bijvoorbeeld. Een orgel heeft pijpen, een mergelpijp (of mergpijp) is een stuk bot gevuld met beenmerg.
In lokaal dialect is een rietje ook een "peppeke" (pijpje).
Pours as if from a broomhandle
Estonian. No, it doesn't make sense here either.
The fuck kind of rain are they getting in Greece?
In romanian, its "its raining with the bucket"
There is also "raining like pouring from a bucket", in Finnish ("sataa kuin saavista kaatamalla").
Is there something about troll squirting that only the Norwegians know about?
Honestly I've only heard the expression used on snow, not rain. So it wouldn't be a troll squirting, it would be huge, mean trolls falling from the sky.
What is it in German?
It pours like buckets
"It's raining twines/threads/strings" also works, but that's reserved for somewhat strong, sustained rain. "Buckets" is obviously the escalation of that.
What would "it's raining threads" be on German? I'm not familiar with that term
Es regnet Bindfäden.
Okay I've lived in Germany all my life and never heard that. Is it a regional expression?
It hailed in Vienna yesterday, does that count?
We say it's raining pipe ends.
Pipe stems, I think
Sticks I think, as in broomsticks (bezemstelen)
Swedish:
It's raining so much...
You misspelled småspik.
It's raining nails!
Just adding one more, in spanish it's raining from jugs ("cántaro", more like an amphora, never used this old word outside of this expression)
I personally don't use this expression anymore. My family and I now only say something my brother came up with because we find it hilarious: it's a rain so hard it's like two rains
Fun fact: when it's raining, but the sun is shining, we say the Devil is beating his wife. Southeast USA, btw. I can see how some of these sayings came to be, but this one has never, ever made sense to me.
In France, I believe they say that he's beating his wife and marrying his daughter. Very interesting.
It makes me feel better that we're not the only ones. Maybe there's some kind of common thread. There were a lot of French Protestant immigrants here in South Carolina prior to the American Revolution.
We say it's carnival in hell or demon's carnaval.
Duveltjeskermis
What did the Slovakians say before tractors were invented?
Luckily, tractors and the first instance of rain arrived in Slovakia on the very same day.
Very arid country with exhausted draft horses until that day.
as @[email protected] said, slovaks use “wheelbarrows” not tractors
why do you think tractors were invented?
"It's raining tractors" sounds like a way better song than that one about tacos.
I prefer tacos over tractors when it comes to having a lunch or things raining from the sky
It's raining cats and dogs..
.. Because a bomb's gone off in Battersea.
Who tf is Esteri and why does she have such notoriously severe diarrhea?
Apparently the Finnish goddess of rain according to an urban myth that isn't true 🤷🏻
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%92ostre
Interesting read, but I dont see anything noteworthy that has to do with her ass
Serbian: It's pouring like from a hose/cable
(we say "cable", but since the word is from a pre electricity age, hose is the actual meaning of)
(not very creative, I know, but keep in mind, hoses were for fancy rich people here at some point)
In French we usually say it's raining ropes, the listed expression exists but is vulgar so we use it a lot less.
That honestly sounds more vulgar, or at least in English it does. Do you have the expression of "shooting rope" cause that's what I think of, or maybe I just have a dirty mind.
Matching some of these older alternatives in the UK are "Bucketing Down", "Stair Rods". Which line up with some of the other languages(ISH).
What's the pre-translated Norwegian?
Trollkjerringer
Never heard that either
Trolinner? 🤷🏻
Never heard before