Local Idioms

[Diana]

The following quote is taken from Levusti's wonderful Indepth Guide to Creating a Language! Idioms are a great way to add culture flavor to your locations and settings.

Also, take note of IDIOMS. No, not idiots, though you should mind them as well. Idioms are phrases that don't make literal sense. They are understood in a figurative way.

For example: "I went to catch my plane today."
People do not LITERALLY catch planes. But we know it means to ride an airplane.

Other idioms in English are "break-neck speed," "give a hand," "blow my own horn," "hit the hay," "two-faced," etc.

Often, they do not translate well into other languages because other languages have different idioms.
Japanese: 猿も木から落ちる /Saru mo ki kara ochiru/ meaning "Even monkeys fall from trees" = Even experts make mistakes.
Tagalog: daga sa dibdib meaning "mouse in the chest" = worry or fear
French: mort de rire meaning "death by laughter" = equivalent of English text-speak LOL
Thai: 555 which obviously means five five five, but 5 is pronounced "ha" in Thai. So 555 is hahaha, used like LOL.

If you want to make your language truly your own language, make your own idioms. Like "lazy" could be translated as "moves like stone," or "heavy-body." What about thief? "Quick hands?" That's obvious. What about "searching fingers?" Or maybe a heavy-spender could be "Money is itchy?"

For this exercise you will be creating some commonly used IDIOMS for your location.

Some more examples:

That man is a hammer in a tornado when he's angry. (Suggesting he does major damage!)

I woke up today ready to spank the devil. (Someone woke up ready to start trouble!)

 

[Minibit]

I love this, I love this I love this I love this.

To have blocks on ones head (to concentrate hard on a task)

Fire-breather (One who speaks ill (scalding words) of others; a gossip)

Mudmouth (A person given to foul language, a person whose language is considered coarse or dirty)

Warm-handed (A caring or nurturing person)