Appease October Ghouls with International Food Idioms! by da-AL

Posted on by da-AL
Can idioms satisfy ghouls?
Can idioms satisfy ghouls?

Fright month — October, when tales of vampires and other ghouls feasting on humans are at their scariest — calls for self defense.

When my husband mentioned how in his native Iran, someone saying wanting to eat your liver means they love you, it got me to thinking.

Might food idioms placate blood thirsty villains?

Fingers crossed, I’ve collected a few from the countries I’m directly related to — my natal U.S., my paternal Spain, and my maternal Argentina.

Here at home, my sweet heart is the apple of my eye, while a bad egg is someone I don’t want to be around. Cheesy and corny people are silly. Conversely, big cheeses are VIPs.

Spaniards typically encourage flamenco performers with jaleo shouts. Hechale papas, to throw some potatoes into it, commands that dancers put even more into their moves.

Over there, a very attractive is like a cheese, es como un queso! When someone is like a soup, como una sopa, they’re soaked from the rain.

In Argentina, to be in the oven, estar al horno, is to be in trouble. Estar al horno con papas, with chips added, means big trouble. To send fruit, mandar fruta, means someone is talking nonsense.

To be rowing in dulce de leche (Argentine’s amped version of caramel), estar remando en dulce de leche, means one is in a sticky situation.

What are your favorite food idioms that are guaranteed to make your local cannibals salivate?

Published by da-AL

Happiness Between Tails blog/podcast speaks to and from the heart. It connects lovers — of pets, authors, reading — and of my still-unreleased novels. “Flamenco + the Sitting Cat” and “Tango + the Sitting Cat,” are my love letters to all who fear they're too odd, too damaged, too old, too whatever to find love and happiness with or without a partner. HappinessBetweenTails.com • ContactdaAL@gmail.com • BuyMeACoffee.com/SupportHBT

15 thoughts on “Appease October Ghouls with International Food Idioms! by da-AL”

  2. You’re just so ‘scrumptious’… This one’s got me thinking – I wasn’t aware of the link and now I am I’m sure I’ll have lots more examples popping in to my mind.. haha xx

    Liked by 1 person

  4. I can think of only one right now, which, freely translated, would be: I could just eat you up. Meaning you think someone is very cute. If you’d add “raw” to the mix, though, it’d be like a threat, saying you think you could take on the other person in a fight.

    Liked by 2 people

      1. Yes. Not sure if it’s Dutch by origin, but we do say it. Another similar expression to the raw one would be: “I’ll eat you up with your skin and hairs”. We’re kind of crazy… D:
        We also say: “Oh, you are such a sweetie/candy/licorice (don’t ask)” to show we adore someone.

        Liked by 2 people

          1. Yep, as a Dutch woman I know these sayings too 🙂
            If someone is soaked from the rain, we over here say ‘I am wet like a drowned cat’.
            And if someone is very worried about something, another person could say to that person ‘the soup isn’t eaten as hot as it will be served’, meaning that it the thing the person worries about, probably will be not so bad..

            Liked by 1 person

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