Learning some Italian and finding it wild that their version of “What the fuck?” is “What the dick?” and “Sti cazzi” is the equivalent of “Who cares” but literally translates as “These dicks"
Hungarian has what the dick also. One of my only whole sentences from working with Hungarians is "Mi a faszt csinalz, lusta gazember?" - WTF are you doing you lazy villain?
There’s a one in PG Wodehouse: “I should say that young Lord Antony Trefusis was in the soup already. I seem to see the consommé splashing about his ankles.”
Besides the 'dog phrase', in Brazilian Portuguese it's very common to refer to a problem by saying:"to com um abacaxi na mão" - 'I'm holding a pineapple'.
I feel there are quite a few, "there's a thing in the thing" sayings in Finnish. "Matti in the purse", means I'm broke. "Trouble in the hand", something has gone wrong, milder version of the devil saying. Must ponder more. 🤔
Years ago I saw a businesswoman board the train with a large paddle, so I asked if she was going dragonboating after work. She laughed and said "No - last week one of my coworkers left me up shit creek without a paddle. So I'm hanging up this paddle to remind me not to let it happen again"
An alternative Dutch saying, when dealing with the difficult consequences of something, is 'met de gebakken peren zitten' ('being left with the baked pears')
I like your translation of the Dutch one (it's funny), but of course a literal translation just talks about 'puree' without mentioning what kind. I mean, could be tomato too. Or cauliflower. Who knows? :P
Another one of Mexican Spanish apart from the clown one is, "I had to dance with the ugliest one" (Me tocó bailar con la mas fea) or "I already dance Berta" (Ya bailó Berta), which is an euphemism for "Ya valió verga" which I cannot translate but it's rather vulgar, (It's worth dick?).
We have a specific derivative to be of this one in Danish: standing with my braids (or just hair, or beard) in the post box: Being in a spot of bother / embarrassment (but not, like, lethal trouble) and feeling powerless, usually due to being betrayed, let down or fooled by others 🤷🏼♀️
An alternative explanation of the Swedish one I've heard is that it refers to the pub where condemned Stockholmers were given their last drink on the way to the gallows. Their glasses were supposedly kept in a blue cupboard.
Comments
Up shit creek, without a paddle, in a chicken-wire canoe.
“It fits like a fist in the ass”
Another similar saying when you really messed up and are in deep trouble would be (with a more severe tone): "Now the shit is steaming"
You do research the weird ones. 😅