Idioms and euphemistic expressions used to indicate that someone is lacking in intelligence, or is as crazy as a box of weasels.
Key to abbreviations: @m = used when speaking about men, @f used when speaking about women.
| Language | Idiom |
|---|---|
| Belarusian | Розум за розум зайшоў (Rozum za rozum zajshoŭ) |
| Bulgarian | Хлопа му дъската! ( Hlopa mu dãskata!) @m Хлопа и дъската! (Hlopa i dãskata!) @f - His/her board (plank) clutters! Изкукуригал е!(Izkukurigal e!) @m Изкукуригала е!(Iskukurigala e!) @f - He/she has crowed out! He/she's gone cuckoo! Той не е с всичкия си!(Toj ne e s vsichkija si!) @m Тя не е с всичкия си!(Tja ne e s vsichkija si!) @f - He/she isn't with his/her all... |
| Chinese (Cantonese) | 牛皮燈籠 點不明
(nghàuhpèih dānglùhng dím bātmìhng) - as unclear as a leather lantern |
| Croatian | Vrane su mu popile mozak - Crows have drunk his brain Fali mu daska u glavi - He lacks a plank in his head On je otišao na kvasinu - He has soured = He's losing his mental abilities |
| Czech | Šplouchá mu na maják
- It's splashing on his lighthouse Má v hlavě o jedno kolečko navíc - He has a wheel extra in his head |
| Danish | At have rotter på loftet - to have rats in the attic |
| Dutch | Hij/Zij heeft ze niet alle vijf op een rij - He/She doesn't have all five [senses] in a row Er zit een schroefje bij hem los - He has a loose screw; His screws are loose Hij is van lotje getikt - He's been tapped off Lotje Hij ziet ze vliegen - He sees them fly |
| English | a sandwich short of a picnic a few beers short of a six-pack one brick short of a load not playing with a full deck [of cards] to have bats in the belfrey to have kangeroo loose in the top paddock as crazy as a sack full of ferrets out to lunch as nutty as a fruit cake as mad as a hatter the lift doesn't go to the top floor the lights are on, but nobody's home to have a screw loose not the sharpest knife in the drawer not hitting on all six cylinders not the sharpest tack in the box a few fish short of a hatstand a few penguins short of a lawnmower |
| Estonian | Kruvid logisevad - The screws are loose Tuled põlevad, aga kedagi pole kodus - The lights are on, but no-one's home Katus sõidab./Katus sõitis ära - The roof is riding./The roof rode away Mõistus läks kodust ära - "The mind went away from home" Puupea - wooden head Läks lolliks/hulluks - went stupid/mad |
| Finnish | Hänellä ei ole kaikki kotona - He doesn't have everything at home |
| French | avoir une araigneé au plafond
- to have a spider on the ceiling ne pas avoir toute sa tête - to not have all his head Il n'a pas inventé l'eau chaude / le fil à couper le beurre / la poudre - He didn't invent hot water / the wire for cutting butter / powder Ce n'est pas une lumière - It's not a light Il est "brave" / "gentil" - He's brave / gentle - with a very ironic intonation on the brave/gentil Le franc/euro ne tombe pas vite chez lui - The Franc/Euro doesn't fall very quickly for him Il comprend vite, mais il faut lui expliquer longtemps - He understands quickly, but you have to spend along time explaining things to him Elle est (un peu) blonde - She's (a bit) blonde - used in France Il lui manque une case - he's lacking a square/compartment |
| German | Hast du 'nen Vogel?!
- Have you gotta bird [in your head]?! Tickst du noch richtig? Are you still ticking on time? Hast du noch alle Tassen im Schrank? Do you still have all cups in the cupboard? Hast Du 'nen Schuß? Nicht auf jedem Speicher brennt (ein) Licht There's not a light on in every attic |
| Greek | Τοὔστριψε ἡ βίδα (Toústripse i vída) |
| Hebrew | he fell on his head
- (hu nafal barosh) הוא נפל בראש (hu khay beseret) הוא חי בסרט he lives in a movie - his whole life are like a movie he's missing a screw - (khaser lo boreg) חסר לו בורג |
| Hungarian | Nincs ki mind a négy kereke - he hasn't got all four wheels out |
| Indonesian | otak udang - shrimp brained |
| Irish (Gaelic) | Tá sé chomh mear le míol Márta - He's as lively as an animal in March |
| Italian | Avere le rotelle fuori posto to have one's wheels out of place = to be nutty, to be a loony Mancare una rotell to be lacking a wheel = to be nutty, to be a loony Non avere tutti i venerdì to be lacking some Fridays = to be nutty, to be a loony Essere svitato to be unscrewed = to be nutty, to be a loony, to have a screw loose Essersi bevuto il cervello to have drunk up one's own brain = to be crazy Essere di legno/ di coccio to be made of wood / of earthenware = to be unable to understand (also: stubborn, not willing to understand). Often in pronouncing this expression the speaker raps on a hard surface, to remark the idea of 'hardness' with the noise. Essere duro di comprendonio to have hard brains = to be slow in understanding |
| Latvian | Putniņs bēniņos - to have birds in the attic Izkūkot prātu - to call ones mind out Aizvēries šīberis - the damper is closed Aizbraucis jumts - the roof has left Caurs jumts - the roof is full of holes Visi nav mājās - nobody's home |
| Lithuanian | Jam stogas važiuoja - His roof is moving |
| Polish | Brak mu piątej klepki - He's missing the fifth stave Brak jej piątej klepki - She's missing the fifth stave Ma nierówno pod sufitem - He's got a jerky surface under the ceiling |
| Portuguese | Cabeça d'alho chocho - rotten garlic head Tem um parafuso a menos - He's missing a screw Tem macaquinhos no sotão - (He) has little monkeys in the attic É poucochinho - He's little (opposite of much) Ele está com o parafuso solto - He has the loose screw Ele é um cabeça de vento - He is a head of wind |
| Punjabi | ਓਦ ਦਮਘ ਖ੍ਰਾਬ ਹੋਯ (oda damagh khrāb hoya) - his brain's not working |
| Russian | У него крыша поехала (U nego kryša poexala) - His roof has gone Сошёл с ума (soshol s uma) - walk off the mind |
| Serbian | Фали му даска у глави (Fali mu daska u glavi) - He's missing a plank in his head Фали му шраф у глави (Fali mu šraf u glavi) - He's missing a screw in his head Ударен мокром чарапом (Udaren mokrom čarapom) - Hit with a wet sock Луд ко струја (Lud ko struja) - Crazy as electricity Скренуо с колосека (Skrenuo s koloseka) - He's gone off his rails |
| Slovenian | Eno kolesce mu manjka - He's missing a wheel Nima vseh kolesc v glavi - He doesn't have all wheels in his head |
| Spanish | Más loco que una cabra / un plumero - Crazier than a goat / feather duster Le falta un tornillo - He's missing a screw |
| Swedish | Att ha tomtar på loftet - To have brownies in the attic Flängd i roten - Flurry in the root Han har otur när han tänker - He is unlucky when he thinks Hear these phrases Hon är inte den vassaste kniven i lådan - She is not the sharpest knife in the box |
| Tagalog | Cira-ulo - Broken head |
| Turkish | Kafadan kontak - The contacts in his brain are cut Keçileri kaçırmıs, - His goats fled Kafayı yemiş - He has eaten his own brain Tırlatmış - He purred |
| Ukrainian | Немає клепки
(Namaje klepky) - a screw is missing Не всі вдома (Ne vsi vdoma) - not everyone is at home З'їхав з глузду (Zyihav z hluzdu) - rode off the mind |
Books of idioms, proverbs and sayings in many languages
People who have contributed to this section
If you would like to make any corrections or additions to this page, or if you can provide recordings, please contact me.
It's all Greek to me | It's raining cats and dogs | As easy as falling off a log | A sandwich short of a picnic | It's small world | When pigs fly | Out of sight, out of mind | Crystal-clear | Penny Pinching | Practice makes perfect | The grass is always greener | As Snug as a Bug in a Rug
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