Comments on: Quirky Icelandic phrases

By: Simon devonald

Simon devonald — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:51:51 +0000

According to various annals , the great Jon Pall Signarsson used to say an icelandic phrase which goes something like ‘I’m in seventh heaven’, would you know that phrase?

Thanks

By: 20 20 foxx episodes

20 20 foxx episodes — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 09:45:00 +0000

I really like people young and old who actually who blog regularly, it is actually hard to receive that method of understanding any other means. Extraordinary work.

By: Tom Harper

Tom Harper — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 15:43:28 +0000

I enjoy the somewhat “meaningless” or “too many meanings” phrases. Some include “Það er nú það”, “Gjörðu svo vel”. I don’t now if there is ever a good single translation of either of these phrases that isn’t 100% context dependent.

By: Tómas

Tómas — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 19:17:29 +0000

Rik Hardy July 24, 2010 at 12:41 pm
… “upp frá” and “niður eftir”, which are untranslatable because nobody knows what they mean.

Well *I* know what they mean

When I lived in the West-fjords, where there is no flat land, there was no North or South, East or West – the four cardinal directions were (and still are) up/down (the mountain) and in/out (the fjord.)

By: Mike Richards

Mike Richards — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:27:46 +0000

Oh Margrét that is a *fabulous* phrase – I love it and will try it over here in the UK.

Thanks for sharing.

By: Margrét Lukka

Margrét Lukka — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:11:58 +0000

Quirky Icelandic Phrase: “It rains up his nose.”

Það rignir upp í nefið á honum…. meaning someone is snobby or stuck up.

By: hildigunnur

hildigunnur — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 21:18:42 +0000

Diana, the ten drops is mainly used for the coffee itself, rather than the milk in it.

My dad sometimes says when asked if he’d like some coffee: Tíu dropa – efst í bollann takk (ten drops – in the top of the cup, please)

By: Ned Ludd

Ned Ludd — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 06:18:02 +0000

When I lived in Seattle, pale skin was the “Seattle tan”. Summer was beautiful, 70ºF / 21ºC and clear, sunny skies everyday, but it only lasted from the beginning of July to the end of August. The climate’s different now, so maybe summer has gotten longer; it’s definitely gotten hotter. May-June, as well as September, would be be a mix of rainclouds and sunshine – not too bad, really – but after six months of near-constant overcast skies, people looked a bit sun-starved.

By: Dale Olafson

Dale Olafson — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 06:58:41 +0000

I’m more than curious Alda about how this phrase is actually spoken in Icelandic, i.e: spelling and phonetics please. This would be a great addition to my Icelandic coarse.

By: Diana

Diana — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 22:39:02 +0000

In Iceland, when someone asks you if you want milk in your coffee, you can answer: “Yes, only ten drops” (já, bara tíu dropar)