Finnish: Mies tulee räkänokastakin, muttei tyhjännaurajasta.
English: Snot-faced kids become men, but not the ones who laugh too easily.
collected: Vaasa, Finland (12-20-2015)
origin: very old Finnish saying/proverb. Used to insult someone for being silly or foolish.
Category Archives: Vaasa Janks
122015002
Finnish: Hullu mies Huittisista! Syö enemmän kuin tienaa.
English: You crazy man from Huittinen! You eat more than you earn.
collected: Vaasa, Finland (12-20-2015)
origin: old Finnish saying, originating in or about someone in Huittinen, now used throughout Finland. Something you say to or about someone who is being a spendthrift.
122015001
Finnish: Syö sika syö, jouluna sinut tapetaan.
English: Eat pig! Eat! You will be killed at Christmas.
collected: Vaasa, Finland (12-20-2015)
origin: heard it from their respective grandparents. Commonly used by elderly towards children who eat too much.
121915009
Don’t let the door hit ya where the Good Lord split ya
collected: Vaasa, Finland (12-19-2015)
origin: old expression. Heard it in her hometown of Mansfield, Ohio, maybe from her mother.
121915008
Finnish: Silmäsi ovat niinkuin tähdet, eivät yhtä kirkkaat mutta yhtä kaukana toisista
English: Your eyes are like stars. Not as bright but as far apart from each other.
collected: Vaasa, Finland (12-19-2015)
origin: she thinks she heard it from a television show, maybe “How I Met Your Mother”
121915007
Finnish: Hiuksesi ovat niinkuin metsä, eivät yhtä tiheät mutta yhtä täynnä elämää.
English: Your hair is like a forest. Not as thick but as full of life.
collected: Vaasa, Finland (12-19-2015)
origin: told to him by his father when he was a child
121915006
Finnish: Silmäsi ovat niinkuin tähdet, eivät yhtä kirkkaat mutta yhtä kaukana toisista
English: Your eyes are like stars. Not as bright but as far apart from each other.
collected: Vaasa, Finland (12-19-2015)
origin: told to him by his father when he was a child
121915005
Finnish: Hartiasi ovat niinkuin ladon ovet. Eivät yhtä leveät mutta yhtä lahot.
English: Your shoulders are like barn doors. Not as wide, but as rotten.
collected: Vaasa, Finland (12-19-2015)
origin: told to him by his father when he was a child
121915004
Finnish: Sinä et ole penaalin terävin kynä
English: You are not the sharpest pencil in the case
collected: Vaasa, Finland (12-19-2015)
origin: common Finnish expression
121915003
Swedish: “Hör du nu tror jag hör du nog du är lite klumpigt vaggad”
English: “You know what, I think you were clumsily rocked”
collected: Vaasa, Finland (12-19-2015)
origin: Meaning that someone was clumsily rocked as a child and is therefore stupid. Heard it in the countryside near Vaasa, in a Swedish dialect.