How do you translate a Portuguese idiomatic phrase which means, 'as lost as a blind nun on a honeymoon'?
On a Duolingo forum, people from all over the globe have added their suggestions.
My favourite is 'lost as a cross-eyed crab'. (Puerto Rican Spanish - "esta mas perdio' (perdido) que un juey bizco".)
English phrases which spring to mind are:
Couldn't find his/their way out of a paper bag.
As useless (or helpful) as a chocolate teapot.
From 'across the pond' we get:
more lost than a blind man at a shootout
(American - a shootout in British English would be a gunfight.)
Plenty more British proverbs and phrases pose a challenge to translators:
all at sea
like a fish out of water (confused rather than lost)
more lost than a mosquito in a standing ovation
https://www.duolingo.com/comment/1300489 Comments on the English translation / equivalent of the Brazilian Portuguese saying, 'More lost than a nun on a honeymoon'.
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Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have many more posts on learning languages. Please share links to your favourite posts.
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