Ste se za pravilno besedo odločili na podlagi prevajanja fraze iz slovenščine? To vas lahko hitro zavede. Idiomi in ustaljene fraze so kulturno in družbeno pogojeni, so kot metafore, ki imajo skrit pomen, zato jih nikoli ne moremo prevajati besedo za besedo.

Izjema so pogosto uporabljene fraze iz Svetega pisma:

•  forbidden fruit – prepovedani sad

Jim flirts with his best friend’s wife only because she’s forbidden fruit.

•  the fruit/fruits of labour – sadovi dela

Winning the Olympic medal was the fruits of his labor.

• as you sow so shall you reap – kar si sejal, to boš žel

Jane was always kind to everyone. She volunteered, gave money to charity, and helped the homeless. As you sow, so you shall reap. She just won the lottery!

• the blind leading the blind­ – slepec slepca vodi

Jack offered to show guide me through Louvre, though he’s never been there before. It will be like the blind leading the blind.

• to cast the first stone – naj prvi vrže kamen

I don’t want to be the first to cast the stone, but this presentation was really boring.

• wolf in sheep’s clothing – volk v ovčji koži

Jane thought the handsome stranger was gentle and kind, but Marie suspected he was a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

• skin and bones – kost in koža

Too much stress has reduced her to skin and bones.

Pri preostalih frazah si lahko pomagamo z dobrim slovarjem.