In a futile situation, English speakers might say that we’re spinning our wheels. The French have a phrase for the same situation that translates as “pedal in sauerkraut.” The Illustrated Book of Sayings collects similarly colorful idioms in other languages. There’s a Turkish expression that literally translates as “grapes darken by looking at each other,” meaning that we’re influenced by the company we keep. In Latvian, there’s an expression that means “to prevaricate,” but literally it translates as “to blow little ducks (out of one’s mouth).” This is part of a complete episode.
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