Making a Wine Shop Out of a Raisin

In English, someone who’s making a big deal out of nothing is said to be making a mountain out of a molehill. Other languages use different fanciful images to convey the same idea. In Swedish, the image of someone is “making a hen out of a feather.” In Icelandic, they’re “making a camel out of a gnat,” and in Arabic, they’re “making a wine shop out of a raisin.” This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Making a Wine Shop Out of a Raisin”

In English, if somebody’s making a big deal out of something that’s really trivial, we might say they’re making a mountain out of a molehill.

And there are other great expressions in other languages. There’s one in Swedish that translates as they’re making a hen out of a feather. Isn’t that nice?

And in Icelandic, you might say, they’re making a camel out of a gnat. A camel out of a gnat. Those both sound like dangerous lab experiments.

Well, here’s one that’s preferable. There’s one in Arabic that translates as, they’re making a wine shop out of a raisin. Oh, a wine shop out of a raisin. That’s a religious experience.

Oh, I do love these. You’re welcome to join us on the show. We have a 24-hour phone line that’s toll-free in the United States and Canada, 877-929-9673.

And you can call us on WhatsApp. Find our number at waywordradio.org/contact.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

More from this show

Drift and Drive Derivations

The words drift and drive both come from the same Germanic root that means “to push along.” By the 16th century, the English word drift had come to mean “something that a person is driving at,” or in other words, their purpose or intent. The phrase...

Recent posts