Adam Sharp
@adamcsharp.bsky.social
45K followers 13K following 5.7K posts
1. Writer (https://www.adamsharp.me/) 2. Obsessed with lists 3. COMMON PEOPLE 4. THE CORRECT ORDER OF BISCUITS 5. THE WHEEL IS SPINNING BUT THE HAMSTER IS DEAD (http://geni.us/yDxa)
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adamcsharp.bsky.social
My latest book is a collection of idioms, proverbs and slang from around the world. It's called The Wheel is Spinning but the Hamster is Dead and in the UK you can get it from these places (geni.us/yDxa). Outside UK, Blackwell's do free/fast international delivery... blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/pro...
The cover of The Wheel is Spinning but the Hamster is Dead: A Journey Around the World in Idioms, Proverbs and General Nonsense. Next to it is a quote from the comedian Russell Kane that reads "Extremely entertaining and very useful for new insults", although reading between the lines what Russell actually meant to say was "this is the greatest book in the history of books and you should immediately buy a copy for you and everyone you have ever met"
adamcsharp.bsky.social
Thanks Katherine! And to add a suggestion of my own - here's a list of fun accounts (which I use as my timeline)...
adamcsharp.bsky.social
A Turkish phrase for when you have a peculiar experience is benim basima gelen cig tavugun basina gelmez. It means “what happened to me would not happen to a raw chicken.”

There’s also a Venezuelan equivalent that translates to “this only happens to me and to the Pink Panther.”
adamcsharp.bsky.social
It's the least I deserve. I still can't believe I didn't get the Nobel again but this post alone should put that right for next year
Reposted by Adam Sharp
karynmoy.bsky.social
this is like when I realised eurovision singer sandie shaw’s name is meant to be jokey because they say it like sandie shore!
adamcsharp.bsky.social
Christopher Columbus in Spanish is Cristóbal Colón (and he sure did put the colón in coloniser amirite)
adamcsharp.bsky.social
adamcsharp.bsky.social
If there’s ever a Kenneth Branagh biography focusing on the many works of Shakespeare that he’s been in I’ll be so angry if they don’t call it “A Branagh in the Works”
Reposted by Adam Sharp
adamcsharp.bsky.social
They should do a Colombian remake of Scooby Doo where the gang brings Pablo Escobar to justice and he says "And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you Medellín kids"
adamcsharp.bsky.social
I’ll start a petition for them to do a spin off show called Shauna Sheep!
adamcsharp.bsky.social
Boosting this as a PSA as it seems not everyone is aware of the Shaun /shorn pun in Shaun the Sheep
thejoegriffin.bsky.social
I keep forgetting that English people add a phoenetic 'r' where there's a vowel. That's why I didn't get that name 'Shaun the Sheep' was a pun for a good 10 years.
Reposted by Adam Sharp
squirlykat.bsky.social
This rates up there with my annoyance that they didn’t call XTC’s Greatest Hits “Complete XTC”
Mind you, they were simpler times
adamcsharp.bsky.social
If there’s ever a Kenneth Branagh biography focusing on the many works of Shakespeare that he’s been in I’ll be so angry if they don’t call it “A Branagh in the Works”
adamcsharp.bsky.social
They should do a Colombian remake of Scooby Doo where the gang brings Pablo Escobar to justice and he says "And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you Medellín kids"
adamcsharp.bsky.social
I missed this till now but that has made my night, Siobhan - thank you!
Reposted by Adam Sharp
rodrigo.duarte.cl
Chilean Spanish "tangled as octopus 'rock, paper and scissors'"
Reposted by Adam Sharp
leosfera.bsky.social
In Brazil, we say Adam was happy because he had no mother-in-law.
adamcsharp.bsky.social
I’ve heard that in Venezuela also. And another Brazilian one I like is mais perdido que cachorro que caiu da mudança or “he’s more lost than a dog that fell from the moving truck”
Reposted by Adam Sharp
carturo222.bsky.social
In Colombia we also have "more lost than Adam on Mothers' Day."
adamcsharp.bsky.social
Just been reminded of a colloquial Colombian phrase for when someone is lost or confused that goes mas enredado que un pulpo aplaudiendo. It means “more tangled up than a clapping octopus.”
adamcsharp.bsky.social
What did the octopus do when it wanted to lose a bit of weight?
Went on a low-crab diet.
Reposted by Adam Sharp
wordsmithgetxo.bsky.social
In an old ad for board game Scattergories in Spain a player was shown flouncing out while anothet said “OK, we’ll accept ‘octopus’ as a pet”.
“Aceptamos pulpo” has now entered the language in the meaning of “that’s a bit of a stretch but let’s go with it just for the sake of argument”.
Reposted by Adam Sharp
adamcsharp.bsky.social
As today is World Octopus Day I’ll again mention that a Spanish equivalent to “like a fish out of water” is como un pulpo en un garaje. It means “like an octopus in a garage.”
Reposted by Adam Sharp
birnaanna.bsky.social
Octopus in Icelandic is kolkrabbi, which means coal crab. Squid is smokkfiskur, which means condom fish.
Reposted by Adam Sharp
aminifer.bsky.social
What do you call a noisy octopus in tartan pyjamas? Bagpipes
Reposted by Adam Sharp
handle.invalid
Octopus in Yoruba is apparently "Ayéfófo" or more recently "ẹja ẹlẹsẹ mẹjọ." The latter literally means the eight-legged fish. When consumed as meat, it's called "fọ́ntọ́nfọ́ntọ́n", which I personally translate as "eww! yuck! Squishy!"
adamcsharp.bsky.social
As today is World Octopus Day I’ll again mention that a Spanish equivalent to “like a fish out of water” is como un pulpo en un garaje. It means “like an octopus in a garage.”