Ancient Greek→English translation forum

βοῦς ἐν αὐλίῳ → bull in a sheepfold, round peg in a square hole

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μὴ δῶτε τὸ ἅγιον τοῖς κυσὶν μηδὲ βάλητε τοὺς μαργαρίτας ὑμῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν χοίρων –> give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine

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τῶν τριχῶν λαμβάνεται → grabs you by the hair, plain as the nose on one's face, obvious, conspicuous, visible, plain for all to see, it jumps out

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ἀπωτέρω ἢ γόνυ κνάμα → the shin is farther than the knee, blood is thicker than water, charity begins at home

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ὅρκους γυναικὸς εἰς ὕδωρ γράφω → the oaths of a woman I inscribe on water, I write a woman's oaths in water

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γυναιξὶ κόσμον ἡ σιγὴ φέρει → it is silence that gives women dignity

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πρὶν πτύσαι → before you can say Jack Robinson, before you spit

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πατρὶς γάρ ἐστι πᾶσ' ἵν' ἂν πράττῃ τις εὖ → homeland is where life is good | homeland is where it is good | ubi bene, ibi patria

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χαλεπὰ τὰ καλά → the good things are difficult to attain, the beautiful things are difficult to attain

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τὸ ἐμόν γ' ἐμοὶ λέγεις ὄναρ → you are telling me what I know already, you are telling me my own dream

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ὅσῳ διαφέρει σῦκα καρδάμων → as different as chalk from cheese, different as chalk from cheese, apples and oranges, like apples and oranges, by as much as cardamom is different from figs

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πρὶν τοὺς ἰχθῦς ἑλεῖν σὺ τὴν ἅλμην κυκᾷς –> you're mixing the sauce before catching the fish | don't count your chickens before they are hatched | don't count your chickens before they hatch | first catch your hare | first catch your rabbit | first catch your rabbit and then make your stew | first catch your hare, then cook it | first catch your hare, then cook him

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κινοῦσα μηδὲ κάρφος → not stirring an inch, stirring not a single blade of grass

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εἰς τετρημένον πίθον ἀντλεῖν → run water into a punctured pitcher, to the perforated jar bale water, labour in vain, labor in vain

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ἐκ πίθω ἀντλεῖν → to pour from a jug, to have deep pockets, pour from a jug, have deep pockets

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μαλθακωτέρα πέπονος σικύου → softer than a ripe melon

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ἀφ' Ἑστίας ἄρχεσθαι → commence from Hestia, commence at the foundation, begin at the proper beginning

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ἐν οἰκίᾳ τυφλῶν καὶ ὁ νυκτάλωψ ὀξυδερκής → even the day-blind is sharp-eyed in a blind house | among the blind, the one-eyed man is king

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μὴ τῷ κακῷ τὸ κακὸν ἰῶ → don't try to cure evil with evil, do not make bad worse

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Ἀρεοπαγίτου στεγανώτερος → more reserved than a judge of the Areopagus

Started by spiros