The piece of cake is in Timbuktu.
It's time for the next edition of "How do you say ____ in your language[s]?"!
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1. How do you say, idiomatically, that something is really easy?
Some examples in [at least American] English: a breeze, a snap, a piece of cake.
A native European Spanish speaker told me that they can say, "Está chupado," which literally translated might be something like "It's sucky" [right? my Spanish is far from awesome], which I think is interesting, since in English we might use that [in its idiomatic sense] if we're talking about something that's really hard.
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2. Again idiomatically, how do you say that something is really far away [with or without the connotation of it being in the middle of nowhere]?
Some examples in [American] English: [out] in the middle of nowhere, [out] in the boondocks [which a friend told me comes from the Filipino word "bundok", which means mountain], [out] in the boonies [a short form of the previous one], in Timbuktu...hm, I'm not sure I can really think of any that don't have that "middle of nowhere" connotation...any ideas?
The one I know in German, with the same connotation: "am Arsch der Welt" [literally, at the ass of the world].
And the reason I'm interested in this is that the same Spaniard told me that, at least in southern Spain, they actually use Wisconsin - which tickles me pink, because that's where I'm from. Example 1 [except imagine it in Spanish]: "Man, he kicked that ball all the way to Wisconsin!" Example 2: "I don't want to go all the way to that bar - it's in Wisconsin!" [When I mentioned this example to a fellow Wisconsinite who's also a brewer, he got offended that they wouldn't want to go to a bar in Wisconsin.] Apparently they use it because "it sounds funny and it's far away" [a bit like our Timbuktu, I guess]. I forgot to ask other native speakers and confirm this while I was there, so I'm especially curious whether anyone here uses or has heard this.
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Thanks, everyone!
[cross-posted to foreignlanguage]
ETA: Thank you to all of you for contributing! There are some really great ones out there...and some hilarious and scandalous ones...! For a few more [including a particularly, erm, beautiful one in French], see the comments on the foreignlanguage post. And please note that, according to a real Spanish speaker, "está chupado" is more like "it's licked."
E[again]TA: I forgot my other contribution to #1, the whole reason I started asking about it in other languages: in [at least European] Portuguese, I've been told you can say that something is "canja", which is a kind of chicken soup that kids really like.
===
1. How do you say, idiomatically, that something is really easy?
Some examples in [at least American] English: a breeze, a snap, a piece of cake.
A native European Spanish speaker told me that they can say, "Está chupado," which literally translated might be something like "It's sucky" [right? my Spanish is far from awesome], which I think is interesting, since in English we might use that [in its idiomatic sense] if we're talking about something that's really hard.
===
2. Again idiomatically, how do you say that something is really far away [with or without the connotation of it being in the middle of nowhere]?
Some examples in [American] English: [out] in the middle of nowhere, [out] in the boondocks [which a friend told me comes from the Filipino word "bundok", which means mountain], [out] in the boonies [a short form of the previous one], in Timbuktu...hm, I'm not sure I can really think of any that don't have that "middle of nowhere" connotation...any ideas?
The one I know in German, with the same connotation: "am Arsch der Welt" [literally, at the ass of the world].
And the reason I'm interested in this is that the same Spaniard told me that, at least in southern Spain, they actually use Wisconsin - which tickles me pink, because that's where I'm from. Example 1 [except imagine it in Spanish]: "Man, he kicked that ball all the way to Wisconsin!" Example 2: "I don't want to go all the way to that bar - it's in Wisconsin!" [When I mentioned this example to a fellow Wisconsinite who's also a brewer, he got offended that they wouldn't want to go to a bar in Wisconsin.] Apparently they use it because "it sounds funny and it's far away" [a bit like our Timbuktu, I guess]. I forgot to ask other native speakers and confirm this while I was there, so I'm especially curious whether anyone here uses or has heard this.
===
Thanks, everyone!
[cross-posted to foreignlanguage]
ETA: Thank you to all of you for contributing! There are some really great ones out there...and some hilarious and scandalous ones...! For a few more [including a particularly, erm, beautiful one in French], see the comments on the foreignlanguage post. And please note that, according to a real Spanish speaker, "está chupado" is more like "it's licked."
E[again]TA: I forgot my other contribution to #1, the whole reason I started asking about it in other languages: in [at least European] Portuguese, I've been told you can say that something is "canja", which is a kind of chicken soup that kids really like.