Drawing by Ilya Ogarev
No, there is no mistake. If unsure about the quality of a purchased product, Russians prefer to buy a cat instead of a pig in a poke.
This phrase is also known in English, French, German, Chinese and other languages with minor changes.
Drawing by Ilya Ogarev
For those who want double the bang for their buck. Most likely, you know this idiom as “to kill two birds with one stone.”
Drawing by Ilya Ogarev
That’s the heart of the matter!
There is a tale about Austrian warrior Sigismund Alstein and his favorite dog. The dog once saved the life of its owner on the battlefield, sacrificing its own in the process. Sigismund erected a monument in honor of his faithful pet. Time forgot the location, but instead gave birth to the phrase “where the dog is buried.”
The Russian version of this idiom is a loan translation from the German “Da liegt der Hund begraben”.
Drawing by Ilya Ogarev
Too small to be serious, or "a storm in a teacup" in the words of an English tea-drinker. Russians also say “to make an elephant out of a fly” instead of the proverbial mountain out of a molehill.
Drawing by Ilya Ogarev
Only success or a significant achievement will allow you to do this.
Drawing by Ilya Ogarev
The full version goes as follows: “Fear has big eyes, but sees nothing.” Under serious emotional stress, the eye pupils dilate and widen noticeably, so it looks like your eyes get bigger.
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