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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|'''Omi''': ''He who is last to be laughing laughs most loudly!''
|''[[Xiaolin Showdown]]''}}
Mastering a foreign language is hard. It's difficult enough learning the surface syntax, the grammatical forms, and the vocabulary. A foreign visitor must not only master the language, but learn the local customs and color. Having accomplished all this, the final barrier remains: figurative language. Idioms, metaphors and similes are wildly different from culture to culture, and cannot be reasoned out.
Line 14:
This trope is perhaps the most common way to show a character is from a different (literal or metaphorical) place. Usually, they are foreign nationals, but they may have grown up in [[Cloudcuckooland]], or just have [[No Social Skills]].
Compare [[Malaproper]], [[Expospeak Gag]], [[Sidetracked
{{examples}}
▲== Anime & Manga ==
* Nia in ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]''. {{spoiler|Sure, she rejected Simon when he asked her for marriage, because he wanted to become "one with her" and two people can't be physically merged...}}
** Which is funny considering that [[Hynden Walch|her English VA]] (pre-time skip) [[Hey, It's That Voice!|is the same as Starfire mentioned below]].
* Yuki Nagato in the ''[[Suzumiya Haruhi]]'' franchise.
{{quote|
'''Yuki:''' "What is a glasses fetish?"
▲'''Kyon:''' "No way!"<br />
'''Yuki:''' "Way." }}
** That second one is strictly a translator gag -- Kyon says "Uso!" (lit. "a lie") and Yuki answers "Sou" (lit. "it is so"). "Sou" is practically Yuki's [[Catch Phrase]].
* Angol Mois of ''[[Keroro Gunsou]]'' has a habit of appending her sentences with ''yojijukugo'' (Japanese idioms composed of four ''kanji'' characters) that are almost, but not quite, appropriate for the situation. One episode has her taking ''tuition'' for this.
* Lemmy from ''[[To Heart]]'' is constantly messing up Japanese phrases.
Line 33 ⟶ 31:
** He's not a foreigner. He is, however, a talking motorcycle.
* On an [[Omake]] of ''[[Bleach]]'', [[Huge Schoolgirl|Isane Kotetsu]] and [[Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter|Nemu Kurotsuchi]] were assigned to take pictures of Byakuya. While Nemu was taking the pictures, she was saying "Butter" instead of "Cheese" ([[Lampshade Hanging|which Isane mentioned to her]]).
** This exact same one also turned up with Lens Banki in ''[[Engine Sentai
== [[Comic Books]] ==▼
* In [[Alan Moore]]'s comic ''[[
▲== Comic Books ==
▲* In [[Alan Moore]]'s comic ''[[Tom Strong (Comic Book)|Tom Strong]]'', a Russian science hero, as well as Tesla's volcano-man boyfriend Val, constantly mess up all sorts of figures of speech.
** The titular character was raised in a gravity chamber - the Russian refers to it as the "tank of seriousness".
* [[Hawkman]] (the alien version) can have this problem, [[Depending
== [[Fan Works]] ==
* ''[[Sailor Moon Abridged]]'', the Episode 46/47 double-whammy:▼
{{quote|
'''Alan:''' "...Why would I hold my breath [[Dumbass Has a Point|if I could hold my dick]]?" }}▼
== [[Film]] ==
* Officer Lenina Huxley of ''[[Demolition Man]]'' [[Malaproper|commits an idiomatic screwup]] practically every minute, most of them having to do with her love of 20th Century American culture. Even considering the mass sanitation of culture inflicted upon the future
{{quote|
'''John Spartan:''' "Take this job and shovel it"? Close enough. }}
** And earlier in the film, this classic:
{{quote|
'''John Spartan:''' "''Away.'' Blow this guy ''away!''." }}
** And later:
{{quote|
'''Spartan:''' (relatively calm expression) "Huxley?
'''Huxley:''' "Yes?"
'''Spartan:''' "That's '''met''' his match, and kicked, '''kicked''' his ass." }}
* In the film ''[[
* In the ''[[
{{quote|
"I am sick of wearing the dress in this family."
[Howard] "Don't tell me its laser is still armed."
[Ben] "Bimbo."
"Keep that power on or I'll beat the living headlights out of you!" }}
** However, Johnny 5 ''does'' exhibit this in ''Short Circuit 2'' after {{spoiler|he is brutally attacked by the bad guys}}...
{{quote|
== [[Literature]] ==
* Occurs often in the ''[[Discworld]]''. Pratchett, as a rule, is very, very fond of overanalysing idioms and taking things literally.
** Ankh-Morporkians in particular are infamous for their literal-mindedness when it comes to metaphors, and former ruler Olaf Quimby II even wrote a law requiring all metaphors to be able to be made literal. The law still exists, and the current ruler enforces it in order to keep that sort of people occupied. In Quimby's memory, the Morporkians still say "the pen is mightier than a sword" with the addition, "but only if the pen is very sharp and sword very small". Apparently the king had demanded an unusually smart poet to prove the phrase on himself.
** Archchancellor Ridcully. From ''[[Lords and Ladies]]'':
{{quote|
** Captain Carrot is a six-foot-tall [[Our Dwarves Are All the Same|dwarf]] who has inherited his (adopted) race's understanding of such things as irony ("sort of like iron"). Upon first arriving in Ankh-Morpork in ''[[
** Also the rogue Auditor Myria LeJean (a.k.a. Unity) in ''[[Thief of Time]]''.
{{quote|
'''Susan:''' Does a bear poo in the woods?
''[Lady LeJean looked thoughtful for a moment.]''
'''Myria:''' Yes, I believe that most varieties do indeed excrete as you suggest, at least in the temperate zones, but there are several that-
'''Susan:''' I meant to say that, yes, they make chocolate. }}
** The Auditors in general take this trope [[Up to Eleven]]. For instance, when asked "Can I offer you a drink?" an Auditor will respond that yes, it does believe you are capable of making that request.
* Aximlli-Esgarrouth-Isthill of ''[[
{{quote|
'''Rachel:''' Yeah, it's spicy. Hot, too.
'''Ax:''' Yes, the temperature is hot. Hot-tuh.
'''Rachel:''' No, I meant the flavour is hot. The temperature too, though. Skip it.
'''Ax:''' Skip?
'''Rachel:''' Uh, no. Forget it. Drop it.
''No sooner were those last words out of my mouth than I regretted them. Ax promptly dropped the container of refried beans he'd been holding. It landed wrong side down on the table.'' }}
** Another personal favorite with Ax, when he attends a school dance:
{{quote|
(Later) '''Ax:''' I would like to shuffle my artificial hooves to the music with you. But you cannot have my body. My bo. Dee. }}
*** Perhaps "she wants your body" was not the best phrase to use in a series where the villains are literal [[Grand Theft Me|body-snatchers]] in the first place.
* In the book ''2010'', one of the American astronauts makes a joke about how the tiny quarters are more like sixteenths. Naturally, it has to be explained.
* ''[[Dragonback]]'': Draycos' response to metaphors is practically a running gag.
{{quote|
'''Jack''': Skip it. }}
** You'd think Draycos would catch on a little quicker, being a poet and all.
* The alien character Eve in the ''[[
{{quote|
Jason: ...you mean History. }}
* The viewpoint character of ''[[
* The eponymous main character of the children's series ''[[Amelia Bedelia]]'' is ''very'' literal minded. If you ask her to dress the chicken, you will received a fowl wearing a very cute dress. If you ask her to watch for the fork in the road, she will quite diligently keep an eye out for said utensil lying in the roadway. And so on.
* [[Don Quixote]]: Subverted with the Biscayan, who is another of the many [[Victimized Bystander|VictimizedBystanders]] Don Quixote will find in his adventures. He talks exclusively in this fashion when he engages with Don Quixote in a duel to the death, even with that, Don Quixote understand him perfectly:
{{quote|
Don Quixote understood him quite well, and answered him very quietly, "If thou wert a knight, as thou art none, I should have already chastised thy folly and rashness, miserable creature." To which the Biscayan returned, "I no gentleman!—I swear to God thou liest as I am Christian: if thou droppest lance and drawest sword, soon shalt thou see thou art carrying water to the cat: Biscayan on land, hidalgo at sea, hidalgo at the devil, and look, if thou sayest otherwise thou liest." }}
* ''[[The Butterfly Kid]]'': While Ktch (the leader of the blue alien lobsters arranging the conquest of Earth) speaks English very well, he doesn't quite have all the idioms down:
{{quote|Your people have a folk saying: 'If you can’t run your tongue across them, merge with them.' I ask you to give this quaint wisdom your serious consideration.}}
** Amusingly, the human narrator uses this mangled version of "if you can't lick'em, join'em" himself later in the book.
* ''[[Star Trek]]'':
▲== Live Action TV ==
**
** (after hearing the song ''Row, Row, Row Your Boat'') "Life is not a dream."
** Incorrectly, the hell, using swear words in ''Star Trek IV''.
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** "We are chasing... not wild aquatic fowl"
** "Are you sure it isn't time for a colorful metaphor?"
** ''[[Star Trek IV:
{{quote|
'''Spock''': Is there something wrong with the one I have? }}
* [[Star Trek:
** A good case occurs in the finale, a [[Time Travel|Time Trouble]] episode back to the beginning (among others...), where Data overhears another character discuss "burning the midnight oil." He not only suggests it's a bad
** In the episode "Data's Day" he mentions that he "may be pursuing an untamed ornithoid without cause." It takes Dr. Crusher a few seconds to realize he's talking about a wild goose chase.
** In the ''Star Fleet Academy'' younger-readers books, Data caused much confusion during his early time at the Academy, not least by being told to "pull up a chair" and doing just that.
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* [[Perfect Strangers|Balki]]: "Get out of the city!"
* [[Stargate SG-1|Teal'c]]: "Undomesticated equines could not remove me." (Although in ''that'' instance, Teal'c was deliberately making a joke.)
{{quote|
'''Teal'c:''' "That is not wise."
...
'''O'Neill:''' "[[Beam Me Up, Scotty|Lucy, I'm home!]]"
'''Teal'c:''' "I am not Lucy."
'''O'Neill:''' "I know that. It's a reference to an old
'''Teal'c:''' "I will summon the doctor."
'''O'Neill:''' "No, come on. I'm fine. I'm back to being myself. Just open up."
'''Teal'c:''' "I cannot be certain that you are back to being yourself. You referred to me as 'Lucy.'"
...
'''Teal'c''': Things will not calm down, Daniel Jackson. They will, in fact, calm up. }}
** The Asgard fit, too.
{{quote|
'''Thor:''' "We can only hope that this will be the last footwear to fall. " }}
** Vala too.
{{quote|
'''Vala:''' Ooh, I love jam.
''[Mitchell, Jackson and Carter look at her]''
'''Vala:''' Oh, I get it. It's yet another playful twist on words in your "earth" language.
''[A little later, when she is asked what she thinks of the script.]''
'''Vala:''' Well, it certainly seems to be packed full of jam! }}
** And Bra'tac
{{quote|
'''Bra'tac''': No, the bridge is too well-guarded. }}
** Double Subverted later when Bra'tac uses the same metaphor . . . in the wrong context.
* Fun example from ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]'', which ventures into leader drama territory (though this is technically Blunt Simile Trauma.)
{{quote|
'''[Ronon and Teyla stare at him]'''
'''Sheppard''': It's a comic book where superheroes fight crime and stuff. See, I'd be Mr Fantastic, Ronon would be The Thing, McKay would be the Human Torch...
'''Sheppard''' [to Teyla]: You'd be the Invisible Woman.
'''Teyla''': I am not invisible.
'''Sheppard''': No. No, and McKay's not a human torch.
'''Teyla''': Well, how come * you* get to be Mr Fantastic?
'''Sheppard''': Because he was the leader and I'm the... }}
* Ziva in ''[[
{{quote|
'''Tony''': "Barrel, Ziva."
'''Ziva''': "...Why would fish be in a barrel?" }}
** This conversation from "Hiatus (Part II)":
{{quote|
'''Ducky''': Do you mean "drop it" or "zip it"?
'''Ziva''': Ah, American idioms drive me up the hall!
'''Ducky''': Well, actually... never mind. }}
** Later subverted:
{{quote|
'''Tony''': "You mean a brick wall."
'''Ziva''': "No, I mean I [[Drives Like Crazy|backed into one]]." }}
** Ziva's actress Cote de Pablo, a native Spanish speaker, falls prey to this on occasion as well, notably during an interview with co-star Michael Weatherly.
{{quote|
'''Michael''': That sounded bad.
'''Cote''': You totally...
'''Michael''': I ''drove'' you home.
'''Cote''': Okay, you drove me home and...
'''Michael''': Your dad's gonna see this... }}
* Mork in ''[[Mork and Mindy]]''.
* Temperance "[[Bones]]" Brennan, when she gets over her "I don't know what that means" phase and starts guessing at what's right:
{{quote|
'''Brennan''': Serious as a gas attack.
'''Booth''': Heart attack, Bones. }}
** Gas attacks are very serious though, just as long as it's a terrorist poison gas attack, and not a [[Gasshole]].
* The aliens of ''[[3rd Rock
* Baldrick (from season 2 onward) and George (from seasons 3 & 4) of ''[[
* Connor from ''[[
* ''[[
{{quote|
'''John''': Girl! It's "girl power." Would you quit speakin' English?! }}
* Trance in ''[[Andromeda]]'':
{{quote|
Dylan: Easy as pie.
Trance: Are you sure about that? I think that making pie is a lot harder than cake. }}
* This becomes a plot point in an episode of ''[[The West Wing]]''. In preparation for a meeting between Bartlet and President Chigorin of Russia, Sam has a meeting with two aides of Chigorin's who are reasonably fluent in English, but keep needing idioms and other curveballs explained to them. At the end of the meeting, one of them produces a statement for a joint press conference between the presidents, saying that both nations want to "stem the tide" of nuclear proliferation and should start with themselves. The aide claims that the statement was his idea and that he wrote it himself. Sam realizes that he wouldn't know the expression "stem the tide," and correctly concludes that Chigorin wrote it and sent it along to the meeting as a message to Bartlet.
* Happened to the Monty Python crew in real life, when they did an episode in German for Germans, learning it by rote. The phrase "we are sitting you down and scaring the shit out of you in Bavaria" caused disgusted reactions from the German crew. They have no such idiom, so the translation was literally "we are causing you to involuntarily excrete on your chairs in Bavaria".
* Londo Mollari, in the ''[[Babylon 5]]'' episode "Chrysalis":
{{quote|
'''Vir:''' "Cats."
'''Londo:''' "I'm being nibbled to death by cats!" }}
** "Nibbled to death by ducks" is an actual English metaphor indicating that one is being taken down by a series of minor inconveniences. Admittedly, being nibbled to death by cats would no doubt be even more painful.
** Delenn also had this trouble early on, although she got better once she fell in love with John Sheridan.
* Anya from ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' often has problems understanding our human jokes and references, and takes great pleasure in pointing out that fact. In flashback we find out she was like that before she became a demon too.
* The Newcomers did this on ''[[Alien Nation (TV series)|Alien Nation]]''. For example:
{{quote|
* Castiel from ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]''. But then again, Angels of the Lord can probably get a pass for being a bit too literal minded. (He learns to do a great deadpan eventually.)
** Oddly enough, Castiel seems to be the only angel to suffer from this problem. The other angels - especially Zachariah - seem to enjoy using metaphors and pop culture references. Even Lucifer, who has been trapped in the pits of Hell for thousands of years, uses references he probably shouldn't be familiar with.
{{quote|'''Lucifer:''' "Chock full of Ovaltine, are we?"|'''Lucifer:''' "Sam Winchester, [[This Is Your Life
** It may have to do with how much mining of the vessel's mind they do. Zachariah and Lucifer are both completely willing to rip through whoever-that-is and Nick, while Cas appears to have put Jimmy to sleep for pretty much the whole time he was wearing him. Although he does have a lot of his mannerisms, we could put that down to muscle memory...or, you know, Misha Collins not being a ''godlike'' actor.
*** Demons just out of Hell appear to rely on this
*** That Uriel is the 'funniest angel in the garrison' when there was Balthazar, and above them the kind of mind that makes of fake identities for two guys named Winchester and surnames them Smith & Wesson, really does say something weird about angel mentality. I'm not even sure what.
* In an episode of ''[[
* Sister Sisto in ''[[The Flying Nun]]'' did this a lot.
== [[Newspaper Comics]] ==▼
▲== Newspaper Comics ==
* This is one of the main gags in ''The Troubles of Dictionary Jaques''. In one strip he interprets "butt in" as meaning to hit people with his head rather than simply interrupting them, despite the situation calling for the latter usage of "butt".
== [[Radio]] ==▼
▲== Radio ==
* Mister Kitzel on ''[[The Jack Benny Program]]'' did this along with being a [[Malaproper]].
== [[Video Games]] ==▼
▲== Video Games ==
* A turian in ''[[Mass Effect]]'' makes this mistake with human language.
{{quote|
* Zinc Lablanc in ''[[Ace Attorney
* Nick Nack in ''[[Fossil Fighters]]'' has a tendency to mutilate not only English idioms ("I can have my socks and feet them too!"), but sayings from other languages. How does he thank you from the bottom of his heart? "[[Gratuitous Japanese|Airy cat oh!]] [[Gratuitous Spanish|Grassy us!]] [[Gratuitous German|Donkey shines!]]"
* [[Verbal Tic|*Hoorb!*]] A flesh person? The one whose air-sound is Dillo's inner core flies at the opportunity to put air-sounds into head-holes! Then you will make air-sounds back! Would you like to hear how Dillo's home [[Mood Dissonance|planetary groupings]] were soiled into dusts before he came to the ''[[City of Heroes]]''? We will be making tiny-words! How wonderful!
* The Heavy in ''[[
* The depiction of The Sorrow in ''[[The Cobra Days]]'' is a good example of this trope before he sits down with a dictionary. "How are you?" "I'm a peach." " 'I'm peachy.' "
* In ''[[
{{quote|
* Zoe in ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'', embarking on a [[It Makes Sense in Context|beer rescue through time]]: "[http://www.sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/19990508 Let's bus heads! Let's pinch ass!]" This ditziness was so out of character for her that she was probably covering her nervousness.
* ''[[
* [[Mind Screw|May or may not]] be happening in [http://wondermark.com/748/ this] [[Wondermark]] strip.
* [http://drmcninja.com/archives/comic/4p16/ This exchange] between [[The Adventures of Dr. McNinja
{{quote|
'''Dr.
'''Dan
'''Dr.
▲== Web Originals ==
▲* [[Sailor Moon Abridged]], the Episode 46/47 double-whammy:
▲{{quote| '''Ann:''' "Hopefully with ''two'' [[Monster of the Week|Cardians]] on our side this episode [[Genre Savvy|we'll succeed some way]]."<br />
▲'''Alan:''' "I'm not so sure. Like the humans say, I would not hold my dick about it."<br />
▲'''Ann:''' "...No. You... you mean 'breath.' Hold your breath."<br />
▲'''Alan:''' "...Why would I hold my breath [[Dumbass Has a Point|if I could hold my dick]]?" }}
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* Starfire in ''[[Teen Titans (
* Omi in ''[[
{{quote|
'''Kimiko:''' [It's] "Get the lead out".
'''Omi:''' That too. }}
** In one episode ''the villain Jack Spicer'' had to translate one of Omi's double-jointed sentences for everyone else.
{{quote|
(very, very, VERY long pause and everyone is looking around at each other waiting for someone to say something then cuts to Jack with his finger on his chin thinking)
'''Jack:''' Oh, Oh I got it! The jig is up, you are at the end of your rope, fork over the Wu! (does a little victory dance and opens his jacket which has a ribbon that says "Boy Genius") }}
** Also from ''[[
{{quote|
'''Jack:''' (screams) What kind of sick people are you!?
'''Raimundo:''' I think he means spill your guts. }}
** And after enough times:
{{quote|
'''Raimundo:''' Omi you've gotta be doing that on purpose. }}
* Despite all of the main cast in ''[[Captain Planet and
** There was one episode where Ma-Ti got into Sam Spade type detective novels and tried to use 1940's slang, only to get it all mixed up.
* Antoine from ''[[Sonic Sat AM]]'' is pretty good at this.
{{quote|
'''Rotor''': You mean basket case. }}
** He even messes up ones from his own language.
{{quote|
{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Translation Tropes]]
[[Category:Dialogue]]
[[Category:Characterization Tropes]]
[[Category:Just for Pun]]
[[Category:
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