Origins of Some Common Norwegian Expressions, Part 2
Blåmandag: a day you don’t feel great, especially because of a hangover.; lit. “Blue Monday”. Derived from the Norse name of Shrove Monday, the day following Fastelavn (Northern European version of the Carnival before Lent). The association of the colour blue and feeling down is also found in English (”feeling blue”).
Du store alpakka! An expression of surprise; lit. “great alpaca!“ Originates from the book series “Stompa” from the 1950s
Griseflaks: to be in great luck; lit. “pig’s luck”. Probably originates from Danish (”svineheld”) and pig farming. Pigs could easily die, which would entail great economic loss, but with good care one had a bigger chance of success.
Hardhaus: a tough person. Composed of “hard” (”hard”) and Norse “haus” (”head”). A hard head could be seen as a negative thing (consider “treskalle” (”wood head”, foolish person), but in this context, the hard head entails that the subject can endure many a hardship and is a strong character.
Kladeis: a splotch, daub, or blob. Derived from “kladas”, meaning “blob”, and again related to “klatt” (again “blob”) from Low Saxon “klask”, a soft, wet lump.
Klappet og klart: everything is ready; lit. “clapped and ready“. Likely originates from an old wedding tradition where, when the marriage was arranged, one would slap their back, so that they would not forget. Presumably, the expression used to be “å bli klappet sammen” (”to get clapped together”) which later evolved.
Lapskaus: untranslatable. A thick stew of meat and vegetables. From English “lobscouse” which means roughly the same. Unknown origin, but possibly composed of “lob” (lump) and “course” (like in a main course), which could then be taken to mean a dish made out of lumps, which is rather fitting.
Overhodet: “at all”, “completely”; lit. “over the head”. Of the same origin as Modern German “überhaupt”. When people in Middle Low German times bought cattle, the entire flock was bought which was “over the head”; i.e., “at all”.
Skippertak: a desperate last-minute effort, all-nighter; lit. “the skipper’s effort”. A piece of tough work that even the skipper (captain of ship) had to contribute to while at sea.
Stopp en halv: “wait a minute”; lit. “stop a half”. Also from the boating domain, from English "stop and haul”, which sounds similar. The command was used when knots had to be tightened on the rig. “Stop en halv” is etymologically incorrect, since “half” has nothing to do with “haul”, and the correct version “stop en hal” (stopp and pull/drag) also exists but is far less common in writing.
Tigerstaden: Alternative name for Oslo; lit. “the tiger town”. Outside of the main train station in Oslo is a big statue of a tiger. The tiger originates from a poem written by national writer Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, in which a horse and a tiger fight. The fight is a metaphor for the city brutally attacking the rural towns. In the poem, the tiger is meant to be a negative symbol, but today, the statue is a popular tourist attraction and most inhabitants associate it with strength and pride.
Å ha svin på skogen: to not inform about income or valuables one possesses so as to avoid having to pay tax for it; lit. “to have pigs on the forest”. Originally from old farmers’ strategy of sending pigs out into the forest to avoid them being counted as part of the tax they had to pay to the king.
Å snakke fra leveren: to speak openly, frankly; lit. “to talk from the liver”. In times when anatomy and bodily functions were still largely unmapped. It was believed that the emotions came from the liver, and that whatever a person was saying was a result of their feelings. Being moved to say something honest was thus a result of whatever was going on in their liver.
Å være en kløpper: to be someone very handy. Another naval expression that originates from clipper ships (merchant ships). The name of the ships comes from “clip” (to cut or to move swiftly) which meant that the ships were very fast-moving. The crew was consequently called clippers, which became “kløpper” in Norwegian. The crew members were known to be exceptionally skilled and hard-working, and the term soon encompassed all kinds of talented people.
