Timeline for English equivalent for the Persian idiom "Putting the drill on poppy"?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
27 events
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| Jun 15, 2020 at 7:40 | history | edited | CommunityBot |
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| Oct 6, 2017 at 14:57 | comment | added | Mitch | Related but not the same "make a mountain out of a molehill" | |
| Oct 6, 2017 at 14:27 | answer | added | user260709 | timeline score: 5 | |
| Jun 4, 2016 at 10:19 | answer | added | Færd | timeline score: 3 | |
| Apr 13, 2016 at 5:44 | vote | accept | Sobhan | ||
| Apr 10, 2016 at 21:14 | answer | added | Magoo | timeline score: 0 | |
| Apr 10, 2016 at 21:12 | history | edited | Sobhan | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Apr 10, 2016 at 21:06 | comment | added | Sobhan | @alephzero, I've updated the question to reflect that. As for the poppy, my bet is that it refers to the whole plant. I'm not sure of this because the origins of the idiom is currently unknown to me. I've also provided the meaning of the idiom and the situation it is used at the beginning of the question. So literal words and their meaning should not be an issue. | |
| Apr 10, 2016 at 21:02 | history | edited | Sobhan | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Apr 10, 2016 at 20:46 | comment | added | alephzero | The word "drill" has several meanings (see oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/drill). Also, In English "poppy" could mean the whole plant, the flower, the seed-pod, or the individual seeds. So as a native English speaker, it's hard to guess what your "exact literal translation" actually means. | |
| Apr 10, 2016 at 17:47 | comment | added | Sobhan | @CopperKettle, as mentioned in the question, that is the exact literal translation. Word by word. So as a whole, it should probably mean something to the poppy harvesters. What Icy said in the comments could be true. If I find out any explanation, I will update the question. | |
| Apr 10, 2016 at 17:42 | comment | added | CowperKettle | Maybe the meaning is "don't try cracking poppy seeds open, they're already very small"? Because this "putting a drill on poppy" looks just like a mix of words without any meaning to me. | |
| Apr 10, 2016 at 17:25 | comment | added | Icy | @Sobhan, I suspect that 'drill' might better refer to the idea of the seed drill (still in common use) and planting. Poppies self-seed easily. Working a seed drill to plant poppies is useless work. In you original sentence John is wasting his time. | |
| Apr 10, 2016 at 17:21 | answer | added | Tim Lymington | timeline score: 5 | |
| Apr 10, 2016 at 17:12 | history | edited | Sobhan | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Apr 10, 2016 at 17:07 | comment | added | Mr Lister | I chanced upon the phrase "using a sledgehammer to crack a nut", but I have no idea how much of an idiom that is. | |
| Apr 10, 2016 at 17:01 | history | tweeted | twitter.com/StackEnglish/status/719208712649486336 | ||
| Apr 10, 2016 at 14:41 | comment | added | user26732 | If you're harvesting opium from a poppy, you slit the bulb with a razor. The paste drips out slowly. Now imagine using a power drill instead... | |
| Apr 10, 2016 at 12:47 | comment | added | Hot Licks | "Gilding the lily" is an old metaphor, but still good. However, it doesn't quite fit the car repair scenario. | |
| Apr 10, 2016 at 11:36 | history | edited | Sobhan | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Apr 10, 2016 at 11:24 | answer | added | Captain Cranium | timeline score: 16 | |
| Apr 10, 2016 at 11:22 | comment | added | Sobhan | @WS2, I tried searching about it earlier and couldn't find any useful information in Persian sites. I asked few of my older friends and they didn't know either. I'm still looking for an answer but I suspect it has something to do with harvesting poppy plant and maybe the amount of detail it takes to extract seeds from it (maybe with an instrument like drill). I'm not sure. | |
| Apr 10, 2016 at 11:21 | history | edited | Sobhan | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Apr 10, 2016 at 11:14 | answer | added | Elian | timeline score: 1 | |
| Apr 10, 2016 at 11:01 | comment | added | WS2 | How interesting. What is the origin of the expression? Why drill? Why poppy? | |
| Apr 10, 2016 at 10:06 | answer | added | Jack Bummer | timeline score: -4 | |
| Apr 10, 2016 at 9:58 | history | asked | Sobhan | CC BY-SA 3.0 |