The Rumor Mill - Week 35

We continue covering idioms for week 35 of The Rumor Mill with another 8 phrases from languages heard around Beneterra. I pulled together a list of idioms from several languages for last week's Rumor Mill post, and I learned that it's currently Māori Language Week 2024 (and yes, it's 9/16 and I'm 3 weeks behind schedule right now - 2 weeks after this post goes live). I had to get a couple of Te Reo (my basis for Towani in Beneterra) phrases on the books in honor of that, so to heck with it, I'll do a whole additional week of idioms. It's not like I'm running out of languages and cultures that haven't been mentioned yet or anything.

Back to the word mines to glean a few more sparkling turns of phrase to sprinkle into cosmopolitan conversation here in Fellport.

1d8	Rumor	True?
1	Knowing "Kia ora!" and "Karawhiua!" will get you pretty far in Tow'ani.	Yes1
2	If a goblin asks "Pişik asqırdı?", it's a rhetorical expression of impatience.	Maybe2
3	Many scholars believe "Lubann an saileach" was used as a druidic battle cry.	No3
4	"Chraith'kan zharn" is a Githyanki blessing, sometimes recorded on 2 medallions.	Maybe4
5	Okulari traders love the Ryugo expression "Shikata nai": "nothing you can do".	Yes5
6	Barbary sophisticates use "mierennucker" as a term of endearment for wizards.	Maybe6
7	In Nelendi, the standard greeting is "Sak'alu", meaning "fortunate wind".	No7
8	Many Hominae Vitae subscribe to the proverb "Notte consiglia" and take naps.	Yes8

1 - "Kia ora" serves many functions: hi, be well, thanks, you're welcome, cheers, etc. "Karawhiua" means "give it a go".
2 - Sort of. In Yazi, "Did the cat sneeze?" carries the connotation "Are you so stupid that you get distracted by trvia?"
3 - "Many scholars" are sadly misinformed. "The willow bends" is an old expression of accepting setbacks and adapting.
4 - Only if you consider "May your enemies know agony" a blessing. Two medallions hold these words written in Tir'su.
5 - More colloquially, it means "shit happens", and other traders who have never heard of Yamagura have started using it.
6 - The literal Brak'val translation is "ant fucker", used derogatively to insult nitpickers. With anything, context is king.
7 - This Pel expression translates to "calm waters", and it's used as a farewell. Do scholars ever check their own work?
8 - It's literally "night advice" in Linguaté, but it's taken as "sleep brings advice" or sleeping on an idea to find inspiration.

Part of T.W.Wombat's Lore 24 project, detailing the world around Fellport.
For all city posts, see the Fellport Index. For posts about the wider world, see the Beneterra Index.