https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BP4D8N2G
Can you tell us a little about your book World of
Idioms and Proverbs?
As the title suggests, in this book you will find a
collection of the world’s funniest and strangest expressions. The goal of the
book is to map international idioms and proverbs based on their meaning. On top
of that you will find beautiful illustrations, drawn by my brother, as well as
explanations on the origin of the sayings.
But it’s probably best explained with an example of the
content:
What inspired the idea for your book and how long did it
take you to write World of Idioms and Proverbs?
It all started 3,5 years ago where I took interest in
comparing idioms from Germany to English and Spanish ones. While some were the
same in all languages, I found some that were described completely differently,
but had exactly the same meaning. I remember the first example I found: For a
minor action causing an unpredictably large and sudden reaction in German we
say “Der Tropfen, der das Fass zum Überlaufen bringt” meaning “The drop that
makes the barrel flow over” and in English they say, “The straw that breaks the
camel’s back”. Both describe the same situation perfectly in a unique way.
That’s when I started expanding the collection to other
languages and I created a big database of over 5.000 proverbs from around 100
countries. For the book I chose the most interesting ones, my brother started
creating the drawings for it and we are very happy to have finally released it.
Who is the book for?
The book is meant for adolescents and adults that are
interested in languages or for everyone who just wants to have a laugh at funny
and weird idioms. The main goal of the book is to entertain. But of course,
it’s also very informative with a lot of insights about the origins of certain
idioms and proverbs.
What are your top 3 idioms?
1. Original
(Italian): “Se mia nonna avesse le ruote, sarebbe una carriola”
Translation: If my grandmother had wheels, she would be a wheelbarrow
Meaning: There is no point to talk about impossible scenarios
2. Original
(Brazil): “Estou cagando e andando”
Translation: I'm shitting and walking
Meaning: I don’t care
3. Original
(Puerto Rico): “Pensar en pajaritos preñados”
Translation: To think about pregnant birds
Meaning: To be daydreaming
Where can people buy your book?
For the US market the book can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BP4D8N2G
The book is also available as an ebook in the Kindle Store.
What do you like to do when not writing?
In my free time I like to work on everything that I consider
fun.
That includes developing card and board games, creating and
publishing trainings on Udemy and playing football. And I hope this list will
keep expanding with some more interesting and fun activities in the future.
Is it planned to make it a series and where can readers
find out more about your work?
There are no concrete plans yet but based on the database that we
created, there would be enough material to start working on another edition. So,
if you want to follow me for future publications, you can follow my author
profile on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Thomas-Kaufmann/author/B0BQ79L5V4