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shitat zvyozdy (Russian) to twiddle one’s thumbs (literally, to count the stars)

jeta (Swahili) a lazy person who does not stir himself to get the things he wants, but asks others to fetch them, even though the things may be quite near to him

bulat (Maguindanaon, Philippines) to have a phobia of certain jobs

imilila (Mambwe, Zambia) to work half-heartedly, all the time thinking about leaving

The company tribe

… or are perhaps waiting in hope for those sought-after positions that will surely, eventually, come up:

enchufe (Spanish) a cushy job (literally, a plug or socket)

anichado (Portuguese) hidden away, as in a niche; well-placed in a good job

der Tintenpisser (German) a bureaucrat (literally, ink pisser)

tagapagpaganáp (Tagalog, Philippines) an executive

ntlhelavasati (Tsonga, South Africa) a place where one works that is not too distant from home

shayo-zoku (Japanese) employees living extravagantly on company money (literally, the company tribe)

Sell out

Although it’s wise to remember that blind loyalty to the organization is much overrated:

ser líder charro (Mexican Spanish) to be a union leader who sells out to company management

wegloben (German) to laud away (i.e. if a superior wants to get rid of a co-worker he draws up an exaggerated testimonial to ensure that the unloved staffer leaves the company)

extraknäck (Swedish) a job on the side

kutu-loncat (Indonesian) someone who constantly moves from job to job for better prospects or wages (literally, jumping bug)

Lilies of the field

Perhaps the luckiest are those who don’t have to do anything at all:

goyang kaki (Malay) to shake one’s leg; to live comfortably without having to work hard; to live off one’s land or fortune or legacy

caer en blandito (Latin American Spanish) to have a situation turn out extremely well without much effort (literally, to fall on a soft surface)

péter dans la soie (French) to live the life of Riley (literally, to fart in silk)

IDIOMS OF THE WORLD

Bad workman blames his tools

el mal escribano le echa la culpa a la pluma/el cojo le echa la culpa al empedrado (Spanish) the poor writer blames the pen/the limping man blames the pavement

zlej baletnicy przeszkadza rąbek u spódnicy (Polish) a poor dancer will be disturbed even by the hem of her skirt

’araj al jamal min shiffatu (Arabic) the camel limped from its split lip

plokhomu tantsory (i) yaytsa meshayut (Russian) a poor dancer is impeded (even) by his own balls

17.

Game Theory

kush nuk di ç’është lodhja, ai nuk di ç’është çlodhja (Albanian)

who does not know tiredness, does not know how to relax

Celebrating Monday

However hard we work, it’s important to take time off, even if we have to be clever about how we arrange it:

hacer San Lunes (Mexican Spanish) to take Monday off because the weekend was too exhausting (literally, to celebrate St Monday)

puente (Spanish) bridge; the Spanish have their bank holidays on a Tuesday so that Monday will, on most occasions, be treated as a bridge day (an extra day of holiday), ensuring a four-day weekend; there is also a viaducto, which is when holidays fall on a Tuesday and a Thursday, thus enabling someone to take the whole week off

Slow start

How wonderful to let slip the usual routines, take your time, take it easy:

faire la grasse matinée (French) to sleep in (literally, to make a fat morning)

pegar(sele) las sábanas a (alguien) (Latin American Spanish) to oversleep (literally, to have the sheets stick to you)

guzu guzu suru (Japanese) being slow when you have something you should be doing; a half-wakeful sleep, especially in the morning when you have sort of woken up but are still playing with your dreams

faire le tour du cadran (French) to sleep the day away (literally, to do the tour of the clock’s face)

Idle time

Even when one has fully woken up there’s no pressure to do anything:

cangkul angin (Malay) hoeing the air; putting one’s feet up in the air or doing useless things

Although sometimes the lack of pressure can be pressurizing in itself: