My $10 says there will be variants of this catchy phrase. (Help me win this)

  • Bookmeat
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    10 months ago

    I’m In my country it’s “you’re barking up the wrong tree”.

  • Random_Character_A
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    10 months ago

    There’s nothing similar, but “you’re confused between porridge and gruel” comes closest.

    Thats means that you are knowledgeable, but ignorant on the finer details that makes the case different. When you’re troubleshooting something, it fits.

  • andrewta
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    10 months ago

    What is helpful is if you say what the saying means.

  • beanlurks
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    10 months ago

    “Looking for apples in an orange tree.”

  • Num10ck
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    10 months ago

    Your princess is in another castle

  • ma11en
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    10 months ago

    In the UK we use your term also ‘You’ve got your wires crossed’

  • Melobol@lemmy.ml
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    10 months ago

    The saying is hard to translate to English:
    They can’t see the forest behind the tree - that they were stuck on looking at.

    An other one:
    They can’t find the udder between the horns.

      • krash@lemmy.ml
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        10 months ago

        I believe this is Swedish (“ser inte skogen för alla träd”).

        An attempt at a alternative translation; “can’t see the forest because of all the trees”. Which means you’re perceiving the wrong part of the situation, and thus missing out on the bigger picture.

    • otp@sh.itjust.works
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      10 months ago

      I like how you said it’s hard to translate to English, but English has the same saying. The saying must have a common ancestor between our two languages! (Or maybe one is the common ancestor…)

  • KISSmyOSFeddit
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    10 months ago

    Similar ones would be:
    “You’re standing on the hose” (you’re very close to finding the solution but you just can’t)
    “You’re bridling the horse from behind” (You’re looking at the problem the wrong way)
    “The other way around it becomes a shoe” (same as above)

  • abbadon420@lemm.ee
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    10 months ago

    “Het paard achter de wagen spannen” - hitching the horse behind the cart (in stead of the front). - This means “doing something in the wrong way, making it completely useless”. It’s not the same, but similar.

    Something even more similar is “Aan het verkeerde adres zijn” - “to come at the wrong adress”. Which is more similar in meaning, but also less figurative