Some Idioms

Over the past few weeks I've had to explain a few American idioms to some of my team.  Some of them include:

the whole nine yards

a full court press

to face the music

close but no cigar

the cat's out of the bag

to blow one's own horn

a penny for your thoughts

Some are easier than others to explain.  So below are a few Czech idioms with the literal and closest English translations.

Je to pro mne španělská vesnice.
Lit. "It's a Spanish village to me."
It's all Greek to me.

Šplouchá mu na maják.
Lit. "It's splashing on his lighthouse."
He is a sandwich short of a picnic / Not the brightest bulb on the tree / Not the sharpest knife in the drawer

Zaplatit majlant.
Lit. "To pay Milan."
To cost an arm and a leg. 

Trn v oku
Lit. "A thorn in one's eye."
A thorn in one's side. 

Pohnout kostrou.
Lit. "To move one's skeleton."
To shake a leg.

Hodit flintu do žita.
Lit. "To throw the rifle into the rye."
To Throw in the towel.

Vyhazovat peníze z okna.
Lit. "To throw money out the money."
To flush money down the drain.

Znát něco jako své boty.
Lit. "To know something like one's own shoes."
To know something like the back of one's own hand.

Lije jako z konve.
Lit. "It's raining like from a watering can".
It's raining cats and dogs.

Chodit kolem horké kaše.
Lit. "To walk around hot porridge."
To beat around the bush.

These are just a few of the common ones that I know.  I'm sure that there are lots more out there.