vreči puško v koruzo
Literally to throw the rifle into the corn
Means to give up, to abandon an effort
Example Po tretjem neuspešnem poskusu je vrgel puško v koruzo.
An idiom is a phrase you cannot translate word for word. Here are 14 of the most common Slovenian idioms, each with its literal translation, real meaning, and an example sentence, so you know what natives actually mean.
Common Slovenian idioms are everyday expressions whose meaning cannot be guessed from the individual words. For example, vreči puško v koruzo literally means "to throw the rifle into the corn" but is used to mean to give up, to abandon an effort. This free tool lists 14 real Slovenian idioms, each with its literal translation, meaning, and an example sentence.
All 14 Slovenian idioms, with meanings and examples.
Guess the meaning, then tap a card to check.
Idiom list verified as of July 2026.
vreči puško v koruzo
Literally to throw the rifle into the corn
Means to give up, to abandon an effort
Example Po tretjem neuspešnem poskusu je vrgel puško v koruzo.
imeti maslo na glavi
Literally to have butter on one's head
Means to have a guilty conscience, to not be innocent
Example Očitno ima maslo na glavi, ker se izogiba vprašanjem.
držati pesti za koga
Literally to hold fists for someone
Means to keep one's fingers crossed for someone, to root for someone
Example Jutri imaš izpit, zato bomo držali pesti zate.
mačji kašelj
Literally cat's cough
Means a trivial matter, nothing to worry about (often used negated: no small feat)
Example Selitev v novo stanovanje ni bila mačji kašelj.
biti na konju
Literally to be on a horse
Means to be doing great, to be thriving or successful
Example Odkar je odprl svoje podjetje, je res na konju.
biti brez glave in repa
Literally to be without head and tail
Means to make no sense, to be incoherent
Example Njegova razlaga je bila brez glave in repa.
metati komu polena pod noge
Literally to throw logs under someone's feet
Means to sabotage someone, to put obstacles in someone's way
Example Namesto da bi mi pomagal, mi je metal polena pod noge.
pasti v vodo
Literally to fall into the water
Means for plans to fall through, to come to nothing
Example Zaradi dežja so vsi naši načrti za piknik padli v vodo.
iti komu na živce
Literally to go to someone's nerves
Means to get on someone's nerves, to annoy someone
Example Njegovo večno pritoževanje mi gre res na živce.
izgubiti glavo
Literally to lose one's head
Means to lose composure, to panic
Example Ko je izvedela za nesrečo, je za trenutek izgubila glavo.
nositi srce na dlani
Literally to carry one's heart on one's palm
Means to wear one's heart on one's sleeve, to be openly emotional and honest about one's feelings
Example Vedno nosi srce na dlani in ne skriva svojih čustev.
delati iz muhe slona
Literally to make an elephant out of a fly
Means to make a mountain out of a molehill, to exaggerate a minor problem
Example Nehaj delati iz muhe slona, saj ni tako hudo.
ubiti dve muhi na en mah
Literally to kill two flies in one blow
Means to kill two birds with one stone
Example Z eno potjo na pošto in v trgovino sem ubila dve muhi na en mah.
delati se Francoza
Literally to make oneself a Frenchman
Means to pretend not to understand or notice something, to play dumb, to feign ignorance
Example Ko sem ga vprašala, kdo je razbil vazo, se je delal Francoza.
Idioms stick when you see them in context, not on a list. Lingo7 lets you read real Slovenian books with sentence-aligned translation and native-narrated audio, so you meet idioms in the wild and tap any line you do not get. Save them and review later. Free to start.
An idiom is a phrase whose meaning is fixed by convention, not built from its words. That is why a word-for-word translation fails: Vreči puško v koruzo comes out as "to throw the rifle into the corn", which makes no sense until you know it means to give up, to abandon an effort.
Learn a few at a time, not a whole list. Pick the ones you keep running into, say them out loud in a real sentence, and you will remember them far longer than by drilling flashcards.
The most reliable way to absorb idioms is to meet them in context, again and again, in things you actually read. Parallel text and audio let you catch an idiom in a real Slovenian sentence and check what it means without breaking your reading. That is what reading in Lingo7 is built for.
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Some of the most common Slovenian idioms are vreči puško v koruzo, imeti maslo na glavi, držati pesti za koga, mačji kašelj. Each one means something you could not guess from the words alone, which is exactly why learners have to meet them in context. This tool lists 14 of them with their meaning and an example sentence.
In Slovenian, "vreči puško v koruzo" translates literally as "to throw the rifle into the corn", but it actually means to give up, to abandon an effort. You would use it like this: Po tretjem neuspešnem poskusu je vrgel puško v koruzo.
Idioms are non-compositional: their meaning is fixed by convention, not built from the individual words. Vreči puško v koruzo translates literally as "to throw the rifle into the corn", yet it means to give up, to abandon an effort. Translate word for word and you get nonsense, so idioms have to be learned as whole units.
The fastest way is to meet them in context and reuse them, not to memorize a list. Learn a handful at a time, notice them while reading and listening, and try them in your own sentences. Reading real Slovenian with tap-to-translate, the way Lingo7 works, turns every page into idiom practice.