Thread: Questions about idioms.

Originally Posted by Seraph

Example that is not joke, but naturally would be ok in English: 'под сурдинку он подложил свинью' from the two separate idioms, 'под сурдинку' and 'подложить свинью'. "On the sly he did a dirty trick." Maybe 'with hand on heart', as deception.

под сурдинку он подложил свинью => Он подложил свинью под сурдинку.
Yeah, that doesn't work well in Russian. That sounds like he put a pig under a mute and the meaning is lost.