Usually when I think
of a phrase to mention on my blog I can just turn to ‘Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase
and Fable’ (a wonderful book) for a definition of it. It may not be the definition I use but it can
give me ideas. Imagine my surprise when,
for the first time in decades of using it, I looked up a phrase and Brewer’s
didn’t have it!
The phrase is “What’s
that got to do with the price of fish?”
It means, simply,
what is the relevance of that. It denotes an
irrelevance or non-sequitur in the current discussion. Looking it up via Google I also found ‘….the
price of eggs’ and ‘….the price of beans’, neither of which I had heard. There was also ‘….the price of tea in China?’,
which I have used as an alternative myself.
What is the
equivalent in your country / language?
I must admit I have never heard of this phrase before and I don't think we have anything similar in the Bosnian Language.
ReplyDeleteMersad
Mersad Donko Photography
..as an answer to a statement which nobody is really interested in , we, in Germany, sometimes answer with " und in China fällt ein Sack Reis um" or " und in Russland rauscht eine Linde" You use this empty phrases to emphasize the insignificance of an event or to signal personal disinterest. ;o)
ReplyDeleteIt's always been the price of fish for me. For all the tea in China has a different connotation.
ReplyDeleteThe one about the price of rice in China is used two ways here. One is the way you mention, letting someone know the comment is off topic. The other is when someone comes in and asks what you are discussing, and you would rather that person not know, you say, "We were talking about the price of rice in China."
ReplyDeleteThe saying I know is "What's that got to do with the price of rice in China?"
ReplyDeleteSame as Mersad, I didn't know the phrase and don't think we have an equivalent in German.
ReplyDeleteFirst I thought of the Dutch phrase "Dat slaat als een tang op een varken" (lit. 'That hits like a tongs on a pig'. But looking up the translation of this expression into English I found this phrase: "That is without rhyme or reason". I think it is a slightly different meaning than (and not told as a question like) 'what's that got to do with the price of the fish?'.
ReplyDeleteThinking about it again didn't Mum or Dad (probably Mum) used to say "What's that got to do with the price of tripe?"
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of that phrase before but I like it and might start to use it.
ReplyDelete