Med hovedet under armen

11:13 Apr 9, 2010
This question was closed without grading. Reason: No acceptable answer

Danish to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Idioms / Maxims / Sayings / Idioms
Danish term or phrase: Med hovedet under armen
Any English equivalent? Or at least an approximation?
Plamen Nenchev
Bulgaria
Local time: 07:21


Summary of answers provided
3 +2without stopping to think
David Young (X)
3 +1With his/her head in the clouds
e-beth (X)
1wishful thinking
andres-larsen


  

Answers


1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 1/5Answerer confidence 1/5
wishful thinking


Explanation:
Wishful thinking - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Wishful thinking is the formation of beliefs and making decisions according to what might be pleasing to imagine instead of by appealing to evidence or ...
Reverse wishful thinking - As a logical fallacy - See also
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wishful_thinking -

andres-larsen
Venezuela
Local time: 02:21
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Christine Andersen: This generally means more not thinking at all than wishful thinking
1 day 20 hrs
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9 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
without stopping to think


Explanation:
Den Danske Ordbog gives the following definition: uden at tænke sig om
http://ordnet.dk/ddo/ordbog?query=hovedet under armen&search...

This is not really the same as the English "stick one's head in the sand" which means not wanting to see what John Cleese used to call "the bleedin' obvious".
Can you give any context, Plamen?

David Young (X)
Denmark
Local time: 07:21
Native speaker of: English

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Brian Young: This is a very unusual expression, and should have been given with more context. I agree that it is just what it implies- refusing to see reality in the eyes. This meaning of such cliches is usually obvious, given some context.
4 hrs
  -> Thanks Brian - but Plamen had closed before I answered anyway :(

agree  Christine Andersen: It is not a new expression, but gets fashionable and then disappears again - and generally means not thinking ahead or not caring about trouble caused to others.
1 day 11 hrs
  -> Thanks Christine - but Plamen had closed before I answered anyway :(
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20 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
With his/her head in the clouds


Explanation:
This might be an option depending on the context.

e-beth (X)
Sweden
Local time: 07:21
Native speaker of: Native in DanishDanish, Native in SwedishSwedish
PRO pts in category: 3

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  David Young (X): Nice one, e-beth - it might well be. But the question is closed anyway - don't understand why it's still up here.
1 day 49 mins
  -> Thanks David, I completely missed that it was closed.
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