In the US, and possibly Canada, we use the concept of underwater basket weaving when there’s a job that is pointless. It stems from the push for hobbies/skills to be practical, unlike underwater basket weaving.
In the US, and possibly Canada, we use the concept of underwater basket weaving when there’s a job that is pointless. It stems from the push for hobbies/skills to be practical, unlike underwater basket weaving.
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Not a perfect equivalent, but for a seemingly pointless job we sometimes use the term Department of Unclear Affairs (Onduidelijke Zaken).
In Finnish, kuin vettä kaivoon kantaisi, “Like carrying water to a well.”
“Licence en ouverture de boîtes de conserve”. License in can opening. Closest thing I have heard to what you describe.
“Nosit dříví do lesa” to carry wood into the forest, not a perfect match but the closes thing I can think of
“Som at samle sol i en spand” To gather sunlight in a bucket. Is the closest I can think of.
It stems from a story where a guy ‘accidentally’ built a house without windows. To light it he figures to gather sunlight in a bucket and bring it indoors. When this doesn’t work, his friend declares “But there’s a hole in the bucket!”
Point of the story being to think things through before you commit.
Typical only in my region in Italy, Pedemont, we refer to people that we consider not really useful as “Pelacurdin”, literally “string peeler”.
Nosiť drevo do lesa – it’s the same as the czech one already mentioned. To bring wood to the forest.
Nosiť vodu v koši – To carry water in the basket.
Fun fact: underwater basket weaving is wildly misunderstood. It doesn’t mean the weaver is sitting underwater in a swimming pool. It means he’s holding the reed underwater in a bucket or so, to make it bend more easily.
In Poland when it comes to the college level education, we have a joke term: “Wyższa Szkoła Gotowania na Gazie” (College of Cooking on a Gas Stove). This term does not refer to teaching useless skills, but to small private provintioval colleges, with substandard curriculum, cadres and not to bright students.
Nositi drva u šumu – “to carry wood into the forrest”…so, basically the same as Czechia and Slovakia.
Iz šupljeg u prazno dno – Means to transfer something (example; water) from something (example; bucket) with a hollow bottom to something with no bottom.
In Bulgaria, we use the saying “да раздели листата от шумата”, which would translate to something like “to separate the leafs from the halm/folliage”.
Romanian: “tai frunză la câini” meaning cutting grass for dogs, which I think is explained by the fact that dogs are notorious vegans.
Blatantly useless college majors are not an issue in Russia. However, we have a term for the former institutes that have upgraded themselves to universities to offer more in-demand degrees. Economics and law degrees are no longer as popular as they used to, but a “law degree from the Fencebuilding University” is still a meme.
We say “to brush dolls’ hair”, used especially in “here we aren’t brushing dolls’ hair” as “we aren’t wasting time as you think we are”. There’s also “we aren’t removing stains from leopards” lol.
We have sayings like this in Finland, but I do not remember them right now. But i want to tell you the equivalent of the most not useful thing: “venäläinen perseenpäristin” = a russian assbuzzer. It does not fit in the ass and it does not buzz.
We have sayings like this in Finland, but I do not remember them right now. But i want to tell you the equivalent of the most not useful thing: “venäläinen perseenpäristin” = a russian assbuzzer. It does not fit in the ass and it does not buzz.
Italian Argentinian here… Hope an extra European one is accepted. We would say it’s as “useless as an ashtray on a motorcycle”. Or “a horn for a plane” (like the car horn).
In the UK, it would probably be “taking coals to Newcastle”. Historically Newcastle was the main port which shipped coal to London in the 17th and 18th centuries.
“Shoeing the goose” (trying to put shoes on a goose) is an old phrase in parts of Ireland and Britain for a completely pointless task – usually undertaken as a means of avoiding more important work.
In Hungary we have sharpening oats (“zabhegyezés”), usually used for tasks/jobs that are low effort and pointless.
Fun fact: the title “The Catcher in the Rye” has been somewhat controversially translated as “Zabhegyező” (“oat sharpener”), as an attempt to keep the “oat/rye” theme and to reflect on the main character’s aimlessness.
Water naar de zee dragen. To carry water to the sea.
Another is “dweilen met de kraan open” mopping with the tap running