Living not at home

Two friends of mine were having a conversation. I was listening intently because it was in Portuguese. And because it was spoken with elision, allusion and enthusiasm, I was getting the gist without the detail until this phrase stood out: eles perderam o comboio  (they missed the train). It referred to being slow to decide and as a consequence missing an opportunity. I interrupted to check, and yes, my friends said, it did mean the same as they missed the boat.  I loved the way the two phrases, in the two languages, shared the same structure and differed in just one detail: miss the boat or miss the train .  Here’s three more pairs: A vida não é um mar de rosas. Life's no bed of roses. Não é a minha praia. It’s not my cup of tea. Ela pôs uma pedra na engrenagem. She put a spanner in the works.  Dois amigos meus estavam a conversar. Eu estava a ouvir atentamente porque era em português. E como eles falaram rapidamente e com vigor, eu percebi  só o essencial sem ...