There is a fairly common expression in Swedish and/or Norwegian -- Jag anar ugglor i mossen -- which translates "I sense owls in the moss." It means that something feels wrong, that one suspects skullduggery or that there is a scent of nefarity in the air.
1. Has this expression ever found its way in English?
2. Given that most odd-sounding expression had a rational basis when they were coined, what do you suppose this one might be?
Gosh, I woulda thought that was pretty common knowledge.
Moss is used as an insulation, since it is light, holds air well, and dries out fairlyquickly when dampened, all of which help its insulative qualities.
Alas, though, mice like to nest in the dry moss, particularly in the wintertime. But, all is not lost. Owls eat mice, so if you have owls in the moss it means that you have mice in the moss.
Not a bit of which makes a damned bit of sense, but I had some time on my hands. And who knows, maybe having mice in your moss is a sign that something is amoss, I mean amiss.
I think I need to go back on the meds, don't you?
And a mus is amusing. Or at least that's what my Amish friends say.
Don, I muss stop this. I must! Well perhaps in the morning.
I think I need to go back on the meds, don't you?
Go ahead and double the dosage, TEd.
1. Has this expression ever found its way in English?
Of course, we have our own variations involving creatures other than owls, Father Steve. Like "Something smells fishy". And "That dog won't hunt." And there is an old saying which is racist [from an era, thankfully long past, which I won't repeat] about something "in the wood pile". And then there is "There never is one termite."
Another shot in the dark: at one point, including in the 1400s when Hieronymous Bosch was putting them in all of his paintings, owls were a symbol of evil. Perhaps it is in this capacity that the phrase began?
According to Larry Solomon, an owl, in Bosch's work, symbolizes "Satan looking for victims."
http://solomonsmusic.net/BoschSymbols.htmAccording to Kyla Ward, "Further evidence of Bosch's medievalism is the symbolism he uses, and the amount of it. A well-established language of direct allegory existed, that allows interpretation of pictures such as the Garden, and his intricate Hells, in the triptych of which the Garden is the centrepiece and other works such as The Last Judgement, and a similar panel in the Haywain triptych. A dead give-away is the owl. An amazing number of Bosch pictures, when you look for them, contain the tiny shapes of owls peeping from nooks and crannies. They are evil lurking, symbols of witchcraft and demonology, and the Garden is full of them being cuddled and nursed."
http://www.tabula-rasa.info/DarkAges/Bosch.html
Moss often grows on old thatched roofs - maybe that's a clue?
!
http://www.webwhirlers.com/owls/ I hope this isn't a commercial or a porn site; I barely looked at it.
Sounds like it means simply that something is amiss; owls don't normally hang out in/on moss. Might take a Swedish etymology to determine the particulars of the origin.
Jackie's reference is to a web journal kept by a woman named Michael who is married to a Swedish fellow. She explains her choice of a title for her web journal as follows:
"The title is based on one of my favorite Swedish idioms. These idioms (like those of many languages) often sound ridiculous when translated word-for-word into English. "Jag anar ugglor i mossen" translates into "I sense owls in the moss." It means that something feels "wrong"-- it's that "can't put my finger on it" intuitive sense that something isn't quite right. I hope you won't "sense owls in the moss" here, too often, because we're fairly open and above-board <g>, but because I like the sound of the phrase, I stubbornly insist upon using it. So, the title has absolutely nothing to do with the content of this journal. My sincere apologies to all you owl-lovers out there. ;o)"