ligga en hund begraven
Swedish edit
Etymology edit
From ligga (“lie”) + en (“a”) + hund (“dog”) + begraven (“buried”), a calque of German da liegt der Hund begraben, of uncertain origin. Compare French y avoir anguille sous roche and Spanish haber gato encerrado.
Verb edit
ligga en hund begraven (present ligger en hund begraven, preterite låg en hund begraven, supine legat en hund begraven)
- (idiomatic) for there to be something fishy and suspicious at hand
- Företaget de säger sig driva verkar inte existera. Här ligger en hund begraven.
- The company they claim to run doesn't seem to exist. There's something fishy going on here. ("A dog lies buried here.")