ummet ja lammet

Finnish

Etymology

ummet (“fields of deep snow”) + ja (“and”) + lammet (“ponds”)

Phrase

ummet ja lammet

1. (idiomatic) excessively long-winded talk: this and that

   puhua ummet ja lammet (about = elative) ― to give a blow-by-blow narration, tell the whole story down to the last tedious detail; to beat around the bush

   luvata ummet ja lammet (about = elative) ― to give a very long-winded promise

   kysyä ummet ja lammet (of/about = elative) ― to pry into all the (gory) details, wheedle all the juicy tidbits out, interrogate thoroughly

Usage notes

Used e,g, to indicate that someone is trying to deceive or distract the listener by speaking a lot, but leaving out essential facts.