hoppa i galen tunna

Swedish

Etymology

From hoppa (“jump”) +‎ i (“into”) +‎ galen (“crazy (perhaps "crazily wrong")”) +‎ tunna (“barrel”). A widely reported (perhaps folk) etymology derives the expression from a supposed story of a man accidentally jumping into a barrel of tar instead of a hot tub after a taking a sauna. Attested at least since 1807.

Verb

hoppa i galen tunna (present hoppar i galen tunna, preterite hoppade i galen tunna, supine hoppat i galen tunna, imperative hoppa i galen tunna)

  1. (idiomatic) to make a (terribly) wrong decision
    De brukar ta kloka beslut, men här har de definitivt hoppat i galen tunna
    They usually make wise decision, but in this case they've definitely made the wrong decision

References
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