First attested circa 18th century, from Spanish.
teach grandma how to suck eggs (third-person singular simple present teaches grandma how to suck eggs, present participle teaching grandma how to suck eggs, simple past and past participle taught grandma how to suck eggs)
- (idiomatic, chiefly in the negative) To tell an expert how to do things.
teach an expert
- Bulgarian: прода́вам кра́ставици на краставича́р (prodávam krástavici na krastavičár, literally “to sell cucumbers to a cucumber vendor”)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 班門弄斧／班门弄斧 (zh) (bānménnòngfǔ)
- Finnish: älä opeta isääsi naimaan (literally “don't teach your father to fuck”), älä opeta isääsi kusemaan (literally “don't teach your father to piss”)
- French: apprendre à un vieux singe à faire des grimaces
- Greek: έλα παππού μου, να σου δείξω τ' αμπελοχώραφά σου (éla pappoú mou, na sou deíxo t' ampelochórafá sou, literally “come grandpa, I'll show you your vineyards”)
- Italian: please add this translation if you can
- Japanese: 釈迦に説法 (ja) (shaka ni seppō, literally “lecturing the Buddha”), 釈迦に経 (shaka ni kyō, literally “teaching scriptures to the Buddha”)
- Kazakh: дария жанынан құдық қазба (dariä janynan qūdyq qazba)
- Kikuyu: tiga kuonia ngarĩ kũhaica mũtĩ (literally “stop teaching a leopard how to climb up a tree”)
- Polish: uczyć ojca dzieci robić
- Portuguese: ensinar a missa ao padre (literally “teach mass to the priest”), ensinar a missa ao vigário (literally “teach mass to the vicar”)
- Russian: учи́ть орла́ лета́ть (učítʹ orlá letátʹ, literally “teach an eagle to fly”), учи́ть учёного (učítʹ učónovo, literally “teach a scholar”)
- Scottish Gaelic: ionnsaich do sheanmhair lit' a dhèanamh (literally “teach grandmother to make porridge”)
- Spanish: dar clases a tu maestro (literally “give classes to your master”)
- Telugu: తాతకు దగ్గులు నేర్పు (te) (tātaku daggulu nērpu, literally “teaching grandfather to cough”)
- Thai: สอนจระเข้ว่ายน้ำ (sŏn jàràkây wâai náam, literally “teach a crocodile to swim”)
- Turkish: tereciye tere satmak (tr) (literally “to sell cress to the cress vendor”)
- Vietnamese: múa rìu qua mắt thợ (vi) (literally “to wave one's axe before an axeman”)
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