And speaking of Finns, a Finnish equivalent to “a few sandwiches short of a picnic” is hänellä ei ole kaikki muumit laaksossa. It means “they don’t have all the Moomins in the valley.”

Maternal grandfather would boast that he knew how to make fried rice anywhere, under any condition because that was what was expected of him in the PLA. He carried a collapsible wok paddle everywhere because he “never knew when he’d have to fry rice”