Latvian

līst kā pa Jāņiem

Verb

līt kā pa Jāņiem

1. (idiomatic) to come down in sheets, to come down in buckets

   [l]atviešiem jau ir teiciens — līst kā pa Jāņiem (..) [t]ie jau nebūtu nekādi Jāņi, ja nelītu lietus‎ ― latvians have a saying after all — it's raining like during Jāņi (~ Midsummer festivities) it wouldn't be any Jāņi without rain^[1]

   [š]opavasar, kad Parīzē neierasti līst kā pa Jāņiem, šie divi “cilvēki kulisēs” sazvanās gandrīz vai piecas reizes dienā, lai pārliecinātos, “ka viss norit gludi”‎ ― this spring, when unusually for Paris it is raining like during Jāņi, these two “insiders” are calling up each other almost five times a day to make sure that “everything is going smoothly”^[2]

   [ā]rā līst (..) "[k]ā pa Jāņiem", gribas sacīt, bet ir jūlija beigas (..)‎ ― it's raining outside (..) "like during Jāņi" one wants to proclaim, it's the end of July though (..)^[3]

Usage notes

Most often used in its third-person present indicative form līst kā pa Jāņiem.

References

1. ↑ Adolfs Stamguts (1999) Latvietis sabiedroto gūstā un trimdā, page 49
2. ↑ (2001) Māksla plus, issues 1–6
3. ↑ (1992) Karogs, issues 1–4, page 212