In French we usually say it's raining ropes, the listed expression exists but is vulgar so we use it a lot less.
this post was submitted on 23 Jul 2026
537 points (99.4% liked)
196
6574 readers
1165 users here now
Community Rules
You must post before you leave
Be nice. Assume others have good intent (within reason).
Block or ignore posts, comments, and users that irritate you in some way rather than engaging. Report if they are actually breaking community rules.
Use content warnings and/or mark as NSFW when appropriate. Most posts with content warnings likely need to be marked NSFW.
Most 196 posts are memes, shitposts, cute images, or even just recent things that happened, etc. There is no real theme, but try to avoid posts that are very inflammatory, offensive, very low quality, or very "off topic".
Bigotry is not allowed, this includes (but is not limited to): Homophobia, Transphobia, Racism, Sexism, Abelism, Classism, or discrimination based on things like Ethnicity, Nationality, Language, or Religion.
Avoid shilling for corporations, posting advertisements, or promoting exploitation of workers.
Proselytization, support, or defense of authoritarianism is not welcome. This includes but is not limited to: imperialism, nationalism, genocide denial, ethnic or racial supremacy, fascism, Nazism, Marxism-Leninism, Maoism, etc.
Avoid AI generated content.
Avoid misinformation.
Avoid incomprehensible posts.
No threats or personal attacks.
No spam.
Moderator Guidelines
Moderator Guidelines
- Don’t be mean to users. Be gentle or neutral.
- Most moderator actions which have a modlog message should include your username.
- When in doubt about whether or not a user is problematic, send them a DM.
- Don’t waste time debating/arguing with problematic users.
- Assume the best, but don’t tolerate sealioning/just asking questions/concern trolling.
- Ask another mod to take over cases you struggle with, if you get tired, or when things get personal.
- Ask the other mods for advice when things get complicated.
- Share everything you do in the mod matrix, both so several mods aren't unknowingly handling the same issues, but also so you can receive feedback on what you intend to do.
- Don't rush mod actions. If a case doesn't need to be handled right away, consider taking a short break before getting to it. This is to say, cool down and make room for feedback.
- Don’t perform too much moderation in the comments, except if you want a verdict to be public or to ask people to dial a convo down/stop. Single comment warnings are okay.
- Send users concise DMs about verdicts about them, such as bans etc, except in cases where it is clear we don’t want them at all, such as obvious transphobes. No need to notify someone they haven’t been banned of course.
- Explain to a user why their behavior is problematic and how it is distressing others rather than engage with whatever they are saying. Ask them to avoid this in the future and send them packing if they do not comply.
- First warn users, then temp ban them, then finally perma ban them when they break the rules or act inappropriately. Skip steps if necessary.
- Use neutral statements like “this statement can be considered transphobic” rather than “you are being transphobic”.
- No large decisions or actions without community input (polls or meta posts f.ex.).
- Large internal decisions (such as ousting a mod) might require a vote, needing more than 50% of the votes to pass. Also consider asking the community for feedback.
- Remember you are a voluntary moderator. You don’t get paid. Take a break when you need one. Perhaps ask another moderator to step in if necessary.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
That honestly sounds more vulgar, or at least in English it does. Do you have the expression of "shooting rope" cause that's what I think of, or maybe I just have a dirty mind.
Pours as if from a broomhandle
Estonian. No, it doesn't make sense here either.
The fuck kind of rain are they getting in Greece?
Just adding one more, in spanish it's raining from jugs ("cántaro", more like an amphora, never used this old word outside of this expression)
I personally don't use this expression anymore. My family and I now only say something my brother came up with because we find it hilarious: it's a rain so hard it's like two rains
Swedish:
It's raining so much...
You misspelled småspik.
It's raining nails!
What is it in German?
It pours like buckets
"It's raining twines/threads/strings" also works, but that's reserved for somewhat strong, sustained rain. "Buckets" is obviously the escalation of that.
What would "it's raining threads" be on German? I'm not familiar with that term
Es regnet Bindfäden.
Okay I've lived in Germany all my life and never heard that. Is it a regional expression?
It hailed in Vienna yesterday, does that count?
Serbian: It's pouring like from a hose/cable
(we say "cable", but since the word is from a pre electricity age, hose is the actual meaning of)
(not very creative, I know, but keep in mind, hoses were for fancy rich people here at some point)
Matching some of these older alternatives in the UK are "Bucketing Down", "Stair Rods". Which line up with some of the other languages(ISH).
“It’s Raining Men” and “Let The Bodies Hit The Floor” are actually one song
Yup! Just told from very different perspectives.
Reminds me of the Rice Krispies onomatopoeic noises in different languages:
English: Snap! Crackle! Pop!
Danish: Pif! Paf! Puf!
Swedish: Piff! Paff! Puff!
German: Knisper! Knasper! Knusper!
Spanish: Pim! Pam! Pum!
Finnish: Riks! Raks! Poks!
French: Cric! Crac! Croc!
Dutch: Pif! Paf! Pof!
Afrikaans: Knap! Knetter! Knak!
Belgium: Poos! Pas! Pes!
I had no idea that vowel progression (I A O/U) was so common in European languages. Interesting!
Polish: "Under the dog weather"
Interesting that English is the only language where this isn't alliterative.
load more comments
(3 replies)
load more comments
(1 replies)
Slovaks use “wheelbarrows” not tractors
I have been to Slovakia and never heard anything like that (wheelbarrows or tractors). How common is it?
load more comments
(1 replies)
In France we have a few more:
Il pleut des cordes (It's raining ropes) Il pleut à sceau (It's raining buckets) Il tombe des hallebardes (it's raining halberds)
I'm also quite partial to "on s'est fait saucer", literally "we got sauced", which refers to getting soaked in the rain.
We also use nails sometimes (il pleut des clous)
J'ai pris la saucé 😁
load more comments
(5 replies)
Norwegian here. Never heard the troll one before. Might be from a different part of the country. We have a lot of other sayings about rain though.
I've heard it used on snow, but never rain.
load more comments
(3 replies)
what the hell happened to esteri to get that honor
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kuin_Esterin_perseest%C3%A4
One urban legend has it that Esteri was the goddess of rain in pre-Christian Finland, but in fact the name is of Biblical origin. Another folk etymology suggests the phrase derives from Esteri, a brand of water pumps used by fire brigades.
frogs or "like from a pot" (polish)
Brazil: Canivetes (pocket knives)
pé d'água caindo o céu entre outros
Canivete aberto (open pocket knives) for emphasis, if it's really strong rain.
Is there something about troll squirting that only the Norwegians know about?
Honestly I've only heard the expression used on snow, not rain. So it wouldn't be a troll squirting, it would be huge, mean trolls falling from the sky.
Pipe sticks (The Netherlands) (het regent pijpenstelen)
Other option: tuberculosis hard. (het regent tering hard)
More like pipe stems, no? As in the stems of pipes for smoking tobacco.
Also used: it's dog weather (het is hondenweer)
I was thinking about broomstick stelen. But yeah, 'stem' makes sense.
Hondenweer technically is about the weather in general, not rain specifically. A snow blizzard or a storm can also be hondenweer.
view more: next ›