ekki baun

Icelandic

Etymology

Literally “not a bean”. The phrase is quite old; it is related to an older analogy of saying that something is less of a bellyful than a single bean, as a bean is quite small and insignificant.

Ekki baun í bala is a more recent saying.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /(ˌ)ɛhcɪˈpøyːn/

Adverb

ekki baun

1. (colloquial) not at all, absolutely not, absolutely nothing

   Ég skil ekki baun.

   I don't understand one iota.

   (literally, “I don't understand a bean.”)

   Hann er ekki búinn að gera baun í allan dag.

   He hasn't done anything at all today.

   (literally, “He hasn't done a bean all day.”)

   Það var ekki baun vont að fara í endajaxlatöku.

   Getting my wisdom teeth out didn't hurt one bit.

   (literally, “It wasn't a bean bad to go to the wisdom tooth removal.”)

Synonyms

• alls ekki, alls ekkert, ekki neitt, ekkert, ekki baun í bala