måla fan på väggen

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Swedish

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Etymology

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Literally, "paint the Devil on the wall".

Idiom

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måla fan väggen

  1. to assume the worst is going to happen
    A to B: "I am going to forget what to say and everyone is going to laugh at me."
    B to A: "Do not paint the devil on the wall."
  2. to present a situation as being worse than it actually is
    Hon målade verkligen fan på väggen när hon kallade sin partikamrat fascist.
    She really went too far when she called her fellow party member a fascist.