To be honest, we only picked this idiom because of the word “leppalúði.” In a very loose English translation, the Icelandic saying “Enginn er sá leppalúði að ekki vilja fá sér brúði” means “No one is such a loser that he doesn’t want a bride!”
The “loser” in the sentence is the word “leppalúði,” which can also mean a person dressed in rags, a bogeyman, and is—as is most important here—the name of the father of the Icelandic Yule Lads. Truly a dynamic title.
In the aforementioned Christmas tale, Leppalúði was a troll who married the horrific baby-eating cannibal Grýla. You know, the grim troll-lady that steals children who have been naughty, put them in a huge pot, and then boils and eat them? Incidentally, Grýla’s also a great mother so her thirteen sons—which are all thieves, perverts or just plain weirdos—also give children gifts thirteen nights before Christmas. (Read about their flesh-eating cat here.)
The saying is, of course, kind of a joke, but it means, or rather infers, that every man wants a woman will find her—even Leppalúði, who is married to the cave of horrors. Leppalúði is deeply oppressed by Grýla according to the myth—hence the meaning, loser.
That said, he found his bride. Good for him.
Note: Due to the effect the Coronavirus is having on tourism in Iceland, it’s become increasingly difficult for the Grapevine to survive. If you enjoy our content and want to help the Grapevine’s journalists do things like eat and pay rent, please consider joining our High Five Club.
You can also check out our shop, loaded with books, apparel and other cool merch, that you can buy and have delivered right to your door.
Buy subscriptions, t-shirts and more from our shop right here!
