Just Sayings: Rúsínan í Pylsuendanum

Ever had a hot dog filled with raisins? Doesn’t sound good, does it? Still, Icelanders have the saying “Rúsínan í Pylsuendanum,” which translates to “the raisins in the tail of a hot dog.” It’s sort of a vague way to describe something good or unexpected and like everything that doesn’t make sense or is just flat out stupid, we got it from the Danes, our former oppressors. More specifically, it was adopted from a poem by Danish poet Christian Winther, which we won’t mention because we don’t want to give any Dane free publicity. Anyway, for some maddening reason, ages ago they used to put a raisin at the end of black pudding sausages, which those savages thought was a sign of true culinary prowess. Apparently, this was an unexpectedly great thing—hence the saying.

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.