Scandinavian Speaker. Please translate

Question

What does it mean in English?

“I met myself coming in the door”

Comments

Hi Sir William,

   This has caused a bit of a kerfuffle. What was the saying in its original language? The English translation you posted is being viewed in two different ways.

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I don’t know as. I don’t speak Norwegian

Answer 1

The Norwegian expression "å møte seg selv i døra" means that you are facing your own prejudices, or that you say one thing but do the opposite, by how you have acted in a certain situation. It does not mean you are very busy.

Comments

Hi Jostein,

"å møte seg selv i døra" translated into English is  "to meet oneself at the door".

The phrase that Sir William stated in the question “I met myself coming in the door” is more in line with the being busy interpretation.

Not sure what the original text that he translated from to get “I met myself coming in the door”. It could be the same saying that you listed but the English translation was off a bit.

Your saying "å møte seg selv i døra"/ "to meet oneself at the door". would be more in line with the interpretation you posted along with Leif and Aksel's answers below.

Answer 2

I am English but I have heard this phrase before. It means to be very busy.

Comments

That is exactly it - To be so busy that you meet yourself coming in the door as you are leaving... it is a hyperbole

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In the U.S. Midwest, I've also heard it phrased as "I met myself coming and going."

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This cannot be the best answer since it is completely wrong.

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It cannot be "completely" wrong as this is what the phrase in the original question does mean in English. I agree that as Sir William mentioned Scandinavian in the subject that he most probably did mean the Norwegian phrase that others have mentioned. Therefore, I have deselected my answer as the best answer. I am quite annoyed that I have received my first ever downvote for this.

Answer 3

If one, like Jostein, assumes that "I met myself coming in the door" is an English translation of the Norwegian figure of speech "Å møte seg selv i døra", the common definition is something like:

To be met by, or finding oneself in conflict with, one's own previously held occupation, role, or opinion.

Comments

Agreed, Jostein posted the saying in Norwegian above and when translated to English it is more in line with your interpretation.

Answer 4

An attempt: To come in a situation where you act or speak against your previous prejudices or statements

Comments

Agreed, Jostein posted the saying in Norwegian above and when translated to English it is more in line with your interpretation.

Answer 5

I am Danish, but I have never heard that phrase before . But if you google " møte sig sjølv i døra" you will find a norwegian wikipedia article referring to a song from 2005 about how it is to be old and find out, that what you dislike about the young generation is exactly the same, that you did yourself when you was young.