What It Means To 'Slide In On A Shrimp Sandwich' In Sweden

Idioms are one of the great delights of language, no matter where in the world you go, and no subject seems to attract these figurative phrases more than food. In English, you can be the apple of one's eye, be the big cheese, bring home the bacon; the list goes on and on. A common thread among these idioms is the association between food and wealth. The deeper your pockets, the more you can eat, and the fancier the food, the higher your implied status is. In English, we might refer to the privileged as having been born with a silver spoon in their mouth, or having success served up on a silver platter, both nods to fine dining.

In Sweden, a similar phrase exists, though it is a good deal more colorful than its English counterparts. "Att glida in på en räkamacka" is an idiom directed towards those who don't have to work hard for their success, what we Americans might call nepo babies. The literal translation of this saying is "to slide in on a shrimp sandwich." It's a delightful turn of phrase, but unless you're in the know, it probably sounds bizarre. To understand where it comes from, we need to talk about what räkamacka actually is.

For many Americans, their main perception of Swedish cuisine is likely through Ikea's Swedish meatballs, but if you really want to know Nordic cooking, you need to look at the sandwiches. Sandwiches are everyday staples throughout the Nordic nations, although they do things a little differently there. Open-face is the favored serving style, and while the best-known example is probably the Danish national dish of Smørrebrød, Sweden has plenty to offer on its own, including räkamacka. This open-faced sandwich features shrimp or prawns, slices of hard-boiled eggs, lettuce, dill, and in some cases, tomatoes and cucumbers. It's very similar to shrimp salad Skagen, but it holds particular significance in the context of Swedish culture.

Historically, shrimp were a food for Sweden's upper class, including the nobility. Eating a shrimp sandwich would be seen as a status symbol of sorts, and it has retained that context in Swedish culture thanks in no small part to the saying, "slide in on a shrimp sandwich." It's not the only way you'll hear this metaphor used in Sweden. On the opposite end of the spectrum , one might say that "it was no prawn sandwich," to imply that a particular achievement took hard work.