There's a way.

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE: CHILDREN'S EDITION (HARRY POTTER 6) (2005/07/16) J.K. ROWLING View detail of this item

"Merlin's beard!"
This expression appeared in one of the Harry Potter books called "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." When I saw the expression for the first time, I was completely confused and couldn't figure out what it meant. Was that because I was not familiar with the name Merlin? Well, there was more to it than that. I was puzzled because I didn't try reading between the lines.
I'd say "Merlin's beard!" could be translated into こりゃ驚いた or とんでもない in Japanese. As you probably know, "Merlin's beard" isn't a fixed English expression; this was made by the author, J.K.Rowling. It means "Oh, my!" or "No way," which is used when you are surprised.
Not only Japanese people but also native English speakers (Muggles only, of course) may be confused with the expression. It won't be the case, though. I'd say many native English speakers don't have any problems while reading. Why is that? I guess they can picture the scene other than the expression. I was puzzled because I focused on it too much. I might have been able to comprehend the meaning if I hadn't been a hairsplitter...


★ネイティブの添削★
This wouldn't be the case, though.



[VOON] Merlin's beard 2