Question 1

I recognize the verb klikka from computer mice, but why does it mean 'went wrong' here?

Accepted Answer

In spoken Icelandic, klikka is a very common colloquial verb. While it does mean 'to click,' it is widely used in casual speech to mean 'to fail,' 'to go wrong,' or 'to mess up.' It can also mean 'to go crazy.' Saying allt klikkaði is a natural, everyday way to express that everything fell apart.

Question 2

Why use the phrase hjá okkur instead of translating 'for us' directly as fyrir okkur?

Accepted Answer

The preposition hjá usually means 'by' or 'at,' but Icelandic frequently uses it to indicate who is experiencing a situation or in whose world an event occurs. Using hjá okkur is the idiomatic way to say things went wrong in our case or on our end. Using fyrir okkur here would sound unnatural, almost as if the failure was a favor done on your behalf.

Question 3

Is there a difference between saying allt klikkaði and using the verb mistakast?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the main difference is the tone and grammar. Mistakast is the standard, slightly more formal verb for 'to fail' and it requires the person failing to be in the dative case. Klikka is casual, colloquial, and takes a standard nominative subject. You would use mistakast in a formal report, but klikka when venting to friends about a bad day.

Question 4

Why is the word for 'everything' in the neuter singular form allt here?

Accepted Answer

Whenever you are talking about 'everything' or 'all of it' in a broad, abstract sense, Icelandic defaults to the neuter singular form of the pronoun allur. You only use masculine or feminine forms of this word if you are referring back to a specific group of nouns with those genders.

Allt klikkaði hjá okkur í gær.

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