Though Romulans were likely also seafaring at some point in their history and might have a similar saying, I still have to call the writers out on having a Romulan say: "We're dead in the water" - this is a human saying and not something you would expect to hear from a Romulan.
shareDidn't you know that in Star Trek, the galaxy rotates around the Earth? I guess it can be difficult to write science fiction because, as humans, the writers have that natural tendency to inject their own familiar sayings into the mouths of off-world races. One can try to avoid doing it, but it's just so easy to let these sorts of things slip in if not careful.
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Whose idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have an "S" in it?
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That's just 'cus the universal translator was made on Earth.
"Lovey-dovey. Bonk bonk on the head!"
That's pretty nit-picky, I think. That kind of thing happens throughout Trek. Watching an episode of Enterprise the other day, Archer mentions his dog to an alien and the alien doesn't bat an eyelash (if it had one).
"What's a dog?"
Besides, it is possible in this sense that a Romulan turn of phrase could've been interpreted this way by the UT.
What universal translater? They said it in private.
Maybe the Romulan female captain had studied Earth English and was aware of the Seafaring expression.
shareRomulan Commander: "We're dead in the water."
Picard: "But you're not in water."
Romulan Commander: "Oh, right. I guess we're fine, then."
👷👳
Bob the Builder and Hadji walk into a bar...