LOST IN TRANSLATION
Credit: LA Times Crossword
September 6, 2012
Jerome Gunderson

What do the following expressions have in common?

THORN BUSH
SEAT BELT
STEW MEAT
SHOUT DOWN

HINTS:
#1: The title is a clue.
#2: It has to do with the first word of each expression.

Answers:

The first word of each expression is an anagram of one of the cardinal directions:

THORN - NORTH
SEAT - EAST
STEW - WEST
SHOUT - SOUTH