1001 Essential Turkish Idioms

Transkript

-- A sample of --
1,001
Essential Turkish
Idioms
(for English Speakers)
The ‘Best of’
Learning Practical Turkish
Volume 2
Jim and Perihan Masters
2
1,001 Essential Turkish Idioms (for English speakers)
The ‘Best of’ Learning Practical Turkish Vol. 2
1st Print Edition -- November 2003
1st Electronic Edition -- May 2006
Published by
Habibullah Enterprises, SA
P.K. 27
35480 Gümüldür
İzmir, Turkey (Türkiye)
WWW Website:
http://learningpracticalturkish.com/
E-mail: [email protected]
Non-original illustrations from public domain sources via
Hürriyet TARIH and Popüler TARIH (İstanbul)
ISBN – Application submitted
text and cover © Habibullah Enterprises
cover and inside graphics by Patricia Rawlings
Printed by Taşkın Matbaası, Gümüldür-İzmir, Turkey (Türkiye)
Habibullah Enterprises, the Habibullah logo and Learning Practical Turkish logo are trademarks of four country computing,
ltd.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form
by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise, except brief extracts for the purpose of review,
without the written permission of the publisher and copyright
owner.
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About the Authors
Jim and Perihan Masters are a husband and wife team, living on
the Aegean Coast of Turkey just 50 miles south of İzmir. Jim
was born in Shanghai, China -- of American military parentage.
Peri was born on the Black Sea coast of Turkey near Trabzon,
of Turkish military parentage…
First at Brown University and then at the University of North
Carolina, Jim pursued studies in Mathematics and Computer
Science. Upon graduation, he worked as a computer programmer/analyst on both US coasts before taking a position in
London as Technical Director for a computer facilities management firm – during the late 60’s and early 70’s. Enticed by a
Financial Times advertisement, he joined a NATO sponsored
enterprise in Ankara in the 70’s where he met the beautiful
and brainy Perihan, a rising young Turkish banking executive. It
was uninhibited love at first sight, except that neither spoke
the other’s language! So they embarked on a mad languagelearning scramble (which continues to this day) that culminated
in their marriage -- now in its 20-something year.
After spending fifteen working years Stateside (with numerous visitations to Turkey), the two opted to return permanently to Turkey in 1992 to take up residence in Gümüldür, a seaside resort town in the heart of what was once the ancient
Ionian Empire. There they live an idyllic life by the sea -writing, drawing and painting, teaching English, and providing
computing service support to local businesses.
They also sponsor the MSNBC award-winning
Learning Practical Turkish (LPT) website (located at
http://learningpracticalturkish.com/) that has built an enthusiastic international following of devoted
Turkophiles and inquisitive language students of all ages.
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From the Authors
The Authors wish to extend a special thanks to Taşkın Çalı, our
dear pal and language-adviser (and Beşiktaş’s stoutest supporter south of the Golden Horn) -- whose invaluable help with
the LPT website (and with this book too!) leaves us eternally in
his debt. And, to Patricia Rawlings (our favorite ‘Girl of the
North Country’) -- for her inspirational encouragement and increasingly accomplished assistance across the board -- we send
the four warmest winds of our Aegean appreciation.
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Visit our website soon and often… It’s dedicated to struggling
Turkish language learners just like you -- and it’s loaded with
authentic voice recordings too!!
The Learning Practical Turkish website is located at:
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Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................... 6
1,001 Essential Turkish Idioms ............................. 8
Acronyms, abbreviations, notations ......................... 9
The Best of the Idiom Stories ............................. 22
Sources and Acknowledgements............................. 25
Book Index ................................................... 27
Above page numbers relate to the full version of our
Volume 2 ebook -- not this sample...
Note: See the inside front and back covers for
phonetic pronunciation guidance.
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Introduction
The weird and wonderful ways of Turkish expression
As we’ve stated on previous occasions, we think that Turkish is
a difficult language to learn if you come from an Englishspeaking background -- as some of us do.
• The vocabulary is hard to remember (and can be ambiguous)
• The tricky use of suffixes can drive you to drink
• The word order in sentences is backwards to English, and
• The way of expressing actions and ideas takes a lot of
getting used to
This, the second book in our series, The Best of Learning Practical Turkish, will (of necessity) address all four of those
difficulties -- but with a primary focus on the ‘weird and wonderful ways’ of Turkish expression. Thus, the whole of its
content is devoted to the essential Turkish idioms. If you've
ever felt lost trying to follow a Turkish conversation, it may be
because of these 'comprehension killers'.
We know you've seen reference books written for English
speakers about English and American idioms. But, although
there are many fine books on Turkish idioms, they’ve all been
written for Turkish speakers in Turkish. Until now.
Those of you who know our WWW website may remember when
our original Turkish idiom encyclopedia ‘hit the bricks’ in 1996.
And you may have watched it growing over time, ever since. (As
we write this Introduction, the online compilation has swelled
to almost 1500 idioms.)
Our online idioms encyclopedia is based on more than 12 years
of personal in-country experience. And it reflects quite a wide
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range of interests -- having been gleaned from A) conversations with our Turkish friends and neighbors, B) Radio and TV
broadcasts, C) Turkish movies, D) the Turkish print media, E)
Turkish pop-music lyrics, F) Turkish folk tales and histories
and G) Turkish novels.
The specific 1,001 essential Turkish idioms found in this book
(along with several of their historical-origin stories) represent
the crème de la crème of our online encyclopedia. Painstakingly
selected, revised, and arranged for the printed page, these basic Turkish idioms are intended to meet the everyday needs of
Beginners and Intermediate learners of the Turkish language.
These are the idioms you’ll hear and see wherever you go, whoever you meet, whatever you read.
But enough of this palaver! It’s time to kick back and send your
Turkish language-learning skills into overdrive -- as you explore
LPT’s 1,001 Essential Turkish Idioms.
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LPT’s
1,001 Essential Turkish Idioms
9
Acronyms, abbreviations, notations
AB
ABD
AKP
Br
CHP
coll.
DEHAP
DSP
DYP
example
[example]
(example)
EU
Fig.
IMF
Lit.
MHP
sb
sth
US
YSK
The European Union – Turkish abbreviation
The United States – Turkish abbreviation
'Justice and Development Party' [Turkish political
party] - the ruling governmental party when it
swept national elections in November 2002 to rule
for 6 years.
British English
The 'Popular Democratic Party'
[Turkish political party]
colloquial
Democratic People's Party [a minor Turkish
political party]
Democratic Left Party [Turkish political party]
True Path Party [Turkish political party]
Underlined words indicate a cross-reference.
Bracketed words supplement the original entry.
Parenthetical words explain the original entry.
The European Union – English abbreviation
Figuratively
The International Monetary Fund
Literally
National Movement Party [Turkish political party]
somebody/someone
something
American English
Supreme Election Committee of Turkey
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Turkish Idioms beginning with the letter A
The Turkish
The Literal
English
Meaning
The 'Plain'
English Meaning
Comments and
Examples
aba altından değnek
(sopa) göstermek
to show a stick
(bat) under the
cloak
· to speak softly but carry 'Şöyle yaparım, böyle
a big stick
ederim' diye bize aba
· to cause fear, indirectly altından değnek gösteriyordu. He was
threatening us indirectly
by saying that he would
do this or that.
Even though he is poor,
Aba bulamaz etine, at- He can't even
find coarse wool he likes to show off.
las yamar götüne.
for his skin, but
he patches over
This proverbial
idiom is considered just his ass with
satin.
a little off-color.
May be used as shown.
Abacı, kebeci; (ya) sen He makes coarse
wool and felt
neci?
jackets. And
you, what's your
line of work?
Onu ilgilendirmeyen
konulardan söz etmesine kızıp: ‘Abacı, kebeci;
ya sen necisin?’ dedim.
I got angry with her for
talking about matters that
didn’t concern her and I
said, ‘So, who asked
you?!’
· Where do you come in?!
What concern of this is
yours?!
· It's all right for him/her
to talk about this subject,
because he/she's got firsthand knowledge. But
what gives you the right
to butt in?
abayı sermek
to spread out the to make yourself at home
coarse wool coat someplace where you’re
not wanted;
move in on somebody
abayı yakmak
to burn the
to give your heart to sb; to Yoksul bir çoban zengin
coarse wool coat fall desperately in love
adamın kızına abayı
yakmış. A poor shepherd
Sizinkinde onur yok,
gitti, yerleşip kaldı; abayı serdi. Your relative
has no pride, he went,
then settled in
and stayed (at another’s
place); he just moved in.
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boy fell desperately in
love with the rich man’s
daughter.
Abbas yolcu
'Abbas' traveler
· "I'm taking off, and
that's that!"
· One cannot detain one
who has to go.
· "He/she's about to die."
Abbas yolcuyum!
I’m outta here!
abuk sabuk konuşmak to talk nonsensi- same meaning
cally
Böyle abuk sabuk
konuşmayı bırak da,
beni iyi dinle. Stop talking nonsensically, and
listen well to what I say.
abur cubur
same meaning
· junk food
· haphazard,
confused speech
· ordinary, common-place
Abur cubur şeylerle
karnını doyurmak doğru değildir. It's not
right to fill up your stomach with junk food.
acayibine gitmek
to go to strange
· to find (sb or sth) very
strange/odd
· to seem strange
Bu nasıl adam, çok
acayibime gitti
yaptıkları. What sort of
man is this, the things he
does seem very strange to
me.
aceleye gelmek
to come hurried
· for a job not to be done
carefully because of time
limitations
· to do a job hastily and
carelessly
Aceleye geldi, yoksa
daha iyi olurdu. We
would have done [a] better [job], but time ran
out.
aceleye getirmek
to bring hurried
· to do a job haphazardly
-- without caring
· to deceive sb while acting or doing sth quickly
· Zamanım var, aceleye
getirmeyin. I’m not in a
hurry, so don't do a quick
and dirty job.
· Aceleye getirip istediği parayı benden
kopardı. He took my
money while he quickly
did what he wanted.
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Acem kılıcı gibi...
...like a Persian
sword (ie., a
double-edged
sword)
two faced, double dealing Ona güvenme, acem
kılıcı gibi, bir de bakarsın senin karşında yer
almış. Don't trust her,
she's two-faced and
might oppose your position.
acemi çaylak
an
inexperienced
'kite' (the hawklike bird)
· a raw or clumsy or
awkward or inexperienced person
· a "rookie" in all senses
of the word. An inexperienced
(and rather gullible) person.
Ondan daha fazlasını
beklemeyin, acemi çaylağın biridir. He's a
clumsy fellow, so don't
expect too much of him.
Acemi çaylak bu kadar uçar.
That is how an
inexperienced
hawk flies.
· That's all you can expect from a clumsy
person (or an
immature youth).
See acemi çaylak above.
acemilik çekmek
to tow
inexperience
to suffer from inexperience
Yeni işimde ilk üç ay
çok acemilik çektim.
I suffered from inexperience in the first three
months of my new job.
acemilik etmek
to do/make inexperience
· to behave in an 'inexperienced' way (not
necessarily thoughtlessly)
· to behave thoughtlessly
Acemilik edip sonunu
beklemedik. We didn't
act thoughtlessly and we
didn't expect that result.
acı çekmek
to pull or bear
pain/ bitterness
· to feel long-lasting pain
· to feel distress, unhappiness, sorrow sadness
Adamın acı çektiği her
halinden belliydi. It was
evident that the man suffered pain all the time.
acından ölmek
to die of hunger
· to be very
hungry or poor
· to fall into poverty
Afrika'da binlerce insan
acından ölüyor. In Africa thousands of people
are dying of hunger.
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acısı içine (yüreğine)
çökmek (işlemek)
for pain to pene- · for (sth) to hurt deeply,
trate inside
to hurt (sb's) feelings very
much
· to give sb cause to be
distressed or grieving
· to cut (sb) to the quick
O günlerin acısı içime
çöktü, olup bitenleri
unutacağımı sanmıyorum. I was
hurt very deeply in those
days, I don't think I can
forget how things ended.
acısını bağrına basmak
to press pain to
the breast/heart
to bear sorrow without
complaining
Acısını bağrına basmış,
kimseye bundan
söz etmemişti. They say
he kept his sorrow to
himself, and didn't talk
about it with anyone.
acısını çekmek
to pull the pain
· to suffer the consequences (for bad
behavior)
· to pay the penalty for
· to suffer for
Gençliğinde yaptıklarının yaşlılıkta acısını
çekiyor. He is suffering
in old age for the things
he did in his youth.
aç açık kalmak
hunger, to remain open
· to be left homeless
· to lose everything
Yangından sonra
yüzlerce aile aç açık
kalmıştı. After the fire
hundreds of families were
reported to be homeless.
aç doyurmak
to fill up a hungry person
to help and nurture the
poor
Açları doyur, yoksulları
giydir. He feeds and
clothes the poor.
aç kurt gibi
hungry as a wolf with great desire, inclination, appetite (related to
eating, gathering together, attacking)
-- Intentional Blank Pages Here --
Yemeklere aç kurt gibi
saldırdılar. They attacked their food like
hungry wolves.
14
Turkish Idioms beginning with the letter N
The Turkish
The Literal
English
Meaning
The 'Plain' English Meaning
Comments and Examples
ne oldum delisi olmak
what I
(for sb lucky) to
became to start to think
be crazy
he's/she's sth special
Zenginleşince ne oldum
delisi oldu. When he became rich, he thought he
really was something else.
ne olur ne
olmaz
what it
becomes,
what it
won't become
just in case
Ne olur, ne olmaz; yanımıza fazla para alalım.
Just in case, let's take extra
money with us.
ne olursa
olsun
what if
be, let it
be
come what may,
whatever the consequences
Yüzünü bir dağıtayım
sonra ne olursa olsun. Let
me punch this guy, and live
with the consequences afterwards.
May be used as shown.
Ne sen sor, ne What you Adds positive or
ben söyleye- ask, what negative emphasis
I'll say!
to the preceding
yim!
statement or question -- most often
negative. But as in
English, an exaggerated negative
can end up being a
positive. For example, in English
we might say, "Do
you think Sharon
Stone is attractive?" and the
answer might
come back, "Ooo,
she's bad!" (Ne
sen sor, ne ben
15
söyleyeyim!)
1. neme lazım 1. neces2. neme lasary to
my what?
zımcı
2. a 'necNote: also
essary to
seen as the
my what'
single word:
person
nemelazımcı.
1. a. He/she/it
doesn't concern
me.
b. What need have
I of ...?; What
good is ... to me?
c. I still think ...; I
don't care about
that, I still think ...
2. sb who has an
I-don't-give-adamn attitude
· Amerika acayip bir
memlekettir, bakarsınız
gelecek sene seçim olur,
neme lazım deyip projeden vazgeçer. America is
a strange country, you'll see
next year there'll be an election. [America] will say,
'What good is this to me?'
and drop the project. In an
article questioning the
USA's staying power in the
Middle East.
· Neme lazım, iyi çocuktur. I don't care about that,
I still think he's a good kid.
nerede/nerde
akşam orada/orda
sabah
where he
is in the
evening is
where he
is in the
morning
· Said of one who
doesn't appear to
have home; who
just spends the
night where he/
she happens to be.
· one who has no
known residence
· one who is an
idler
· one who's out of
work
· one who's distracted, confused
numara
yapmak
to
make/do
number
· to pretend, fake Hiç kimse bana böyle nu· [-a/-e] to make a mara yapamaz! Nobody
fool out of, pull a can pull a fast one on me!
fast one on sb
Similar to
ayak atmak.
Çok sorumsuz bir adam,
nerde akşam orda sabah.
He’s an unreliable man, he
has no place to call his own.
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Turkish Idioms beginning with the letter T
The Turkish
The Literal
English
Meaning
The 'Plain'
English
Meaning
Comments and Examples
tabanları
yağlamak
to oil the
sole
· to get
ready to hoof
it a long way
· to run fast,
run like anything; to
make
tracks, beat it
Tabanları yağlayalım, gideceğimiz yer uzak, zamanımız
az. Let's make tracks! Our destination (the place that we'll go
to) is far and we don't have
much time (our time is little).
[-ın, -in,
-un, -ün]
tadını çıkarmak
to remove
the flavor
from
· to make the
most of
· to get the
utmost enjoyment out
of (sth)
· to luxuriate
in (sth)
· Yirmi yaşındaki Cem
Adler, "Başınç yok, stres
yok" diyerek, boşanmanın
tadını çıkardığını söyledi.
Saying, "I don't have any pressure or stress," twenty-yearold Cem Adler [Bulent Ersoy's
former toy-boy 'husband'] explained that he's trying to
make the most of his divorce.
· See another example sentence at gözden kaçmak.
[-ın, -in,
-un, -ün]
tadını kaçırmak
to let flavor
escape
to spoil (sth),
cast a
damper on
(sth)
Plakların birini kaldırıp birini koyuyordu, sesler
beynimizde zonkluyordu;
dayanamayıp, "Yeter!"
dedim, tadını iyice kaçırdın!
Someone was removing the records and someone else was
putting them back on; the noise
was making my brain throb
with pain; I couldn't stand it
anymore, so I said, "Enough,
you're ruining everything."
tahsil etmek
to make/do
education
1. be educated, get an
education, to
Onbir milyar dolarlık hortumun sadece 235 milyon
doları tahsil edilebildi... Of
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study
2. with a preceding [-ı/
-i/-u/-ü] suffix - study a
subject
3. with a preceding [-ı/
-i/-u/-ü] suffix -- collect
or recover
(money or
taxes)
the eleven billion dollarsworth that was embezzled only
235 million dollars can be recovered...
talep etmek
to make/do
wanting
to want, demand,
require, request
tamtakır;
tamtakır kuru bakır;
tamtakır
kırmızı bakır
completely
empty, a
completely
empty dry
copper,
completely
empty red
copper
completely
empty
· Sandığın içi tamtakır kuru
bakırdı, belli ki açmış,
içindekileri alıp götürmüşlerdi. The inside of the
trunk was completely empty, it
was obvious that it had been
opened and the contents had
been taken away/removed.
· Tamtakır kırmızı bakır bir
yazlıkta tatil geçirmek insana
zevk vermez. It's no fun to
have a vacation in a completely empty summer cottage.
to be able to
run rings
around (sb),
to be far superior than
(sb)
Mankenlere taş çıkarttı!
Törene hayli çekici bir elbiseyle gelen Serena,
sporcudan çok bir mankene
benziyordu. Headline: She's
better than the fashion models!
(Pro Tennis star) Serena (Williams) who came to the
ceremony wearing a very attractive dress, looked very
[-a/-e]
to cause to
taş çıkarmak remove
(çıkartmak) stone
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much the fashion model compared with the other players.
taş kesilmek
to cut stone
to be dumbfounded
Salonun içinde kimse kımıldayamadı. Hepsi olduğu
yerde taş kesildi. No one in
the salon could make a move.
Everyone in the place was
dumbfounded.
tek başına
to a single
head
· on one's/its
own,
by one's self
alone
· apart, at a
distance
from other
people/things
Sezer tek başına ana muhalefet partisi gibi!
Cumhurbaşkanı'nın Orman
Yasası'nı ikinci defa veto etmesi siyasi havayı iyice gerdi.
(Turkish President) Sezer is
like a main opposition party all
by himself! The President's vetoing of the Forests Bill for the
second time has caused the political air to be rather tense.
tekeden süt
çıkarmak
to remove
milk from a
billy goat
to do the
[seemingly]
impossible,
to be very
skillful in
getting what
one wants
Ustam, tekeden bile süt çıkarır. My master-craftsman
can do the impossible. (...even
get milk from a billy goat.)
tepeden inme
don't send
from a hill
or sending
from a hill
1. an order
that comes
from a high
official -one of the
'big guns'
2. very sudden and
unexpected
Tepeden inme bir emirle
müdürün tayini durduruldu.
His appointment to manager
was stopped by an order from
on high.
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Turkish Idioms beginning with the letter Z
The Turkish
zam gelmek
(yapmak)
The Literal
English Meaning
The 'Plain'
Comments and
English Mean- Examples
ing
(for a) price in· for a price
Ekmeğe zam geldi!
crease to occur (be increase to oc- There's been an increase
made)
cur (be made)... in the price of bread!
· for a salary
increase to be
earned (given)
zaman bırakmak to leave time
to set time
aside (for
sb/sth)
Konuşmaya zaman bıraksaydın seni suçlamadığımı görürdün. If
you'd given me time to
speak, you'd have seen
that I didn't accuse you.
zaman kazanmak
to earn time
to save time, to Kısa yoldan giderek
gain time
zaman kazanabiliriz.
We can save time by going the shorter way.
zaman kollamak
to watch out for
time
to be on the
lookout for a
suitable opportunity, to bide
one's time.
Zaman kollayıp uygun
ortamın doğmasını
bekleyeceksin. You
should bide your time
and wait for a better opportunity.
zaman öldürmek
to kill time
to spend time
on inconsequential things
· Seni bilmem ama benim
to set time
aside for sb
· Eğer zaman verirseniz başaracaktır.
Also see vakit öldürmek.
(birisine) zaman
vermek
to give time
zaman öldürecek durumum yok. I don't know
about you, but I'm in no position to just kill time.
· Benimkisi zaman öldürmek, iş değil. This isn't
work, I'm killing time.
20
(for some purpose).
He'll succeed if you'll
give him time.
· Sana burayı terketmen için bir dakikalık
zaman veriyorum! I'm
giving you one minute's
time to get outta here!
zaman zaman
time time
from time to
· Ünlü İnternet sitesi
time, occasion- DeansPlanet zaman
ally
zaman düzenlediği
ilginç anketler ve
yayınladığı fotoğraflarla ilgi çekiyor.
Famous Internet website
DeansPlanet attracts attention with the photos
that it publishes and the
interesting polls that it
arranges from time to
time.
· Bize gelir zaman
zaman, eski günleri
anarız. He visits us now
and then, we remind him
of the old days.
zamana uymak
to fit to time
to conform to
the age one
lives in, keep
in step with the
times
Eskiler: Zaman sana
uymazsa sen zamana
uy, demişler. The old
ones say: If the times
don't fit you, fit the
times.
zamanı geçmek
to pass time
to be out of
date, (for sth)
to expire, become void (due
to time passage), (for a
fruit of vegetable) to no
longer be in
Bu ilacı kullanmamalısın. Zamanı geçmiş.
You mustn't use this
medicine. It has expired.
(The expiry date has
passed.)
21
season.
zamanlı zamansız
with time without
time
(doing sth)
without considering
whether it's
suitable
Zamanlı zamansız
bana uğrar. He drops in
to see me, any old time
he feels like it.
zan altında bulmak/
bırakmak
to find/be left under supposition
to be under
suspicion
· Televizyonda adımı o
hırsızın adıyla birlikte
andınız ve beni zan
altında bıraktınız. You
mentioned my name together with that thief's
name and you left me
under suspicion.
· Sözlerinizden dolayı
zan altındayım. I am
under suspicion because
of what (the things) you
said.
zangır zangır
(titremek)
(shaking) with a
rattle, shaking/trembling
same meaning
Zavallı kız! Kocaman
köpeği aniden bahçede
gördü ve şimdi korkudan zangır zangır
titriyor. Poor girl! She
saw the huge dog in the
garden suddenly and she
is trembling violently
with fear now.
zar atmak
to throw membrane, to throw a
die
to gamble
zar zor
unwillingly, reluc- same
tantly, with
difficulty, forcibly,
at the last minute
Otobüse zar zor
yetiştik. We made the
bus (departure) with difficulty (at the last
minute).
22
The Best of the Idiom Stories
Historical origins of selected Turkish idioms
23
The Best of the Turkish Idiom Stories -- beginning with the letter A
Ağaca çıksa pabucu yerde kalmaz.
Literal meaning: If he/she goes up in a tree,
his shoes don't remain on the ground
Idiomatic meaning: She/He's crafty, not easily fooled.
The story… One day, Nasreddin Hoca went out walking in his pair of
brand new shoes. A gang of youthful pranksters saw him and set out to
trick him and steal the new shoes. As they approached him on the footpath, they pretended to enter into a deep discussion among themselves -about the Hoca's ability in the 'art' of tree climbing…But the Hoca was
suspicious of their behavior and sensed that they meant to trick him. So
when the leader of the gang asked the Hoca slyly whether or not the old
fellow was still capable of climbing a nearby tree, the Hoca replied, "Of
course, I am." And, with that, he jumped up on it and began climbing -but not before tucking his new shoes safely in his breast coat. The gang
members all shouted out at once, "Wait Hoca, leave the shoes down here
on the ground. What use will they be in the tree?" By now the Hoca understood the gang's intention very well, and with a glint in his eye,
replied, "Oh, who knows…Perhaps from the tree, I'll have to journey to
the next village by yonder road."
And so, the idiom has become associated with people who are intelligent
and alert in the face of tricky dealings.
color bar
Altından çapanoğlu çıkmak
Literal meaning: for Çapanoğlu to pop up
Idiomatic meaning: for an 'activity' or 'job' to meet with an undesired or
unexpected difficulty, problem, or danger
The story… For a time, Çapanoğlu Ahmet Pasha and his two sons,
Mustafa and Süleyman, ruled like feudal lords over wide territories encompassing the city/towns of Amasya, Yozgat, Ankara, Niğde, and
Kaysarı (until 1808 when Sultan Mahmut II had all three executed).
But although the Çapanoğlu's were tough rulers during their reign, they
24
also listened carefully to the problems of their people, and, where possible, they tried to ease the lot of the underdog.
According to one account, at the time of Çapanoğlu Süleyman Bey, in
Yozgat, there lived a pretty widow woman…And, a married man with a
large family kept after her for sexual favours. The woman, who grew
tired of the aggravating man, applied to Çapanoğlu Süleyman Bey for
help. At the Bey's command, she went one night to the married man's
house and confronted him.
When she declared, "I am a woman of honor, don't bother me anymore,"
the man attacked her, and Çapanoğlu (who had witnessed the entire event
from a nearby hiding place) had the man hanged the same night -- in the
Yozgat town center!
But the episode that actually gave birth to the idiom has a rather humble
old donkey to thank.
It seems that said old donkey was seen nibbling from hunger on the bellrope in front of a grand mansion. When citizens reported to Çapanoğlu
that the donkey was weak and in poor condition, he initiated a search for
the donkey's owner. And when the owner was found, justice was swift
and harsh.
For failing to care for the donkey, Çapanoğlu gave the owner 100 lashes
of the long whip -- at a public flogging! On top of that, the man was ordered to feed the donkey five bushels of barley a day, to give it a daily
washing and grooming, and to report in person once a week with the donkey for inspection by Çapanoğlu.
The old donkey (because of all this special treatment) gained quite a bit
of weight in very short order, apparently. And when citizens questioned
the owner about the reason behind the old donkey's vigorous new appearance, the owner (remembering well the sting of the long whip) replied,
"Semirir elbet; arkasında Çapanoğlu var." (Well, of course he's gained
weight; Çapanoğlu is behind it.)
And, over the years, the idiom has gradually evolved from 'arkasında
Çapanoğlu var' to 'altından çapanoğlu çıkmak' -- as a sort of warning
to those who think no one is watching…
25
Sources and Acknowledgements
26
Sources
Source of idiom,
idiom-origin,
or sentence example;
or of significant
help in
understanding same
Source title
Publication details
Aksoy, Ömer Asım
Atasöz ve
Deyimler
Sözlüğü
İnkilap Kitabevi (İstanbul),
1995
Ali, A. Yusuf
The Holy
Qura'an - Text,
Translation and
Commentary
Printing by Amana Corp.
(Maryland USA, 1983) -from the original 1934
Lahore Edition
Arsel, Semahat,
Project Director
Timeless Tastes, Vehbi Koç Vakfı,
Turkish Culinary (İstanbul), 1996 [ISBN
975-94957-1-6]
Culture
Aslandaş, Alper Sedat
and Bıçakçı, Baskın
Popüler Siyası
Deyimler
Sözlüğü
İletişim Yayınları
(İstanbul), 2002
Bardakçi, Murat
Various articles
Hürriyet Gazetesi
Belachemi, Jean-Louis
(Nihal Önol, translator)
Barbaros
Kardeşler
Doğan Yayın Holding A.Ş.
(İstanbul -- October
1995)
Bilkent University
University
archives
Bilkent University, Ankara
Çizmeciler, Osman
Ünlü Deyimler ve Kastaş A.Ş. Yayınları
Öyküleri
(İstanbul), 1989
27
Book Index
28
Index
Lovers of book indexes may find this one useful
as an aid in identifying Turkish-English idiom (and common
expression) ‘equivalents’ -- and in helping to establish
’memory hooks’ for the Turkish idioms and expressions.
Special Note: Page numbers below refer to the
beginning of an idiom entry. So, in a few cases
the named item (eg. DEHAP, 36) may actually
appear on the page following. That is, although
the named item DEHAP is actually found
on page 37 – the beginning of its associated
idiom entry (arapsaçına dönmek) is on page 36.
Page numbers relate to the full version of
our Volume 2 ebook -- not this sample.
Missing Index Entries Below Are Intentional
Page numbers relate to the
40 days and nights, 255
a 'certain sth', 205
a lot of money, 98
a lot of pressing work, 96
a rather small number, 218
a significant amount, 44
a small difference, 218
AB, 10, 60, 148
abandon hope, 216
ABD, 10, 52, 85, 93, 120, 199,
201, 219
able to, 163, 173
able to do, 105
about to, 174
about to die, 13, 70
about to happen, 105
above one’s station, 197
Absolutely!, 134
abundantly, 61
accept, 147
accept a bribe, 185
accept help from anyone, 215
accident(s), 31, 113, 238
according to Hoyle, 232
account(s), 29
achieve desired results, 90
acquiesce, 147
acquire sth very valuable, 213
act flirtatiously, 132
act like that, 160
act thoughtlessly, 15
Adam, 22
add 'salt to the wound', 220
addicted to gambling, 173
Adnan Şenses, 38
adorn with care, 202
29
advance one's situation, 29
afraid, 42, 219
after a fashion, 158
after a patient wait, 97
after a short time, 70
after careful consideration, 135
after today, 203
age on a pillow, 59
aged but still good-looking, 69
agenda, 125
agree, 147
agreement between rivals, 170
Ahh. That's better, 98
aid from a flying bird, 215
AKP, 10, 26, 36, 41, 83, 114,
128, 136, 152, 196, 212, 230
Aleppo, 264
All is OK, 135
All right, 187
all the time, 15, 127, 141
Allah idioms, 29
allow for, 227
allow sth to happen, 167, 227
almost, 44
along with, 224
Am I so innocent looking?, 53
Amasya, 252
amend, 122
American women, 128
amusement, 119
anchor, 90
And how!, 134
Andabalis, 260
Anger is sweeter than honey, 178
angry at a Christian, 115
Ankara, 252, 262
annoy, 47, 75
Antalya, 153, 201, 227, 262
Antalya Fluted-minaret
Theological School, 227
anticipate correctly, 163
anxiously awaiting, 144, 158
any old people, 175
any old reason, 175
any old things, 198
any old time, 236
any old whatever, 175
apologize, 182
apparent, 17, 201
appear, 177
appear in, 227
appear unmoved, 155
appearance(s), 93, 96
apprehensive, 184
approximately, 218
apricot in Damascus, 63
Arab-hair, 36
Arabic alphabet, 80
Arabic idiom, 249
Arabic language, 166
Arabic word, 60
Are you depressed?, 149
Are you upset about sth?, 149
arithmetic book, 135
around the corner, 105
arouse (a group), 41
arrogant, 102
arsenic, 244
as a favor, 131
as for me, the weather's fine, 48
as mentioned, 199
as old as the hills, 212
as soon as requested, 144
as you wish/like, 195
Aslan, 222
at ease, 49
Intentional Missing Entries
with regard to style, 219
with respect to, 232
with scrupulous care, 196
withdraw from, 100
within an ace of, 105
within one's power, 45
without a hitch, 46
without bulgur at home, 94, 259
without ever stopping, 127
30
word is all over town, 169
work behind the scenes, 159
works by itself, 104
world's money, 98
worried, 184
worry, 217, 248
worse than, 181
worst possible thing, 55
worthless, 79, 139
worthwhile, 21
Wouldn't you know it?, 27
wrap around the tongue, 94
wreck, 231
wreck altogether, 229
wretched and poor, 184
write on ice, 67
write one's signature, 142
Page numbers above relate to the full version of
our Volume 2 ebook -- not this sample.
Missing Index Entries Above Are Intentional.
-- End of Sample --

1001 Essential Turkish Idioms

Transkript

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