Masaryk University Faculty of Arts. A Comparative Study of English, Czech, French, and German Idioms

Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies

A Comparative Study of English, Czech, French, and German Idioms PhD. Dissertation Mgr. Jana Vokáčová

Supervisor: Mgr. Jan Chovanec, PhD.

Brno 2008

I hereby declare that I have worked on this PhD. dissertation independently, using only the sources listed in the bibliography.

Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to express my most sincere thanks to my supervisor Mgr. Jan Chovanec, PhD. for his invaluable guidance, outstanding encouragement, kind support and insightful comments. I also appreciate his patience and time he devoted to my work without which this dissertation would not have been completed. I would also like to remember the late Professor Josef Hladký, who initiated my interest in the study of idioms. I want to thank my family and friends for their moral support and encouragement. Last, but not least I want to express my endless gratitude to Jirka who was an immense help and supported me at the time when I was so exhausted that I was virtually thinking of giving up the work. Jana Vokáčová

Contents Contents..........................................................................................................................iv List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................. viii 1

Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1

2

Hypothesis ................................................................................................................ 4

2.1

Common European Heritage .............................................................................. 4

2.1.1

English and French—Mutual Influence ........................................................ 5

2.1.2

French influence on Old English .................................................................... 5

2.1.3

French Influence on Middle English .............................................................. 5

2.1.4

Latin Influence on English and French.......................................................... 6

2.2

English, Czech, French and German—Language Characteristic ................... 6

2.2.1 3

Classification According to Erhart ................................................................. 7

Idioms within the Field of Linguistics ................................................................ 15

3.1

What is an Idiom? ............................................................................................... 15

3.1.1

Definitions from General Sources ................................................................ 15

3.1.2

Lexicologists’ Definitions............................................................................... 16

3.1.3

Czech Definitions of Idioms .......................................................................... 22

3.1.4

English as a Foreign Language ..................................................................... 23

3.1.5

The Characteristics of an Idiom in the Context of the Present Thesis..... 24

3.2

Survey of Works on Idioms............................................................................... 25

3.3

Choice of Idiom Categories ............................................................................... 49

3.3.1

Reasons for Concentrating on Human Body Idioms................................. 49

3.3.2

Reasons for Concentrating on Animal Idioms ........................................... 50

3.3.3

Reasons for Concentrating on Color Idioms............................................... 51

iv

4

Method of Idiom Analysis .................................................................................... 54

4.1

Typology of Idiom Analysis.............................................................................. 57

4.1.1

Theoretical Setting .......................................................................................... 57

4.1.2

Typology Applied in the Dissertation ......................................................... 61

5

Idiom Analysis ....................................................................................................... 70

5.1

Body Idioms......................................................................................................... 70

5.1.1

Total Correspondence .................................................................................... 70

5.1.2

Partial Correspondence.................................................................................. 73

5.1.3

Non Correspondence ..................................................................................... 76

5.1.4

Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 78

5.2

Animal Idioms..................................................................................................... 79

5.2.1


5.2.2


5.2.3

Non correspondence ...................................................................................... 83

5.2.4

Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 84

5.3

Color Idioms ........................................................................................................ 85

5.3.1


5.3.2


5.3.3

Non correspondence ...................................................................................... 88

5.3.4

Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 89

6

Examination of Individual Examples ................................................................. 90

6.1

Body Idioms......................................................................................................... 90

6.1.1

English and Czech Idioms ............................................................................. 91

6.1.2

English and French Idioms.......................................................................... 105

6.1.3

Czech and German Idioms .......................................................................... 116

6.1.4

Czech and French Idioms ............................................................................ 126 v

6.1.5 6.2

English and German Idioms ....................................................................... 137 Animal Idioms................................................................................................... 147

6.2.1

English and Czech Idioms ........................................................................... 147

6.2.2


6.2.3


6.2.4

Czech and French Idioms ............................................................................ 167

6.2.5

English and German Idioms ....................................................................... 173

6.3

Color Idioms ...................................................................................................... 179

6.3.1

English and Czech Idioms ........................................................................... 179

6.3.2


6.3.3


6.3.4

Czech and French Idioms ............................................................................ 183

6.3.5

English and German Idioms ....................................................................... 184

7

Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 187

Résumé ........................................................................................................................ 193 Bibliography ............................................................................................................... 196 A English and Czech Body Idioms........................................................................ 202 B English and French Body Idioms ...................................................................... 224 C Czech and German Body Idioms....................................................................... 246 D Czech and French Body Idioms ......................................................................... 267 E English and German Body Idioms .................................................................... 289 F English and Czech Animal Idioms.................................................................... 311 G English and French Animal Idioms .................................................................. 331 H Czech and German Animal Idioms................................................................... 351 vi

I

Czech and French Animal Idioms ..................................................................... 364

J

English and German Animal Idioms ................................................................ 384

K English and Czech Color Idioms ....................................................................... 397 L English and French Color Idioms...................................................................... 401 M Czech and German Color Idioms ...................................................................... 404 N Czech and French Color Idioms ........................................................................ 407 O English and German Color Idioms.................................................................... 411

vii

List of Abbreviations C E etw. F G jdm. jdn. jds. qch qu’un s’one s’one’s sth vs.

Czech English etwas French German jemandem jemanden jemandes quelque chose quelqu’un someone someone’s something versus

viii

1 Introduction

1 Introduction This dissertation deals with three groups of English, Czech, French, and German idioms—the human body, animals, and colors. It is a comparative study of idioms in the four languages stated in the sentence above and therefore English, Czech, French, and German will be typologically described in the second chapter. The second chapter will also introduce and further develop the hypothesis that there exist more identical idioms in Czech and German than in Czech and English or Czech and French. The current dissertation will try to test this hypothesis. In Chapter 3, after presenting the theoretical background which describes the position of idioms within the field of linguistics and lexicology, and after stating what is understood by idiom for the purpose of this dissertation, a survey of previous works on idioms and idiomaticity will be provided. It will also be made clear that this dissertation does not intend to create a detailed comparative study of all the existing idioms in the four languages but that it only focuses on some idiom areas. The three areas are defined according to the subject matter or to the lexical field, what joins then is the common topic—the human body, animals and colors. An explanation as of the reasons for choosing these three areas will be presented. Chapter 4 describes the method which has been chosen for the analysis of the corpus of idioms that has been collected from various sources which are all listed in the bibliography. Its first concern is with the definition of “sameness” or “correspondence” on which the analysis is based. There are several criteria out of which the most significant one was the semantic criterion.

1

1 Introduction Theoretical setting on idiom analysis in Chapter 4 is followed by the typology of idiom analysis applied in the dissertation. The analysis of idioms was divided into two chapters. Chapter 5 describes the figures and percentage obtained for all the idioms in the corpus. The results are shown graphically in tables representing the three categories of correspondence—total, partial and non correspondence. The chapter is divided into body, animal and color idioms and the three categories are commented on. A detailed analysis comes in Chapter 6 where individual examples of idioms are provided. Whereas Chapter 5 concentrated on figures and especially percentage, Chapter 6 is devoted to further development of the sections of idioms presented in the tables in Chapter 5. Its aim is to study the individual idioms and attempt to find common features which would classify them into certain subsections. All the analysis is based on comparing two languages at one time so there are five pairs of languages for each of the three categories of idioms (body, animals, colors) and they contain idioms from total, partial and non correspondence. The conclusion in Chapter 7 summarizes the dissertation and brings the results of the findings provided by the analysis. The dissertation is supplemented by appendices. These list the corpus of idioms and are presented in tables where on each line there is the idiom in the four languages being dealt with (unless the idiom does not exist, in which case the space remains blank). It has to be stated that some idioms do not have all the equivalents either because they do not exist or because they could not be located. To facilitate orientation in the appendices, idioms in the two languages which are compared in that particular place are in black, idioms in the remaining two languages are grey. The tables into which the idioms were

2

1 Introduction organized make it easier for the reader to compare the idioms. The idioms in the appendices are sorted according to the typology applied in the dissertation therefore the appendices bring the whole corpus of idioms which was analyzed and all the instances in all sections and subsections.

3

2 Hypothesis

2 Hypothesis The aim of this dissertation is to examine a corpus of idioms and test my hypothesis that there exist more identical idioms in Czech and German than in Czech and English or Czech and French. What makes me think so is the fact that not only the Czech language but also society and culture have been under the influence of the German-speaking society which was due to the fact that Czech and German (or rather Austrian) nations have lived in a common geographical area and for some time in history they even belonged to one political state. It was only after World War I that the Czechoslovak nation gained its independent existence in the modern epoch. Thus the hypothesis classifies the dissertation within the field of lexicology with a sociolinguistic orientation in the broad field of linguistics.

2.1 Common European Heritage The geographical closeness of Czech and German nations is the predominant phenomenon in defining my hypothesis. On the other hand, Ancient Roman and Greek cultures influenced all four languages compared and this signifies that the culture plays its role as well. It means that there will also be idioms which are identical in Czech and French or Czech and English but not Czech and German. This could be explained by the fact that English and French used Latin as their source (in terms of lexical items) much more than other languages, such as German, for example. There will still be some interference of the common European territory. It may be speculated that the situation would be much more different if the idioms compared belonged to languages outside the scope of European culture.

4

2 Hypothesis This speculation is based on the fact that languages within Europe have the same roots and thus all of them are influenced in the same way, which might distort the results of the study.

2.1.1 English and French—Mutual Influence It is also assumed that the analysis will discover a significant number of correspondences between idioms in French and English. It is again the common history that these two countries share and it is believed that some language interference happened during the wars or battles which France and Britain (or their historical predecessors) were engaged in. No matter whether they were enemies or allies, the language both parties used certainly had some impact on the other language. And since idioms are part of the lexis, there must have been some interference even in this area.

2.1.2 French influence on Old English French had already some influence on Old English (though by far not so significant as the influence of French upon Middle English). It is mostly the merit of English monks who in the period of the monastic revival in the 10th century studied in France, resulting in the appearance of French loan words in Old English. There was close contact between the two cultures after Edward the Confessor was exiled to Normandy. He lived there for 25 years and when he came back to England in 1041, he brought with him many French courtiers (Crystal 1996: 27).

2.1.3 French Influence on Middle English French, however, had a major influence on English in the Middle English period. The French influence started with William of Normandy’s accession to 5

2 Hypothesis the English throne in 1066 but became increasingly evident in English manuscripts of the 13th century. Many of the French words were quite ordinary, everyday terms but others were from the field of administration, law, religion, medicine, military, art, and fashion. What is important for contemporary English vocabulary is the fact that about three quarters of all these French loans are still present in the language (Crystal 1996: 46–47).

2.1.4 Latin Influence on English and French Last but not least, there is the influence of Latin on both French and English. It may, however, be difficult to decide whether the words came to English straight from Latin or via French. This was especially the case of Middle English during the 14th and 15th centuries. As some words were borrowed mutually from French and Latin, this resulted in a distinctive feature of Modern English vocabulary—sets of three items all expressing the same notion but differing slightly in style or meaning. An example is represented by kingly, royal, regal. Usually, the Old English word is the more popular one, i.e. the everyday expression, the French more literary, and Latin the most learned or formal (Crystal 1996: 48).

2.2 English,

Czech,

French

and

German—Language

Characteristic As this dissertation concentrates on idioms in English, Czech, French and German, it is necessary to present what type each language is. Languages can be classified according to various criteria. These criteria are either based on external factors or internal qualities of languages. The

6

2 Hypothesis former introduces sociolinguistic and geographical classifications and the latter genetic and typological classifications (Erhart 1984: 141). The explanation of the classifications will be presented. Since two of these (sociolinguistic and geographical classifications) are not relevant for this dissertation, they will be commented on only briefly and thus the main focus will be on those which are to the point—genetic and typological.

2.2.1 Classification According to Erhart •

Sociolinguistic classification is based on the number of language users who use a given language as their mother tongue and as their second language (i.e. English as the official language in some countries of the world). There are three categories: 1. world languages (e.g. English, French, German, Chinese, etc) with about 3 billion speakers altogether 2. some 100 languages used by 1 billion users, languages which predominantly function as official languages in independent countries Although the two categories taken together represent only about 3 per cent of languages of the world, they are used by about 90 per cent of mankind as a means of communication. 3. languages used mostly by less than 1 million speakers (this category includes the largest number of languages spoken all over the world)

•

Geographical classification is related to geographical continuity (languages create a continuous area) and to a certain extent there is some interference with both typological and genetic classifications which will

7

2 Hypothesis be discussed below. The world is, in this classification, divided into six parts: 1. Europe (except northeastern part), part of Asia Minor and India, 2. northeastern Europe, northern Asia, central Asia, 3. southeastern Asia, Oceania, 4. Australia and New Guinea, 5. part of Asia Minor, Africa, 6. America. As has been remarked above, the two classifications introduced in the preceding paragraphs do not have any particular impact on the dissertation because they are not relevant for the purpose of the study. The opposite holds true for the two classifications which follow—the genetic and typological classifications. •

Genetic classification (also known as genealogical) sorts out languages with respect to their origin. The basic unit of this classification is a language family. These language families are usually divided into language branches or groups (Erhart 1984: 141–142). The first fact to be considered in view of genetic classification is the common language family which English, Czech, French and German share. They all belong to the Indo-European family of languages. It is thus not relevant for the purpose of this dissertation to give a detailed account of all the languages and language families of the world. Therefore only the Indo-European family (which originated from ProtoIndo-European as the common protolanguage) will be discussed. The Indo-European family of languages consists of twelve groups and these

8

2 Hypothesis languages are spoken by half of the people in the world (Skalička 1963: 69). Although all four languages belong to the large family of IndoEuropean languages, they are classified into different subgroups. English and German are in the same subclass called West Germanic languages. French is in the Romanic branch of Indo-European languages. And Czech is classified as a West Slavic language. •

Unlike genetic classification, typological classification is connected with synchronic linguistics and divides

languages on the

basis

of

characteristic features of their present structure (Erhart 1984: 163). One of the first scholars to deal seriously with language typology was Wilhelm von Humboldt in the nineteenth century. He introduced a tripartite language typology, distinguishing between isolating, agglutinative, and flexional language types according to the predominant structure of the word as a grammatical unit (Robins 1969: 176). Humboldt recognized the value of any language structure, he preferred flexional languages, i.e. languages whose grammatical word form variations involve either internal root changes or affixes bonded into the word by morphophonemic alternations of the constituent morphemes so that the formal unity of the word is reinforced (Robins 1969: 177). Humboldt also pointed out that none of the above-mentioned language types was wholly exclusive of features appropriate to the others (Robins 1969: 177). Another scholar who suggested the typological method of classification, in which each language was placed according to its major structural characteristics, was Schlegel. He proposed a division into three types: at one extreme there are analytic (or isolating) languages, such as Chinese, which are

9

2 Hypothesis characterized by the lack of inflections. The other extreme is represented by synthetic (or inflectional) languages, e.g. Greek. Between these two poles there are agglutinative (or affixing) languages, such as Turkish, which string verbal elements together into long sequences (Crystal 1971: 152). According to Sgall (1971: 76), Schlegel in comparison with Humboldt had a more clear-cut attitude, he believed that types of languages are rigid categories not subject to essential change. Both Humboldt and Schlegel consider that there is only one “ideal language form” which is connected with the most fruitful principle of mental development. A widely influential typological classification was offered by the Czech linguist Skalička who worked in the field of language typology and gained worldwide respect. His structural typology categorizes languages into five types: •

agglutinative,

•

inflecting,

•

isolating,

•

inflecting from the inside,

•

polysynthetic. The names of these types come from the predominant features (even if

any of these types as a whole is characterized by a number of these features which are interconnected). The features present in the above stated types are: 1. agglutination—grammatical functions are expressed by affixes added to the root; each affix has only one function. 2. inflection—grammatical functions are expressed with the aid of endings or affixes added to the root, usually with alternation; an ending can have more than one function.

10

2 Hypothesis 3. isolation—grammatical functions are expressed by means of extra words 4. inflection from the inside—grammatical functions are expressed using alternations in the root 5. polysynthesis—grammatical functions are expressed by means of combining word order of extra words or roots (Čermák 1997: 278). It must be stressed that no language falls neatly into one of the types introduced in the previous paragraphs, in other words no language belongs to a single language type. Every language contains features of different types. The classification of a language among one of these types is based on the number of features characteristic of a certain type (Skalička 1951: 12). As far as the typological classification of the four languages (the idioms of which are compared in this dissertation) is concerned, English and French are categorized among analytic languages unlike Czech in which it is the synthetic (inflecting) language type which is the most important (Skalička 1951: 92). Czech also shows some features of the isolating type, e.g. possessive case or tense (Skalička 1951: 92). German belongs to synthetic languages, or to be more precise, it is a fusional language which is a subclass of synthetic languages.1 In German, the polysynthetic type plays an important role, especially in compounds (Skalička 1981: 147). The following paragraphs will introduce English from the typological viewpoint. It will also be compared with Czech. English, as has been introduced in the previous paragraphs, is fairly analytic, having a number of singlemorpheme words (Lyons 1968: 192). Compared with Old English, the grammatical system of Modern English is primarily analytical (in the Old

1

http://www.sciencedaily.com/encyclopedia/fusional_language (3.2. 2004)

11

2 Hypothesis English period it was essentially synthetic). And this is true about not only the morphological level of language (concerning declension and conjugation) but also the syntactic level. This can be proved by the fact that the position of the word within the sentence context is grammaticalized to a much higher degree in analytical than in synthetic languages (Vachek 1976: 311). One of the examples of analytical tendencies in English onomatology are phrasal verbs, such as give up or put off which replace the synthetic simple verbs surrender or postpone. It is common in analytical language systems that the sentence context acts as the sole indicator of e.g. the case function of a nominal word-form. In English, the sentence context bears even more responsibility: it often is the sole indicator of whether a given word-form belongs to this or that word class, e.g. whether it is a noun or a verb. Czech, on the other hand, labeled a synthetic language, is different in this respect—the sentence context hardly ever works as a sole indicator of that kind (Vachek 1976: 312). If the status of word as a linguistic unit (and more specifically the relation of the word to the word-group) is taken into consideration, it is revealed that in Czech (whose grammatical system is synthetic), the opposition of the word to the word-group is much more definite and clear-cut than in English whose grammatical system is based on analytical principles. It is illustrated by confronting English and Czech quotational compounds, e.g. a never-to-be-forgotten event or an out-of-the-world place against nezapomenutelná událost, zapadlé místo. The Czech quotational compounds formed by wordgroups contain members which regularly preserve their grammatical independence and do not become welded into a compound. In English, however, the elements of quotational compounds are not regarded as word

12

2 Hypothesis sequences but as word-units. Thus the stress patterns of the original wordsequences are re-arranged (Vachek 1976: 320–321). There is a close resemblance between the borderline between the categories of the word and the word-groups and the borderline between the categories of the word and the sentence because they stand out less clearly in English than in Czech. The different structural relations of the word and sentence in English and Czech are connected with the difference of the amount of semantic independence of the word within the sentence. Czech words, if taken out of their syntactic contexts, convey a much clearer idea of their semantic content than their English counterparts. Put differently, the majority of English words, taken by themselves, are much more ambiguous than their Czech counterparts (Vachek 1976: 324–325). With reference to the hypothesis introduced at the beginning of section 2, the genetic and typological classifications mentioned in the preceding paragraphs lead to two assumptions. •

First, because of their common ancestor, which is Proto-Indo-European, English and German might have some idioms in common. This genetic closeness (both English and German belong to West Germanic languages) might have some impact on idioms in English and German. On the other hand, there has not been as much cultural contact as between English and French.

•

Second, because English and French are analytic languages and especially because of the historical background already commented on, these two languages are very likely to share some idioms.

13

2 Hypothesis One remark concerning classifications is that the typology is probably unlikely to have an effect on similarity or difference in semantics as it is rather connected with the form. It should also be noted that the aim is not to study relations in connection with history, what is intended is a synchronic comparison and thus the above mentioned assumptions might be the reasons for correspondences and differences.

14

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics In linguistics, idioms are usually treated in lexicology because they are concerned with the lexis of a given language. They are usually grouped within a larger class of linguistic expressions called figurative or nonliteral language. This class contains other components, among them metaphor, metonymy, irony, etc.

3.1 What is an Idiom? This part of my dissertation deals with what different scholars and dictionaries understand an idiom to be. There is no single or unique definition on which everyone would agree. After presenting the definitions, my understanding of idiom for the purposes of this dissertation will be introduced. The following definitions of idioms come from various sources. Works of general character will be presented first (section 3.1.1), followed by more specialized works, e.g. linguistic writings or dictionaries of idioms (section 3.1.2). A special section is devoted to Czech studies (3.1.3). The last section (3.1.4) briefly introduces two works from the field of English as a foreign language.

3.1.1 Definitions from General Sources General sources are taken to be dictionaries and linguistic works which are not specialized in any particular field and thus do not deal exclusively with idioms. They are general linguistic reference tools. According to Oxford English Dictionary (the Compact edition), an idiom is “a form of expression, grammatical construction, phrase, etc., peculiar to a

15

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics language; a peculiarity of phraseology approved by the usage of a language, and often having a signification other than its grammatical or logical one”. This definition is a classic one and is accepted by some scholars, e.g. by Makkai (1972). This definition is echoed in other general publications, cf. e.g. Webster’s New Twentieth Century Dictionary—“an accepted phrase, construction, or expression contrary to the usual patterns of the language or having a meaning different from the literal”. Similarly, Crystal (1996: 163) writes that “two central features identify an idiom. The meaning of the idiomatic expression cannot be deduced by examining the meanings of the constituent lexemes. And the expression is fixed, both grammatically and lexically”. Bolinger (1981: 53) defines idioms as “groups of words with set meanings that cannot be calculated by adding up the separate meanings of the parts”. All the definitions mentioned in the previous paragraphs have one common feature—they describe an idiom in a brief and concise way. Nevertheless they are especially meant for everyday language user and only if seen from this viewpoint are satisfactory.

3.1.2 Lexicologists’ Definitions The following definitions come from lexicological studies, dictionaries of idioms and other works specialized in linguistics. Most of them relate to English speaking world studies, nevertheless even Czech works are included. It is natural to start this section with a significant European lexicologist Leonard Lipka. Lipka (1990: 74) claims that idioms are formally complex lexemes which cannot be broken down into morphemes. With some idioms the formal constituents never occur independently or in other combinations, e.g. 16

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics peter in peter out. With other idioms, the constituents are homonymous with independently occurring free lexical morphemes, e.g. pull someone’s leg or blow a raspberry. Idioms may be relatively simple compounds, like callgirl, fixed collocations like red herring, or complex expressions like kick the bucket. Further in his study Lipka (1990: 95) describes the process of lexicalization. At this point he adds that if the semantic changes are so extreme that the meaning of the whole lexeme can no longer be derived from its parts, we speak of an idiom. According to Sinclair (1991: 172) an idiom is “a group of two or more words which are chosen together in order to produce a specific meaning or effect in speech or writing.” He further explains that “the individual words which constitute idioms are not reliably meaningful in themselves, because the whole idiom is required to produce the meaning.” Titone and Connine (1999) present in their paper two different views on idioms adopted by scholars—compositional and noncompositional word sequences. As far as the non-compositional approach is concerned, idioms are represented and processed similarly to long words and semantic characteristics of an idiom’s word components do not influence or direct their comprehension (Titone and Connine 1999: 1656). On the other hand, compositional approach considers in its interpretation literal meanings of an idiom’s word components. Idiomatic word sequences are semantically and syntactically analyzable and idiomatic meaning is then based on the result of these analyses (Titone and Connine 1999: 1656). Because they do not prefer either of these, they argue for a synthesis of the two approaches.

17

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics Keysar and Bly (1999: 1561) refer to the traditional conception of idioms—“frozen forms whose meanings are represented in the mental lexicon as one word.” Riehemann’s (2001: 2) explanation of the idiom which is not intended as an exact definition is an expression made up out of two or more words, at least one of which does not have any of the meanings it can have outside of the expression. In her dissertation she presents an idea which originated with Nunberg et al. (1994) and is no doubt true that no precise definition of the idiom is possible because ‘idiom’ is a fuzzy category that is as much defined by what is not an idiom as by what is. Linda and Roger Flavell (2003: 6) go back to the meaning of the Greek word idios from which the English word idiom originated and which means ‘one’s own, peculiar, strange’ and draw a conclusion that idioms are anomalies of language by breaking the normal rules in two main areas—semantically (with regard to their meaning) and syntactically (with regard to their grammar). An idiom cannot be understood literally; the meaning of the whole is not the sum of the meaning of the parts, but is something apparently quite unconnected to them. A note about the grammar is made that there is no idiom which does not have some syntactic defect. To put it differently, there is no idiom which fails to undergo some grammatical operation that its syntactic structure would suggest is appropriate. Kellerman (1998: 7) discusses idioms and metaphors and for idioms uses the definition referred to in Cruse—“an idiom may be briefly characterized as a

18

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics lexical complex which is semantically simplex” (Cruse 1991: 37). Cruse himself states that he has borrowed this definition from Haas2. Cruse (1991: 37) analyzes the traditional definition of idiom—an expression whose meaning cannot be inferred from the meanings of its parts. He emphasizes the fact that the definition must be understood as follows—an idiom is an expression whose meaning cannot be accounted for as a compositional function of the meanings its parts have when they are not parts of idioms. Thus the conclusion is that to apply the definition, we must already be in a position to distinguish idiomatic from non-idiomatic expressions. This brought Cruse to his two major notions of an idiom (mentioned in the previous paragraph): •

lexically complex (which means that it should consist of more than one lexical constituent)

•

it should be a single minimal semantic constituent. Cruse (1991: 38) further analyzes idioms as lexical units. Even if they

consist of more than one word, they show to some extent the kind of internal cohesion that is found with single words, i.e. they resist interruption and reordering of parts. “An idiom’s syntactic behaviour is broadly determined by two factors: the syntactic structure of the literal counterpart of the idiom (if it has one), and the fact that distinguishable syntactic constituents are not semantic constituents, and therefore are not open, for instance, to adjectival and adverbial modification, nor can they be isolated for emphasis, etc.”(Cruse 1991: 39).

Because Cruse does not state explicitly where it comes from and in the bibliography gives five titles, it was not possible to trace its source

2

19

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics Cruse (1991) also makes a distinction between an idiom and a collocation. A collocation is used to refer to “sequences of lexical items which habitually co-occur, but which are nonetheless fully transparent in the sense that each lexical constituent is also a semantic constituent” (Cruse 1991: 40). Cruse gives some examples of collocations; one of them is given for illustration—heavy drinker. One last remark concerning Cruse concerns dead metaphor. This type of expression (sometimes called frozen metaphor) is often included in the category of idiom but as Cruse observes, it should be kept distinct (Cruse 1991: 41). The confusion between the two categories may result from the fact that idioms and dead metaphors have some common features, e.g. the constituent elements of dead metaphors do not yield recurrent semantic contrasts; they are not semantically transparent (Cruse 1991: 44). Fernando and Flavell (1981: 47) provide the following definition of an idiomatic construction which is very operative, clear and comprehensive according to Palacios (1999: 69). An idiomatic construction should have the following five properties: •

its meaning is not the compositional sum of its constituents;

•

it is a unit that either has a homonymous literal counterpart or at least individual constituents that are literal, although the expression as a whole would not be interpreted literally;

•

it is transformationally deficient in one way or another;

•

it forms part of a set of expressions in a given language;

•

it is institutionalized. Fernando

and Flavell (1981:

19) also

mention other

scholars’

understanding of idioms, i.e. Hockett’s—“Hockett uses a single criterion for

20

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics defining and identifying idioms: the meaning of an idiom is not the compositional function of its constituent parts. Another example is Makkai who uses five criteria: “morphological composition, the susceptibility of an idiom to literal

interpretation,

ambiguity,

semantic

unpredictability

and

institutionalisation” (Fernando and Flavell 1981: 19). Mennen et al. (2002: 1655) identify an idiom as a multi-word expression that carries conventional meaning; this meaning is not compositional and the expression is more or less syntactically fixed or frozen. Cooper (1999) and Irujo (1986) agree on an identical definition of idiom— “an idiom is a conventionalized expression whose meaning cannot be determined from the meaning of its parts”. Ifill (2002) tries to bring a simple definition of an idiom. An idiom is in his conception a fixed expression whose meaning cannot be taken as a combination of its component parts. Idioms are not literal expressions. They are fixed expressions to the extent that the elements which make up idioms are limited to the kinds of variability they are able to demonstrate. Idioms can also be found comprising nearly any kind of syntactic phrase, right up to a full sentence and they tend to exhibit similar syntax as non-idiomatic phrases. A simple explanation of idiomatic expressions is given in a recent article by Laval (2003). Idiomatic expressions are expressions where there is a considerable difference between what is said (literal interpretation) and what is meant (idiomatic interpretation). The meaning of an idiomatic expression depends largely on a convention that relates a given linguistic form to a given meaning. This definition appears to be influenced by pragmatics, in other words, it is the first definition which introduces the speaker’s intention.

21

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics Moon (1998: 3–4) gives a detailed terminological description of an idiom. It is an ambiguous term. She states two main meanings of idiom distinguished in English. The first one, which is a particular manner of expressing something in language, music, art, etc., which characterizes a person or group. The second meaning of an idiom is a particular lexical collocation or phrasal lexeme, peculiar to a language. In narrow uses, an idiom is a particular kind of unit which is fixed and semantically opaque or metaphorical, or, traditionally, ‘not the sum of its parts’. In broader uses, an idiom is a general term for many kinds of multi-word items, semantically opaque or not. Jaeger (1999: 236–237) makes a detailed analysis of idioms. In his opinion, from the functional point of view, idioms are language-specific, they are of stable form and of stable meaning. They are used normally and habitually. Finally, idioms are collectively coined units.

3.1.3 Czech Definitions of Idioms As far as Czech idiomatics is concerned, Čejka (1992: 34) refers to Čermák’s definition of an anomalous fixed syntagma of language elements, out of which at least one is, from the viewpoint of the other, a member of an extremely limited and formally, mostly semantically as well, closed paradigm. Čermák in Filipec and Čermák (1985: 251) defines idiomatics and phraseology as an area of anomalous combinations of language elements on most of language levels. Every phraseme and idiom must be viewed both as a sum of its components, while formal, semantic, and collocational aspects of each are distinguished. The nature of an idiom is further influenced by the meanings of its components and by the kind of relation between them (which can be semantic or structural, manifested in an implicit or explicit way) etc. Semiotically, idioms are secondary symbols mostly (indexical and iconic idioms 22

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics are less frequent). Semantically, idioms are characterized, above all, by the presence of a marked evaluative feature; most of them belong to the colloquial style. Bílková (2000: 9–10) devised a definition based on the cognitive linguistic approach (meaning that human thinking is metaphorical and this is reflected in the language used by people). In her view, an idiom is a conventionalized multiword expression whose units are mostly semantically ambiguous. Although usually the overall figurative meaning of an idiom cannot simply be derived from combining the meanings of its constituent parts, it is asserted that the meanings of many idioms are partially predictable from the meanings of their constituent parts because individual words systematically contribute to the overall figurative meanings of idioms. Idioms involve figurative devices, such as metaphor, metonymy, or hyperbole. The relationship between an idiom’s literal meaning and its overall figurative meaning is not arbitrary, but it is motivated by conceptual devices, such as conceptual metaphors and metonymies, which help speakers to ‘make sense’ of the idiom. Idioms are in many cases transformationally defective structures.

3.1.4 English as a Foreign Language Idioms are an aspect of language which attracts teachers and learners of English because their knowledge implies that the learner has acquired a high level of proficiency in a given language. There exist numerous works dealing with idioms aimed especially for learners of English. One of them is McCarthy and O’Dell (2002: 6) where idioms are delimited as expressions which have meaning that is not obvious from individual words. They also mention the important role of context, which is in

23

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics their view the best way to understand an idiom. The fact that most idioms are fixed in their form and cannot be changed or varied is given as well. Another work of the same kind is Seidl and McMordie (1997: 13) which says that an idiom can be defined as a number of words which, when taken together, have a different meaning from the individual meanings of each word. The fact that the two works mentioned above are aimed mainly at learners of English implies that the definitions are comprehensible and not too complicated but on the other hand quite broad and slightly simplified. Nevertheless, they serve their purpose of giving the learners an idea of what an idiom is.

3.1.5 The Characteristics of an Idiom in the Context of the Present Thesis It is vital to define what is understood by an idiom for the purpose of this dissertation. Several definitions have been introduced above and because none of them as a whole corresponds to the understanding of an idiom used in this dissertation, the following lines will focus on previous definitions which will be used for a synthesis forming the conception of idiom adopted in this thesis. What are the aspects that make an idiom an idiom? It is commonly accepted that there are more of these. Idioms are: •

expressions consisting of one or more words with a meaning different from their constituent parts (a compound such as blacklist is regarded as an idiom in this dissertation although it might not be considered an idiom by everyone) This first aspect falls within the field of semantics because it deals with the relationship between form and meaning.

24

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics •

a fuzzy category (Nunberg 1994)

•

semantically opaque and metaphorical (see Moon 1998)

•

figuration (Kavka 2003) and figurativeness (Kvetko 1999)

•

anomalous combinations of language elements (Filipec and Čermák 1985), usually transformationally defective structures (Bílková 2000)

•

units which can only be varied within certain limits (Fernando 1996, Ifill 2002)

•

expressions where there is a difference between what is said and what is MEANT (Laval 2003), which is a pragmatic view; this feature is important because it introduces the speaker’s intention and thus if a speaker says e.g. He kicked the bucket, it can but does not have to be taken idiomatically, it only depends on the speaker whether he or she meant this sentence as an idiom or literally.

•

only in this dissertation expressions which thematically fall into one of the following categories—the human body, animals and colors.

3.2 Survey of Works on Idioms While the previous section dealt with the definitions of idioms, the present section focuses on major linguistic studies on idioms. As the source language for the choice of idioms was English, I focused on works in English and because Czech works were best available and this language is my mother tongue, I also studied these even though they were not as numerous as the English ones. This gave me the opportunity to see two different approaches to idioms and thus enabled me to make comparisons. It is natural that as there exist several works on idioms, there must also exist several points of view on them and differences in understanding idioms.

25

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics As illustrated in the previous section, scholars seem to agree on some basic aspects of idioms. First, idioms are understood as a type of multiword expression. Second, idioms are conventionalized expressions. Third, idioms are often non-literal, which means that the meaning of idioms is not the sum of its constituents. The following paragraphs will present studies on idioms arranged according to the date of publication starting from the 1960s and finishing with the latest works. Weinreich (1969), who could be called the pioneer of the anglophone tradition, establishes the place of idioms in English vocabulary in the spirit of American transformational-generative grammar. Although the link between transformational-generative grammar and idioms turned out to be irrelevant, Weinreich made the attempt to create the criteria for the identification and definition of idioms. He believes that only multiword expressions (called ‘phraseological units’ by Weinreich) having literal counterparts are idioms. Weinreich (1969: 42) defines an idiom as a phraseological unit involving at least two polysemous constituents, and in which there is a reciprocal contextual selection of subsenses. Because idioms are unique as far as their semantics is concerned, not all idioms have their literal counterparts. The title of Fraser’s article Idioms within a transformational grammar suggests that Fraser (1970) discusses mainly the transformational potential of idioms and according to him, it differs widely. He also presents his definition of idiom—“a constituent or a series of constituents for which the semantic interpretation is not a compositional function of the formatives of which it is composed” (Fraser 1970: 22).

26

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics Another thorough study of idioms is by Makkai (1972). He distinguishes two types of idioms—idioms of encoding and decoding. It is the idioms of decoding on which Makkai focuses his attention. (He also gives examples of both types—decoding idiom being red herring and encoding drive at 70 m.p.h. instead of with as in French.) Idioms of encoding are in his view ‘phraseological peculiarities’ and idioms of decoding lexical clusters and tournures (Makkai 1972: 25). It is possible to state that all idioms of decoding are simultaneously idioms of encoding but this does not work the other way round. Makkai explains that hot potato ‘an embarrassing issue’ is idiomatic from the semantic point of view (decoding) because the hearer could think that the expression referred to a food item at a high temperature, but it is idiomatic as well as a ‘peculiar phrase’ to the extent that we do not say burning chestnut or some other nonexistent but possible fixed phrase to mean ‘an embarrassing issue’ (Makkai 1972: 25). In Makkai’s view an idiom is a unit realized by at least two words. The meaning of an idiom is not predictable from its component parts, which are emptied of their usual senses. Idioms display a high degree of disinformation potential, in other words, their parts are polysemous and therefore can be misinterpreted by the listener. Finally, idioms are institutionalized (Makkai 1972: 118–122). There may be several objections to Makkai’s idea of disinformation potential. First, if an idiom is set into a context, the disinformation potential is substantially reduced or even eliminated. Moreover, there is the case of intentional misinterpretation, e.g. joking, play on words or ambiguity. Czech idioms and phraseology have been studied by Čermák who devoted a lot of work to this notion. One of the results is Idiomatika a frazeologie

27

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics češtiny published in 1982. In this book, Čermák makes a distinction between phraseme and idiom. He argues that a phraseme is a more semantically transparent unit than an idiom. He claims that the difference between these two terms is very small because they both relate to the form and meaning of the phraseological unit. Čermák sets basic criteria for defining idioms (these criteria can be applied to idioms in general, not only to Czech idioms). The first of these is conventionality. Idioms are conventionalized multiword expressions that conform to usage and therefore do not attract attention; such expressions contrast with novel ones. The next criterion is paradigmatic fixity, which is the inability of the elements of phraseological units to be substitutable in the same place in a particular context. Then there is syntagmatic fixity, i.e. the ability of elements of idiomatic units to combine only with particular elements. The following criterion is called idiomaticity, which means a various degree of formal, semantic, and functional anomaly which is reflected in the number and restriction of transformations. Then there is the ability to undergo various types of transformations of their base structure which Čermák characterizes as a unit of phraseology both semantically and formally irreducible. The transformations can be either structural (as for example nominalization or verbalization) or grammatical (e.g. passivization). Another characteristic feature of idioms is that they are transformationally anomalous, that is to say they are unique combinations of words not created according to a certain pattern and thus no other combinations can be created. This implies that the combinatory abilities of idioms do not agree with the combinatory abilities of regular language. That was the formal point of view, if we take into consideration the semantic point of view, the result is that the semantics of individual components of an idiom have no compositional function, which

28

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics implies that the overall meaning of an idiom cannot be predicted from the meanings of its constituent parts. Čermák also stresses the importance of context in idiom interpretation. He also argues that from the semantic point of view, the meaning of idioms cannot be deduced from the etymology of their components. What has to be taken into consideration is the meaning of the entire unit and also its behavior in a particular spoken or written context. Čermák is one of the authors of a major Czech lexicographical work on idiomatic expressions in Czech—Slovník české frazeologie a idiomatiky (Čermák et al. 1983, 1988, 1994). This dictionary in four volumes is by far the most important source of Czech idioms. This series is also important for crosslinguistic comparison because apart from Czech idioms and phraseological units, it provides their English, German, French and Russian equivalents. The respective volumes contain similes and comparisons, verbal expressions and nonverbal expressions. They contain a theoretical background to the study of idioms and phraseology which was written by Čermák and is thus almost identical with author’s account presented above. Apart from that, each volume brings some more details on the specific field of idioms it contains. The two volumes of dictionary by Cowie et al. (1984, 1998) are characterized by their focus on the function of idioms in discourse and on the language user. Unlike other dictionaries of idioms which provide the student of English with a lot of information on the idioms but which lack the formal rigor of the scholars, Cowie et al. in defining the content of their entries (for both volumes of the dictionary) draw on transformational and neo-Firthian theories. Each volume of Cowie’s Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms (which was published in 1984 under the title Oxford Dictionary of Current Idiomatic English)

29

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics covers different items. The first volume is concerned with phrasal verbs with prepositions (e.g. run into), with particles (e.g. size up), and combinations of both (e.g. put up with). Volume 2 contains more complex items—phrases (red herring), semi-clauses (spill the beans), and sentences (give somebody an inch and he’ll take a mile). The greatest contribution in Cowie et al. is that idiomaticity is largely a question of meaning and that grammar and meaning function in a complementary manner and thus create idiomaticity. Another contribution is the analysis of how idioms vary in their lexical integrity with varying consequences for their idiomaticity on the other. What distinguishes these dictionaries from more traditional ones (e.g. Seidl and McMordie’s English Idioms mentioned below) is the nature of the grammatical and lexical information they provide: the transformational potential of idioms, possible options in the form of idioms, the grammatical pattern of the idiom, and its usual collocates. There are two formal and semantic features chosen to characterize an idiom: compositeness and semantic unity. The former means that ‘an idiom is a combination of two or more words which function as a unit of meaning’ (1984: viii–ix). The latter is defined as ‘idiomaticity is largely a semantic matter and it is manifested in much the same way in expressions of different structural types’ (1998: xi). Cowie et al. contain a considerable number of expressions which are categorized into four groups. The complex categorization is based on two aspects—first, the meaning of a combination may be related to those of its components in a variety of ways, and second, it must take account also of the possibility of internal variation, or substitution of part for part. The first

30

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics category contains pure or par excellence idioms (e.g. kick the bucket). The next category comprises figurative idioms with which variation is seldom found (e.g. burn one’s boats). The third category is called restricted collocations or sometimes also referred to as semi-idioms where one word (i.e. in the case of two-word expressions) has a figurative sense not found outside that limited context. The other element appears in a familiar, literal sense (e.g. jog one’s memory). Some members of this category allow a degree of lexical variation (e.g. a cardinal sin, error, virtue), and in this respect ‘restricted’ collocations resemble ‘open’ ones. It is the open collocations which form the fourth category. Most sharply and easily distinguished from idioms in the strict sense are combinations such as fill the sink. The use of the terms ‘open’, ‘free’ or ‘loose’ to refer to such collocations reflects the fact that, in each case, both elements (verb and object, or adjective and noun) are freely recombinable, as for example in fill, empty, drain the sink and fill the sink, basin, bucket. Typically also, in open collocations, each element is used in a common literal sense (Cowie et al. 1998: xii–xiii). Cacciari and Tabossi edited in 1993 a collection of studies on idioms which examine different aspects of idioms. The work is divided into three parts. Part one is concerned with the interpretation of idioms and the relations between their literal and figurative meanings. The studies in part two are dedicated to the examination of how children learn to use idiomatic expressions and how these are represented and processed by adults. Part three deals with aspects connected with meaning and structure of idioms. The studies contained in Cacciari and Tabossi will be summed up with respect to their relevance for the framework of the present thesis.

31

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics One of the key theoretical studies of idioms is by Glucksberg (1993), who argues that idioms are not unanalyzable wholes but that they can be decomposed into linguistic and conceptual elements, even if the literal meanings of the linguistic elements alone are insufficient and there are other sources of meaning which must be considered. These are in particular stipulated and allusional meanings which are necessary for the complete interpretation of these expressions. Glucksberg suggests two classes of models for idiom comprehension. One class treats idioms as expressions that have meanings that are stipulated arbitrarily. According to this class of models (an example of which is represented by kick the bucket), idioms are understood simply by retrieving the meaning of an idiom as a whole. He refers to this type of model as a direct look-up model. The second class of models reflects the characteristics of such idioms as carrying coals to Newcastle. The meaning of these kinds of idioms is not arbitrary. The relation of coals to Newcastle is a matter of historical fact, and the literal act of carrying coals to the coal-mining centre of Newcastle is a stereotypical instance of bringing something to some place and particularly bringing it uselessly. According to this second class of models, idioms are understood by ordinary linguistic processing combined with a pragmatic interpretation of the use of the expression in discourse contexts. This class of models is referred to as compositional (Glucksberg 1993: 4). Cacciari discusses in her chapter the notions of literal and metaphorical meanings. She claims that for many idioms the meanings of their individual words and the rhetorical structure of the expressions—whether metaphorical, analogical, or other—are both available to people. In her view, the task of defining what an idiomatic expression is, and how it is acquired and

32

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics understood, is still a rather difficult and controversial one. The border between literal and idiomatic expressions, on the one hand, and metaphorical and idiomatic expressions, on the other, is also controversial. One of the difficulties in defining idioms comes from the fact that idiomatization is a process. A given structure is not idiomatic once and for all, but gradually acquires its idiomaticity. Moreover, idioms are at the same time holistic and analyzable— they are composed of freely occurring units whose global meaning cannot be reduced simply to the meanings of these units. At the same time, for most idioms, people have strong intuitions concerning the relationship between the meaning of the constituent words and the idiomatic referent. One more fact should be noted about idioms—they are not created equal. By that Cacciari means that idiomaticity includes very different linguistic phenomena from partially frozen constructions (whose individual words retain roughly the same meaning they have in isolation) to constructions whose meaning is totally different from that of the constituents (Cacciari 1993: 27). Gibbs (1993) strives to demonstrate the fallacy of the ‘dead metaphor view of idiomaticity’. He claims that many idioms are ‘very much alive metaphorically’, and that people are able to make sense of the figurative meaning of many unfamiliar idioms precisely because they can rely on the metaphorical interpretation of these expressions. Gibbs mentions one problem which accompanies the study of idioms— the fact that most scholarly accounts of idiomaticity limit their discussion to only a small number of idiomatic phrases. There is plenty of discussion of classic phrases such as kick the bucket, but less attention has been given to the wide range of expressions that are generally idiomatic. Thus Gibbs supposes that this failure to consider the complete range of idioms results in incomplete

33

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics theoretical generalizations about the nature of idiomaticity. He even claims that recent research has shown that the individual words in many idioms systematically contribute to the overall figurative interpretations of these phrases, which is in contrast with the commonly accepted noncompositional view of idioms (Gibbs 1993: 62). As has been stated above, according to Gibbs, many idioms are not simple dead metaphors that are noncompositional in meaning. Nor are the figurative meanings of many idioms arbitrarily stipulated and listed as simple, literal paraphrases in the mental lexicon. He claims that idioms are partially compositional and that their rich figurative meanings are motivated by the metaphorical knowledge people possess of the domains to which idioms refer. These metaphorical mappings between source and target domain knowledge are often conventionalized in the sense that they are so much a part of our everyday cognition as to be unconscious and automatic. Such figurative mappings provide part of the link between the lexical makeup of idioms and their figurative meanings such that many idioms make sense in having the meanings

they

encompass.

Moreover,

the

context-sensitive

use

and

interpretation of idioms, at least, is due primarily to the recognition that many idioms are motivated by different metaphorical mappings that exist independently in our conceptual systems (Gibbs 1993: 74). The last study belonging to the first part of Cacciari and Tabossi (1993) is written by Flores d’Arcais. He analyzes the processes of comprehension of an idiomatic phrase with respect to its familiarity, its uniqueness point (the point at which the idiom becomes uniquely identifiable) and its syntactic flexibility. In addition, Flores d’Arcais presents data suggesting that people interpret

34

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics unfamiliar idioms much like metaphors and that they rely (whenever this is possible) on similarities with more familiar expressions. He mentions three important properties of idioms—frozenness, transparency and the point of idiom uniqueness. The first property— frozenness—refers to the extent to which an idiom can undergo syntactic and morphological operations while at the same time retaining its idiomatic meaning. It can be expressed in terms of the number and types of grammatical operations that an idiom is capable of tolerating. This degree can then indicate the amount of frozenness of an idiom. It is possible to classify idioms on the basis of their degree of frozenness, the range going from very frozen to very flexible (Flores d’Arcais 1993: 80). The second important aspect is the degree of transparency. Idioms can be more or less opaque, or, conversely, more or less transparent. In transparent idioms, such as to let the cat out of the bag, the literal meaning is available, whereas in an opaque idiom such as to take a leak the literal interpretation is no longer available or has never been or is not even possible. Most opaque idioms are fossils in which the literal meaning is no more than a philological curiosity (Flores d’Arcais 1993: 80). The third important notion is the point of idiom uniqueness, which is the point at which the idiom becomes uniquely identifiable. For every idiomatic phrase, there must be a point at which the phrase can be interpreted only as an idiom. For many idiomatic phrases this point will be the last word of the idiom (Flores d’Arcais 1993: 81). Part two of Cacciari and Tabossi (1993) opens with Levorato’s article. She is concerned with the acquisition of idiomatic expressions and claims that learning to use an idiom is not the same as learning to associate the string with

35

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics its meaning, as it would be if idioms were acquired like words. She argues that it is rather a process which requires the development of figurative competence, and is achieved in different stages during which the ability to comprehend and produce idioms grows in parallel with the child’s increasing mastery of linguistic and communicative abilities. Botelho and Cutler (1993) comment about data on memory for Portuguese idioms with and without a literal counterpart. They argue that their results support the lexical representation hypothesis (originally proposed by Swinney and Cutler in 1979), one of the most influential psycholinguistic models of idiom processing and representation. Before the Swinney and Cutler hypothesis will be discussed below in Brassard et al, let us only mention here that their idiom processing study assumes that idioms are stored as single entries in the mental lexicon and are recalled in the same way as any other lexical item; the figurative and literal meanings of an idiom are activated concurrently. An opposite view is presented in Tabossi and Zardon (1993) who claim that idioms are mentally represented not as lexical items, but as configurations of words, much like poems. Therefore the meaning of these expressions is retrieved not as the meaning of individual words but triggered only after sufficient information is available to the listeners to recognize the idiomatic ‘configuration’. Another contribution comes from Colombo (1993). Her concern is an old issue in psycholinguistic research, which is the ambiguity of idioms and the effects that context has on the biasing of their literal and figurative interpretation. The conclusion of her study is that the idiomatic meaning of an ambiguous string is activated in a context which promotes bias against that

36

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics meaning. However, no such activation is found in a neutral context or in a context that biases the literal meaning of the string. Colombo claims that there are several factors involved in the comprehension of idioms. One of these is predictability which involves several components. An important component may be the frequency of occurrence of an idiomatic expression, i.e. how frequently the idiom has been encountered or how strong the connection between the string of words forming an idiom and its associated meaning is. As the superficial form of the string is not always the same, the availability of the stored meaning is likely to vary. Thus the hypothesis of an automatic activation should be modulated, considering the relative strength of the connection between an orthographic or phonological form, word or phrase, and its semantic representation as predictor of the automaticity of the process involved. Another important component involved in the comprehension of idioms is the degree of frozenness. What should not be forgotten is the context. It is obviously one of the most relevant variables in idiom comprehension studies. It is essential, in particular, when ambiguous idioms are involved, to understand whether and how context interacts with other factors to determine the point at which the idiomatic meaning is activated and integrated. Last but not least, there is one more factor that should be considered and that is transparency (Colombo 1993: 183–185). Peterson and Burgess (1993), who wrote the last chapter of the second part of Cacciari and Tabossi, claim that it is relevant to include neurolinguistic as well as psycholinguistic evidence into the study of idioms. Part three of Cacciari and Tabossi (1993) entitled Meaning and Structure contains four studies, the first of which is written by Stock, Slack and Ortony

37

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics and analyzes one of the least understood problems of idioms—their flexibility. The approach used is a computational model where the flexibility of an idiom is determined by whether or not the thematic structure of its linguistic form (the example they give is kick the bucket) is equivalent to the thematic structure of its associated semantic representation (e.g. die). The flexibility of idioms is also examined in Pulman (1993). In his opinion, the problem with idioms is not the fact that their meaning cannot be worked out by the usual syntactic and semantic rules, for if it were not for other factors this could be overcome by treating them as multiword lexical items to be looked up in a list in a fairly straightforward way. The problem lies elsewhere—“unlike (most) lexical items, (most) idioms have considerable internal structure that seems to interact with the usual productive syntactic and semantic mechanisms of a language in ways that render a “look-up” approach impossible in the general case. It is as if idioms have some of the properties of lexical items, in that some aspect of their meaning simply has to be looked up in a dictionary, or some repository of idiosyncratic information, but also have some properties of regular syntactic and semantic structures, in particular a fair amount of variability in the actual forms in which the idiom can be encountered: a problem for look-up-based approaches” (Pulman 1993: 250). In other words, Pulman claims that the flexibility of idioms is not and should not be explained by a theory of syntax, but depends on the semantics of the idioms and on the contextual interpretation of the utterances in which they occur (Pulman 1993: 250–251). Fellbaum (1993) focuses on analyzing the distribution and the role of determiners in idiomatic strings such as spill the beans. Her study shows how the nature of the determiner points to the semantic status of noun phrases in

38

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics many idioms, which in turn predicts the range of possible determiner variations. As Fellbaum points out, previous studies on idioms have considered content words, usually nouns and verbs. No attention has been paid to the status of the determiner apart from the noun that it precedes in assessing the syntactic or lexical frozenness of idioms. Even if, and this is true without any doubts, the content words make an idiom a special kind of lexical unit, in many cases, the determiner carries a considerable semantic load. The shape of a determiner in a given idiom contributes to the interpretation of the noun and hence to the particular quality of figurative language. Like nouns and verbs, determiners are polysemous in that a given determiner can precede nouns with different kind of semantic status (Fellbaum 1993: 272). As far as the results of Fellbaum’s analysis are concerned, she concluded that the range of determiners is constrained by the same semantic and pragmatic principles as in literal language. The definite determiner occurring in the dictionary forms of many idioms is inflexible when it modifies nouns that can be shown to have unique, institutional, or discourse-determined reference. When these referents have been activated in the discourse, demonstratives may be substituted, which is a pragmatic principle that operates in literal language. The indefinite article in the verb phrase idioms that Fellbaum investigated follows the noun’s semantics—it is used with new or specific indefinite referents. As can be predicted from the corresponding case in literal language, quantifiers or negative adjectives can be substituted.

39

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics The zero determiner can be found in apparently asyntactic idioms with count nouns; nevertheless these nouns have figurative meanings corresponding to mass nouns, which are compatible with zero determiners. To sum up what has been stated about determiners in the verb phrase idioms, the analysis Fellbaum carried has shown that it accords a compositional approach to idioms, and it strengthens intuitions about the referential status and the meaning of metaphoric nouns (Fellbaum 1993: 293). The last chapter in Cacciari and Tabossi (1993) was written by Makkai. He examines universal constraints on the formation of idioms and the role of this process in a language. His idea is that language develops through phases, the last of which is characterized by the arbitrary attribution of sound strings to concepts. Yet when concepts develop even further, a “point of saturation” is reached in the process of designating new concepts and objects arbitrarily. The speech community then starts to borrow images and similes for what is to be expressed, and combines existing signs in new ways and thus creates idioms. Cacciari and Tabossi (1993) edited a book which offered a large number of articles containing a variety of topics and approaches to idiom studies. It is an invaluable source of information for anyone interested in idioms. Fernando (1996) intends to explore the functions of idioms, what purpose they fulfill and she also wants to show the way they are used. “Idioms and idiomaticity, while closely related, are not identical. The basis of both is the habitual and, therefore, predictable co-occurrence of specific words, but with idioms signifying a narrower range of word combinations than idiomaticity. Idioms are indivisible units whose components cannot be varied or varied only within definable limits.” (Fernando 1996: 30)

40

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics Fernando (1996: 35–36) divides idioms into three sub-classes: pure idioms, semi-idioms, and literal idioms. •

A pure idiom is in her view ‘a type of conventionalized, non-literal multiword expression’, an example of such is spill the beans.

•

A semi-idiom ‘has one or more literal constituents and at least one with a non-literal subsense, usually special to that co-occurrence relation and no other’; foot the bill serves as an example of this sub-class.

•

Literal idioms (e.g. a merry Christmas and a happy New Year) meet the salient criterion for idioms—invariance or restricted variation. However, they are less semantically complex than pure idioms and semi-idioms. As has already been implied, Fernando’s contribution is in favor of

moving the study of idioms from the field of the phrase and sentence and taking

into

consideration

the

function

of

idioms

in

contexts

of

communication. She explores the role and function of idioms in texts and discourses, whether spoken or written. She thus reveals the role of idiomatic expressions in the construction of interpersonal meanings, in the formation of coherent text, and in the creation of stylistic effects. In brief, Fernando concentrates on idioms from the point of view of its user, which is of great importance. Seidl and McMordie (1997) is a reference book aimed at learners of English and thus practically oriented. After a short introductory chapter comes the key part of the book—idioms categorized into several chapters according to selected criteria. The first of these chapters encompasses idioms arranged by various key words: to name a few examples—adjectives and adverbs, nouns. Further chapters pay attention to idioms with nouns and adjectives or idioms with prepositions and others. Phrasal verbs are described in a separate chapter,

41

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics while further on verbal idioms are introduced. The reference book elaborates even idioms from special subjects, e.g. banking, health, illness, death, telephoning, etc. The two chapters which can be said to have contributed a good deal to this dissertation because they served as one of the numerous sources for the corpus are idioms with key words from special categories (out of which animals, colors and parts of the body were relevant for the corpus) and idioms with comparisons. Moon’s Fixed Expressions and Idioms in English: A corpus based approach (1998), as the title suggests, studies idioms with respect to corpus findings. The corpus studied comes form three main sources—Collins Cobuild English Language Dictionary (1987), Oxford Hector pilot corpus and Collins Cobuild Dictionary of Idioms (1995). First of all, Moon tries to define the field, discusses a number of approaches to fixed expressions and idioms (these are throughout her study abbreviated to FEI) and gives her own criteria and classifications. The criteria for naming an expression an FEI are three: first, it is its institutionalization, determined by the frequency in the corpus. The second criterion of FEIs is that they are fixed lexico-grammatically, the only aspect which differs is the degree of fixedness because some of them are more fixed than others. The last criterion states that FEIs have some degree of non-compositionality, which means that the usual meaning of the string is not revealed from the usual meanings of the individual words which compose it. After defining the concept of FEI, Moon proceeds to the issue of collocations, followed by computational and corpus issues, frequencies and the study of lexical and grammatical form. Moon goes on to discuss variability

42

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics because she disagrees with the commonly accepted opinion that FEIs have canonical form and she claims that some 40% of her FEIs show variation. When addressing the issue of ambiguity, polysemy and metaphor (Chapter 7), Moon argues that ambiguity rarely exists in a natural context claiming that the default reading for most FEIs is idiomatic. Even cases which show apparent ambiguity are often disambiguated when a more detailed examination is carried on. To give one of Moon’s example for illustration—put one’s feet up is potentially ambiguous as it may have both literal and metaphorical

interpretations

but,

according

to

Moon,

when

used

metaphorically (its meaning being ‘to relax’), this instance of an FEI is almost always clause-final or it is followed by and or an adjunct of time or purpose. This position potentially disambiguates it in context for hearers or readers. Moon

elaborates

on

meanings

and

mismatchings—literal

and

metaphorical meanings are discussed with respect to their surface and deep structures. For this notion Halliday’s functional grammar is used. Moon also pays attention to discoursal properties of FEIs and the evaluational and interactional roles of FEIs. The latter includes e.g. politeness and it is stressed that certain kinds of interaction demand idiom-avoidance, which implies that they are avoided where there is obvious inequality between speaker and hearer (Moon 1998: 264). In the final part, Moon elaborates the role of FEIs as cohesive devices, the cohesion being either grammatical—e.g. the deictic your neck of the woods in Yes, this, this is your, your neck of the woods, what’s, what’s happening? (Moon 1998: 282) or lexical—e.g. open arms in In his search for economic and military aid, Anwar Sadat has not exactly been greeted by [sic] open arms. (Moon 1998: 284) or semantic—e.g. do not hold your breath in Do not, as they say, hold your breath, but the much-

43

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics maligned American legal system might just have located the Achilles heel of this country’s insane gun laws (Moon 1998: 298). It is observed that cohesiveness of FEIs is always partly lexical, since they are a lexically determined subset of lexicon. Although Moon’s work represents a major contribution to the study of idioms, the broad definition of FEIs is problematic. A significant number of the expressions Moon discusses are not included in other writers’ descriptions. To name two examples of controversial FEIs—at all or on display. Both are grammatically ill-formed but not semantically opaque. Moon uses FEIs to cover several kinds of phrasal lexeme, phraseological unit, or multi-word lexical item, i.e. holistic units of two or more words. FEIs, in her view, include: frozen collocations, grammatically ill-formed collocations, proverbs, routine formulae, sayings, similes and idioms. Apart from Čermák, who was discussed above, there was one more Czech who paid attention to idiom studies—Mrhačová who devoted systematic attention to the thematic aspect of idioms and this aspect is the principle on which her three works (Mrhačová (1999), Mrhačová (2000) and Mrhačová et al. 2000) are based. This thematic principle opens a new insight into the study of idioms and phraseology in Czech (cf. thematic aspect in the definition suggested for the purpose of this dissertation in 2.1.5). These studies are among the first to deal with idioms systematically after Slovník české frazeologie a idiomatiky which was published in several volumes and has also been discussed in this dissertation (cf. Section 2.2 p. 20). The first volume of thematic phraseological dictionaries focused on zooappellatives (Mrhačová 1999), its aim was to register, describe generally, fix and create a thesaurus of Czech phraseological units which developed on the basis

44

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics of zoo-sphere and were fully or partly functional in the second half of the 20th century (Mrhačová 1999: 158). The second volume has an identical aim with the first one, the only difference being the topic it deals with—Czech phraseological units which developed on the basis of names of parts of the human body (Mrhačová 2000: 20). The third volume (Mrhačová et al. 2000) is a dictionary of idiomatics and phraseology in Czech and German and it examines zooappellatives. As the authors state, it is the first out of the three planned dictionaries (the next two should concentrate on ‘the human body’ and ‘mankind and the world’). The aim of this dictionary is to confront the idioms and phraseology of two languages which have traditionally been in narrow linguistic contact. As far as her approach is concerned, Mrhačová conceives phraseology very broadly—she includes in it the whole range of multi-word naming units. Under a phraseological unit she understands a combination of words which is fixed both formally and in terms of content. Such combinations, she argues, have a binding and figurative character and sign nature, comprising semanticofunctional (idiomatic) and expressive components (acting as a phraseme in the text). Besides fixedness, binding nature (semantic and formal obligation, nondecomposability, linearity, a high rate of lexicalization) and figurativeness, also emotionality and expressiveness are characteristic of these formations, together with a shift of lexical meaning, i.e. the fact that their total meaning is not identical with the meanings of their individual components, but it is a new coded quality, a new sign (Mrhačová 2000: 199). A study written in French by Brassard et al. discusses three different hypotheses of idiom comprehension. The first one mentioned is “Swinney and Cutler hypothesis”. Swinney and Cutler (1979) proposed a simultaneous

45

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics activation of the literal and figurative senses of an idiom. Their view is that idiomatic expressions are stored in memory as long compounds. The comprehension of an idiom does not require that its figurative meaning be actively computed, since the meaning can be accessed directly from the lexicon. The two scholars argued that figurative meaning of an idiom is available more quickly than literal meaning because the direct access of the figurative meaning is simpler than the compositional analysis which is needed to derive a literal interpretation. Swinney and Cutler claim that the literal meaning of an idiom is always retrieved, even in contexts in which it is inappropriate.3 The second hypothesis analyzed is a hypothesis proposed by Gibbs (1986). He argues that the figurative meaning is retrieved first while the literal sense is only retrieved if the figurative meaning is inappropriate with respect to the given context. Whereas the “Swinney and Cutler hypothesis” is referred to as syntactic dominance model, the “Gibbs hypothesis” is called semantic dominance model.

This is because the semantic processor aims at

appropriateness of the idiomatic meaning for the given context. If this is the case, the semantic processor can stop the syntactic processing. Gibbs claims that it is the figurative meaning of any item included in an idiomatic expression which is immediately retrieved. Brassard et al. conclude that due to its low degree of economy, such an analysis is quite improbable in everyday language. The third hypothesis is “Cacciari and Tabossi” which originated in 1988 and Brassard et al. adopted it for their research. According to Cacciari and Tabossi, the literal meaning is retrieved until it is recognized that the expression

3

The same hypothesis is also discussed in Peterson et al. (2001)

46

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics in question is an idiom and thus the context requires a figurative meaning. This point is called “uniqueness point” because it is the key word of the expression which triggers activation of the figurative meaning. The syntactic processor decodes words one by one and analyzes the grammatical structure. Meanwhile the semantic processor examines the literal meaning of words until it becomes evident that it is a case of figurative expression. From this moment on, the figurative expression is active in memory and the literal word for word decoding is stopped by the semantic processor. Nevertheless, the work of the syntactic processor is not interrupted, it is carried on until the end of the phrase. A less typical approach to the analysis of idioms can be seen in Jaeger (1999), who uses methods developed in the classification of plant and animal life-forms—evolutionary systematics. It has been observed that diversity of outward appearance prevails among idiomatic expressions. This diversity is an obstacle when it comes to tracing the origin of idioms as a type of linguistic objects. Jaeger examines a significant number of issues concerning idioms: first come the description and diagnosis of idioms—he describes idioms from different points of view (e.g. morphology, register, syntax or semantics), then studies the relationships between idioms and words and relationships between idioms and figurative language. Jaeger also discusses the part played by definable figurative patterns in the make-up of individual idioms and the respective time dimensions of those patterns. Other issues dealt with are idiom classification and nomenclature (which includes among others geographic variation). Jaeger introduces an evolutionary classification of idioms as lexical units and a hypothesis regarding the time depth of patterns.

47

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics Although Jaeger’s approach differs from other scholars, his study proves that idioms are a complex issue. No matter which method has been chosen for their description, idioms are a distinct class of linguistic signs and can be said to be a natural system (Jaeger 1999: 256). Cruse (2000) in the chapter on compositionality examines phrasal idioms and discusses their properties. He claims that phrasal idioms have some peculiar grammatical properties which can be attributed either to the fact that their constituents have no meaning, or to the fact that such meaning is not independently active. The main points are: •

Elements are not separately modifiable without loss of idiomatic meaning, thus it is impossible to say e.g. She pulled her brother’s legs. What can be modified is only the idiom as a whole as in She pulled her brother’s leg mercilessly.

•

Elements do not co-ordinate with genuine semantic constituents and it is impossible to say e.g. She pulled and twisted her brother’s leg. (It is however absolutely legitimate to use this sentence with non-idiomatic meaning, i.e. the literal meaning).

•

Elements cannot take contrastive stress, or be the focus of topicalizing transformations. This prevents the language speaker from saying e.g. What she did to her brother’s leg was pull it.

•

Elements cannot be referred back to using an anaphor, which makes it out of the question to utter e.g. Mary pulled her brother’s leg; John pulled it too.

•

An idiom does not allow the substitution of any of its constituent elements by a synonym or near-synonym, which means that one cannot say e.g. She tugged his leg about it. (Cruse 2000: 73–74).

48

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics The study of idioms has revealed a new orientation in the late 20th century—analysis of idioms from the cognitive linguistics viewpoint. One scholar needs to be mentioned—Lakoff (1987) discussing idiom motivation based on conceptual metaphors. This cognitive linguistic model of idioms has been further developed by various scholars in recent years. Among them was the study by Langlotz (2006) where variation between English and German idioms is treated in terms of cognitive principals and conceptual metaphors. The studies on idioms discussed above in this chapter demonstrate that numerous scholars have had an interest in idioms and have thus tried to deal with them, describe them and explain various issues concerning idioms. It has also showed that idioms can be treated from different angles because they are wide-ranging. The studies presented in this chapter have incited ideas about the ways to deal with idioms in this dissertation and aspects which are worthy of attention.

3.3 Choice of Idiom Categories As has already been stated in the introduction, the aim of this dissertation is to create a comparative study of four idiom areas in four languages—English, Czech, French and German, it is by no means not aimed at all existing idioms. The three areas concerned are defined thematically—the human body, animals and colors.

3.3.1 Reasons for Concentrating on Human Body Idioms Idioms belong to all four languages discussed in this dissertation. They represent something special in language, they make it colorful and enrich it. Idioms reflect human experience, the way of life, the way people comprehend

49

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics the world; in short, they mirror the whole philosophy of life and give us valuable insight into human psychology. Idiomatic language is human-centered. The human body serves as a significant source of phraseology and idioms. This may be the result of the fact that it is easier to understand an idiom if it contains a part of the human body because the human body is an area which is close to any human being, both physically and metaphorically. The human body is familiar to any human being. These idioms may reveal the perception of the world of all four language groups and could serve for a sociocultural study as well, which is beyond the scope of this thesis. It is interesting to see how speakers of different languages regard reality and reflect it into the human body idioms.

3.3.2 Reasons for Concentrating on Animal Idioms Apart from the human body, animals are the most frequent and a very motivating source of idioms, i.e. animals prove to be an immense source of idioms. As it was the case with the human body idioms, the reason for a large number of animal idioms is that they are closely connected with people. People have observed animals around them, they have domesticated animals—both as pets and farm animals which yield a variety of food and other products (e.g. meat, milk, skin, etc.) and as the matter of fact the relationship between animals and human world has been very intense. As Mrhačová (1999: 159) points out, the rich range of lexicalized comparisons of human and animal qualities, activities and states, which developed on the basis of zoo-sphere, has resulted from the long-life experience of humans. It proves that many generations of people have carefully observed and compared animal behavior and habits. People found a similarity between animals and various human qualities and habits. Specifically they personified 50

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics them, i.e. people attributed human qualities to animals. Later on, these similarities helped people to characterize other members of mankind. The comparison of human and animal qualities, activities or states helped to enliven speech, make it more expressive, plastic and “spicy”. The role of indirectness is an issue which might play a role in the use of animal idioms, the idea behind numerous animal idioms is that because of social conventions animal idioms are used. Instead of expressing explicitly that a person has a characteristic feature, it is common to say whom this person resembles in the animal kingdom. As has been stated, animals are a favorite source of imagery in idiom formation. The notion of evasiveness or dishonesty tends to be characterized by words referring to fish, which are slippery and elusive. Slyness or cunningness tends to be compared to the nature of the fox—a sly and elusive predator (which is presented as such even in fables or fairy tales for children and thus gives this idea of slyness). One of the aims of the present thesis is thus to analyze the correspondences between the languages: whether different languages use different animals in idioms referring to identical qualities and what animals these languages associate with what qualities.

3.3.3 Reasons for Concentrating on Color Idioms Colors form another part of the idiom world which attracts people’s attention and may demonstrate some differences in English, Czech, French and German. As this study is based on English as the source language, some facts concerning English color idioms will be given here. It can be said that every color evokes a different type of idioms.

51

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics There is a number of English idioms including color terms; some color idioms are transparent, i.e. they are easily understood because of a clear motivation. The opposite group of color idioms can be called non-transparent, their meaning is not easily understood, and the way to understand this type of idioms is to get to know the cultural context. Color is associated with various qualities. If we take for example green, it can evoke envy but on the other hand, it can also be used as a symbol of freshness. As an example be green with envy is used to describe someone who is angry because they don’t have what someone else has. If green color is used to talk about people, its meaning is hardly positive, then. But green is obviously mostly connected with nature as it is the color of nature. Thus it can be used to describe something young, fresh and growing or something that is not yet ripe or finished. Therefore someone who has the ability to grow plants well is said to have a green thumb or green fingers. Let us now give an example of a different color—pink. People say they are in the pink when they are in good health. Naturally, the correspondence between the pink color of one’s face and good health is obvious for Caucasian people. Highly frequent color idioms include references to black and white, which is hardly surprising given that they are often seen as binary opposites. In most cases the cultural meaning of white in the Western cultures is light and purity whereas black means darkness and evil. An example is a black day—a day in which everything goes wrong. Another color idiom containing black is a black sheep—someone who does things that are not accepted, things that violate tradition. Thus a black sheep is rejected because this person brings shame to his/her group.

52

3 Idioms within the Field of Linguistics A job that many people search for is white-collar job where one uses one’s brain and not muscles, usually working at a desk. It is usually better paid than blue-collar job, a job where one uses one’s muscles. However, the association of white with positive and black with negative things is not absolute. Consider the idiom be in the black used to express balanced account where black is positive. Similarly, white can also be used for expressions which are not positive, e.g. whitewash—to hide or cover up mistakes or failures. There are also expressions which contain both white and black—in black and white, i.e. in writing—black ink on white paper. The very same idiom in black and white has a totally different meaning, if used in a context ‘to see things in black and white’ which suggests that the person only thinks things are either good or bad and that there is nothing in between. Black and white thinking, i.e. thinking in binary contrasts, is culturally seen as negative because the world is much more complex. The reasons for choosing the three above discussed groups of idioms have been given in the present chapter. Because the human body and animal idioms are something humans are very much concerned about and because color idioms complement the two groups, it now remains to be seen whether and how these idioms are different in English, Czech, French and German, which is the object of the present dissertation.

53

4 Method of Idiom Analysis

4 Method of Idiom Analysis Before proceeding to the description of method chosen for the analysis of idioms in this dissertation, some information about the corpus of idioms is necessary. It was decided to use a corpus created specifically for the purpose of this dissertation. The corpus contains almost one thousand idioms in four languages, i.e. almost four thousand idioms. To collect all the idioms it was necessary to use several sources: •

dictionaries; these were general language dictionaries, specialized dictionaries (i.e. dictionaries of idioms), both monolingual and bilingual dictionaries. Dictionaries represent the main source of idioms in the corpus.

•

native speakers of the languages in question—to supply idioms and check correctness of disputed usage

•

works containing lists of idioms (either specialized in certain field or general idioms)—e.g. Barrons (1996) or Basuaux (1992) or Fuller (2000)

•

works dealing with idioms aimed at learners of foreign languages. Having referred to all the sources stated above, it was still impossible to

find equivalents for all the idioms in the corpus. This means that not all idioms in the corpus possess their equivalents in all four languages compared. Nevertheless, the corpus is large enough to supply a comparison and it is possible to generalize the results for the chosen fields of idioms. In the analysis of idioms, it happened that some idioms did not possess idiomatic counterparts in the respective languages. Therefore a corresponding

54

4 Method of Idiom Analysis non-idiomatic counterpart was provided instead and naturally, this fact was mentioned in the analysis. As has already been stated, the corpus does not cover all idiomatic expressions which are in use in the four languages chosen. Similarly, it has been stated that the corpus is divided into three independent parts, each of which deals with different idioms. The three respective parts introduce idioms connected with: •

the human body,

•

animals,

•

colors. As mentioned above, some of the idioms from the three corresponding

fields given in the previous paragraph are not included in the dissertation. The first reason is that it was done on purpose because it was assumed that the idiom in one or more languages is not present in the language any longer nowadays and the second explanation is that such an idiom escaped from the scope of idioms this dissertation deals with. In any case, it is believed that the material gathered in the corpus contains a sufficient number of idioms which will provide results that can be generalized. After describing the composition of the corpus, we need to focus on the method which has been chosen for its analysis. The crucial concept in examining the idioms is correspondence. (The terms corresponding, agreeing, matching, same and identical will be used interchangeably in the analysis.) In this dissertation, correspondence is defined semantically, i.e., the comparison of idioms takes into consideration the meaning of the idiom as a whole and this meaning is composed of the meanings of the individual parts of the idiom in question. With most idioms in the corpus, the central part of the idiom is a

55

4 Method of Idiom Analysis noun; as a result, the comparison is in great part made with regard to this noun. The correspondence is then based on the fact whether this key word (which is a noun or nominal phrase in most idioms) can be regarded as identical in the languages compared. Because the semantic criterion is taken as the basis of the comparison, idioms lacking the key word which idioms in other languages possess will still be considered as corresponding if the overall meaning of the idiom is identical. To give an example, let us name e.g. the English to make s’one’s blood boil and the French faire bouillir qu’un (literally translated as to make s'one boil). As these two idiomatic expressions have identical meaning, they are regarded as corresponding although the French idiom lacks the word blood. Yet there still is a distinction, they are not considered totally correspondent but partially correspondent. These terms will be explained further in the analysis section. (A final remark concerning the terminology used in idiom comparison deals with the terms idiom and idiomatic expression—both terms are used interchangeably in this dissertation.) It is only natural that the semantic criterion has been chosen as the means of comparison because idioms are known to be composed of words, which taken on their own, have a different meaning from the meaning attributed to them in the idiom. It is rarely the case that one can understand an idiom judging only from the items which an idiom is composed of. The form of the idiom is therefore secondary in the comparison although it can sometimes be commented on and even if the form of e.g. English and Czech idioms is different, it does not necessarily mean that the two idioms are not corresponding. This difference in form between individual languages can sometimes be explained with reference to the nature of the given language. It is a commonly accepted view that English—unlike Czech, for instance—has a

56

4 Method of Idiom Analysis tendency towards nominal expression (Vachek 1976: 324), Mathesius (1975: 104). Czech, on the other hand, tends to express the corresponding English nominal phrases verbally, which will be apparent even in idioms or idiom phrases. Therefore, the formal criterion will be taken into consideration only in idioms where it will play a relevant role. To sum up, the analysis of the corpus of idioms created for this dissertation is based on semantic comparison. Semantics plays the main role in the comparison and it is semantics which is in the study joined by the correspondence of form in the four languages compared. The dissertation is in the second place concerned with the degree of correspondence of form in idiomatic expressions in English, Czech, French and German.

4.1 Typology of Idiom Analysis 4.1.1 Theoretical Setting The idea of comparing languages has been present in linguistics since the 19th century when the theory of historical development of languages and among others, the theory of cognate languages were stated (Černý, 1998: 68). Language comparison saw another period of increased interest in the 20th century thanks to the Prague linguistic circle. At present, the comparative linguistic theory distinguishes among three types of studies as stated e.g. by Sekaninová (1993: 29) —historical, typological and contrastive linguistics. The focus of this study is on contrastive linguistics which suggests synchronous comparison of two or more languages. To be more exact, the present study is part of contrastive lexicology or even more precisely contrastive phraseology which suggests that its aim is to compare idioms in various languages.

57

4 Method of Idiom Analysis As far as contrastive phraseology is concerned, it has been treated by various authors. Nevertheless, having researched into this issue, I have not found any study which would analyze the four languages compared in this study. On the other hand, the theories presented in the works on contrastive phraseology could as well be applied for more than two languages. The following paragraphs introduce a brief account of the works studied, the object of which is by no means to produce a detailed analysis of all existing works which would be irrelevant. On the contrary, only selected works with applicable data are presented. To start with, in chronological order, a pioneer study into the theory of phraseological correspondence was carried out by Kout (1973) who distinguished four basic types of correspondence: a) phraseologism against phraseologism, b) phraseologism against free combination of language elements, c) phraseologism against a free word, and d) phraseologism against two possible ways of expression—a phraseologism and a free combination of language elements. A detailed comparative typology is formulated by Pietrak-Meiser (1985: 189–226) who was studying Czech phraseological expressions and their Polish equivalents. Her theory distinguishes three groups of equivalents—a) absolutely adequate, b) partially adequate and c) non-adequate equivalents. The first group—absolutely adequate equivalents—is further divided into identical equivalents,

similar

equivalents

and

dissimilar

equivalents.

Identical

equivalents are characterized by lexical and grammatical correspondence. Similar equivalents preserve the meaning but there are some lexical or grammatical

differences.

Dissimilar

equivalents

denote

an

identical

phenomenon in the languages compared but every nation conceives them

58

4 Method of Idiom Analysis differently and expresses them by using different lexical means or grammatical means. As for partially adequate equivalents, they include idiomatic expressions which either have some semantic variations or differ in grammar (e.g. a verbal expression in one language corresponds to a nonverbal one in the other). Finally, non-adequate equivalents which represent cases where the idiom is substituted by a periphrasis or a free combination of words or a oneword expression or a situational parallel. Czech and German contrastive phraseology is analyzed in Henschel (1993: 138–143). She distinguishes two types of equivalence—I. phraseological and II. non-phraseological. The first basic type—phraseological equivalence—is further divided into three subtypes—1. total equivalence, 2. partial equivalence and 3. purely semantic equivalence. As for the first subtype 1. total equivalents, these are characterized as expressions which have an identical semantic, structural, lexical and figurative form. Among these total equivalents there are also idiomatic expressions which demonstrate a) a morphological or morphosyntactical deviation (e.g. difference in number, case, in preposition or diminutive). Further on, she mentions b) the use of a synonymous expression instead of one component of the idiom which is often connected with a stylistic change. Then there is c) a change in word order. Next d) a different number of components in the languages compared, i.e. extension or reduction of the idiom structure. The penultimate section are e) different variants. Among the total equivalents Henschel counts as well f) compounds. The second subtype—2. partial equivalence—is understood as idiomatic expressions which are characterized by distinct difference in figurativeness, lexical means, structure, semantics or function. Henschel distinguishes a)

59

4 Method of Idiom Analysis exchange of the components which is most often a noun. A typical example of this category is a different part of the body or a different animal (e.g. vzít nohy na ramena opposed to die Beine in die Hand nehmen where the Czech noun shoulders is expressed as hand in German ). Yet among these belong idioms containing a different part of speech than a noun, e.g. a verb as can be seen from the following example—dostat někoho na kolena—jdn. in die Knie zwingen (get in Czech contrasted with force in German). Next, there are b) functional differences which include a number of cases, among them e.g. similes such as být jasný jako křišťál—kristallklar sein where there is a compound in German for the idiom which exists in English in an identical form as in Czech to be as clear as crystal. The third category in the second subtype is c) difference in figurativeness. Idioms in this category demonstrate approximately identical meaning but only similar figurativeness. As an example Henschel quotes mít jazyk na vestě—jdm hängt die Zunge zum Halse heraus (the literal translation of the Czech idiom is to have a tongue on the vest whereas word for word translation of the German idiom is the tongue is hanging out to the throat of s’one. Partial equivalence also heads d) semantic differences which include e.g. examples of homonymy as in mít něco na krku—etw. auf dem Halse haben (to have something on the neck). The third subtype of phraseological equivalence is purely semantic equivalence which as its name indicates contains idioms which agree on semantic level but differ in other aspects, e.g. in structure. II. non-phraseological equivalence which is named zero equivalence by Henschel and by which she understands idioms with no phraseological counterpart in the language or languages compared. The idiom is expressed by

60

4 Method of Idiom Analysis other means: a) an expressive one-word lexeme, b) a free combination of language elements, c) a periphrasis or d) literal translation.

4.1.2 Typology Applied in the Dissertation For the purpose of this study it was decided to use a classification which was created for this dissertation. The aim was to introduce a typology I arrived at when analyzing the idioms in the corpus of the dissertation and it is as well influenced by the readings made in the field of contrastive phraseology. Among these were e.g. Henschel (1993) where Czech and German languages were compared or Ďurčo (1994) the focus of which was contrastive phraseology of German and Slovak. This was necessary in order first, to learn and second, to consider how different scholars regard this issue. Therefore the classification or typology of idioms which is introduced on the following pages represents personal views of the author of this dissertation which were nevertheless to a certain degree affected by what was discovered in the studies on the issue of idiom comparison and in the studies carried out in the field of contrastive phraseology. As far as contrastive phraseology of idioms is concerned, in general, two cases are distinguished. The idiom either has its idiomatic equivalent in the other language under comparison or its idiomatic equivalent does not exist and therefore the idiom has to be substituted by some other way, e.g. by using a non- idiomatic expression, a description of the idiom or a calque or some other means as suggested by Filipec and Petr (1985: 50). Among these there are e.g. one-word equivalent. Nevertheless, it can happen that the idiom in question does not exist and is not substituted either because the language does not know the reality described in the idiom and does not feel the need to express it by any substitutive means. 61

4 Method of Idiom Analysis As for the classification of idioms which is used in this dissertation, three major categories of idiom comparison are distinguished based on the work of Helgunde Henschel who analyzed Czech and German idioms. The theory of this author who distinguishes phraseological and non-phraseological equivalents was chosen because of her relevance of the field of study and also because the classification which she used is very close to the view I have taken. As has been referred to above, the basic division here is total correspondence, partial correspondence and non correspondence. Before proceeding to the analysis of idioms collected, it is necessary to state what is understood by each of these categories so that this distinction can be applied in the analysis. 4.1.2.1 Total Correspondence To start with, the term total correspondence—this means that an idiom in one language is expressed in the language with which it is compared by an idiom which agrees on several levels—stylistic (or functional as it is also called), semantic and formal. It is necessary to explain more precisely the levels mentioned in the previous sentence. First, the stylistic or functional level expresses the notion that the idiom and its equivalent should be used in both languages in the same style and should not be part of e.g. slang in one language and belong to poetic style in the other. Second, semantic level suggests that the meaning of the idiom is identical in both languages compared. Finally, formal level indicates that the individual components which form the idiom agree in both languages compared. However, even within this category of idioms marked as totally corresponding, two distinct subcategories can be found. We distinguish among 100% correspondence and overall correspondence.

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4 Method of Idiom Analysis a) 100% correspondence As suggested by the name of this subcategory, the core lies in idioms being identical in both languages compared. The idea is that the idiom agrees on all levels compared and described above (stylistic, semantic and formal). To illustrate this subcategory, we use an example from the corpus of body idioms: To lose face

Ztratit tvář

Perdre la face

Das Gesicht verlieren

b) Overall correspondence Idioms with a certain degree of varieties are classified among this subcategory. The difference cannot be characterized as substantial because otherwise the idiom could no longer be part of this group and would suit within the category of partially corresponding idioms. The dividing line between the former and the latter was not easy to draw and it is believed that every researcher studying idioms can have their own view which does not necessarily correspond to the one presented here. What is therefore understood by the term overall correspondence? Firstly, a case of overall correspondence are e.g. idioms which use a compound in one language and not in other languages. To present an example from the human body idioms, consider the following idiom where the German idiom is a compound unlike the idioms in the three other languages compared: To be a bundle of nerves

Být uzlíček nervů

Être un paquet de nerves

Ein Nervenbündel sein

Or see yet another change—morphological deviation which is not considered as differentiating for the idiom as to become part of the category of partially corresponding idioms. Morphological deviation can have the form of e.g. the singular in one language against the plural in the other or different grammatical case or preposition or using a diminutive in one language.

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4 Method of Idiom Analysis The following example illustrates the difference between English and Czech with the use of the preposition v (in) in one language—Czech and nonprepositional expression in the other language, in English: To beat one‘s breast

Bít se/tlouct se v prsa

Se frapper la poitrine

Sich an die Brust schlagen

The example which follows demonstrates the morphological deviation of singular bone in Czech and plural bones in English: To be nothing but skin and bones

Být kost a kůže

N’avoir que la peau et les os

Nur noch Haut und Knochen sein

Citing the very same example, there is one more deviation which still classifies the idiom within the subcategory of overall corresponding idioms— the change in the word order. The English word order is skin and bones in contrast to the Czech “bone and skin”. Finally, one more example from the group of morphological deviations where there is a diminutive used in Czech compared to the English bull: To take the bull by the horns

Popadnout býčka za rohy

Prendre le taureau par les cornes

Den Stier bei den Hörnern fassen

4.1.2.2 Partial Correspondence As the title of this category suggests, the idioms it contains demonstrate a certain degree of correspondence but are not similar enough to be called totally corresponding. The idioms compared which are sorted into this category fully agree on the semantic level but the lexical means used for their formation differs. This can be accomplished in various ways. a) Expressiveness versus neutrality A synonymous expression or a more expressive term is used in one of the two languages compared. See e.g. the following example where English employs a stylistically neutral expression die unlike the verb in Czech, which is very

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4 Method of Idiom Analysis expressive and has negative connotations and is seldom used to talk about people. When it is used about people, it is slang and it is vulgar: To die like a dog

Chcípnout jako pes

Mourir comme un chien

Wie ein Hund verrecken

b) Using lexically different words but keeping the semantic meaning The core of this subcategory lies in lexical difference, i.e. there is one component which is not identical in the languages compared but despite this difference the whole idiom keeps its meaning because the element which differs is semantically related to the element with which it is compared. Partial correspondence in the example which follows suggests that Czech (together with French and German) use the word “head” as the equivalent of the English word brains: To beat one’s brains

Lámat si hlavu

Se creuser/casser le cerveau/ la tête

Sich den Kopf zerbrechen

c) Using a different lexical means for one element of the idiom This subcategory can at first sight look very close to the previous one but there is a substantial difference. Unlike the idioms in the previous subcategory which differ in employing a lexically different term which is nevertheless semantically connected in meaning with the term in the other language, the idioms in this subcategory use an element which is also lexically different but, on top of that, it is not semantically related to the term in the other language. However, the overall meaning of the idiom remains unaltered. The idiom where there is a bone in English and “an apple” in Czech, French and German serves as an example:

65

4 Method of Idiom Analysis Bone of contention

Jablko sváru

Une pomme de discorde

Zankapfel

d) Using hypernyms or hyponyms This subcategory is characterized by the substitution of one element of the idiom by its hypernym or hyponym in the other language. Thus the Czech word “fingers” corresponds to arm in English, French and German: To have a long arm

Mít dlouhé prsty, mít konexe

Avoir le bras long

Einen langen Arm haben

e) Idioms possessing a different number of lexical expressions A typical feature of this subcategory is that the idiom belonging to it contains extra lexical means in one of the languages compared or, on the other hand, if regarded from the point of view of the other language the idiom lacks some lexical means. As an example illustrating this subcategory, see the English tip of one’s tongue juxtaposed with the Czech “tongue”: On the tip of one’s tongue

Na jazyku

Sur le bout de la langue

Auf der Zunge

f) Grammatically different idioms This subcategory covers all idioms where there is a difference in the part of speech used in the two languages, so e.g. a verbal expression in one language corresponds to a non-verbal one in the other. Therefore, in some cases, the subcategory can reveal different language characteristics of the languages compared. To cite an example—the Czech tendency towards nominal expressions versus the use of verbal expressions in English. To introduce an example the following idiom was selected. In English, the idiom uses a nominal expression thumbs up whereas in Czech, there is an adjective “green”:

66

4 Method of Idiom Analysis To give sth the thumbs up

Dát čemu zelenou

Donner le feu vert à qch

Für etwas grünes Licht geben

g) The whole idiom is expressed with different lexical means This subcategory includes all idioms which are formed by completely different lexical means in the two languages under study but still there is no change in the semantics of the idioms. That suggests that both languages employ an idiom but this idiom is formed in each language by distinct lexical elements. The idiom which is used in a situation when a person wants to emphasize they will not reveal anything, especially a secret can serve as an example. The English and German “my lips are sealed” is contrasted with the Czech and French “I am as a tomb”: My lips are sealed

Jsem jako hrob

Je suis un vrai tombeau

Meine Lippen sind versiegelt

4.1.2.3 Non Correspondence Non-correspondence is regarded as a wide category. It contains, on one hand, idioms which do not have any equivalent and, on the other hand, it also encompasses all idioms which are expressed non-idiomatically. The paragraphs which follow will be treating this type of non-correspondence. They are concerned with possible ways of expressing idioms in other languages by using means which are not of an idiomatic nature. Let us now divide the category into subcategories which are applied for the analysis of the idioms present in the corpus of idioms collected in this dissertation. a) Periphrasis Applying a periphrasis or a description which explains the meaning of an idiom can be used if there is no idiomatic counterpart.

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4 Method of Idiom Analysis An example follows. The English idiom is substituted in Czech by the periphrasis “to give everything into it”: To put one’s heart into it

Dát do toho všechno

Y aller de tout son coeur

Mit ganzem Herzen bei etwas sein

b) Calque The idiom is substituted by literal or word for word translation of the individual components of the idiom. The example illustrating this subcategory demonstrates various ways which are applied by different languages when treating the problem of an idiom which is non-existent in their language. The English idiom brain drain is a calque in Czech whereas what can be noticed in German is that the whole idiom is borrowed from English even if there is a difference in the form because the German expression is a compound. This is natural for the character of German language. It can be ascribed to the notion of a very frequent use of compounds in German: Brain drain

Odliv mozků

Exode des cerveaux

Braindrain

c) One-word expression Instead of using an idiom the language takes advantage of employing a oneword expression of non-idiomatic nature. The English idiom tongue in cheek serves as an example to which correspond simple expressions in the remaining three languages, expressions that are translated as “ironically”: Tongue in cheek

Ironicky

Ironiquement

Ironisch

d) Free combination of language elements The basis lies in using other words than idioms which would express the reality in the closest possible way.

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4 Method of Idiom Analysis In the example illustrating this subcategory, Czech and German both use an expression “to have the same opinion” which corresponds to the English idiom to see eye to eye with s’one. In French, the key word eye is employed and the whole expression is “to see the things with the same eye as s’one”: To see eye to eye with s‘one

Rozumět si, mít stejný názor

Voir les choses du même oeil que qu’un

Mit jdm. einer Meinung sein

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5 Idiom Analysis

5 Idiom Analysis The method of idiom analysis having been introduced, it is necessary to present the figures obtained from the study of the corpus of idioms collected.

5.1 Body Idioms 5.1.1 Total Correspondence The first under study are the body idioms which belong under the heading of total correspondence. They are assembled in Table 1. Table 1 shows the number of idioms which were compared in two languages at a time. The pairs of languages are represented by five columns: E&C standing for English and Czech, E&F for English and French, C&G for Czech and German, C&F for Czech and French, and E&G for English and German. These abbreviations commented on here are used in other tables as

Table 1: Body idioms—total correspondence

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5 Idiom Analysis well and will not be explained because it is assumed that once presented, they will be understood. The pairs of languages were selected with respect to the hypothesis of this dissertation. Therefore, the primary focus was made on Czech and German, English and Czech and Czech and French idioms. The two columns representing English and French and English and German were added because of two reasons. First, English is the source language of all the idioms collected, i.e. English served as the basis for all idioms gathered in the corpus, thus it would not be accurate not to mention the occurrence of idioms common to English and French or English and German. Second, it is assumed that even English and German or English and French could show a number of corresponding idioms which should not be ignored and that is another reason for including them. On the other hand, the table does not contain any figures about French and German idioms. This was done intentionally because firstly, it is not the aim to compare French and German idioms and secondly, as French or German were not the source language of the idioms, the number of idioms obtained would not be high and they would not contribute to the overall view. After describing the columns representing the pairs of languages within which the idioms were compared, the next issue to be explained in Table 1 are the particular categories introduced on the vertical axis for which a commentary is given in this paragraph. Idioms named totally correspondent are divided into two subgroups—those coined under the title 100% correspondence and those which bear the title overall correspondence. This subgroup of overall correspondence is further divided into compounds, morphological and syntactical correspondence. Morphological correspondence includes five different sections: a) sg. vs. pl.—idioms which use singular in one language and plural in the other, b) different case—idioms

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5 Idiom Analysis characterized by the use of a different grammatical case or preposition, or by using a reflexive verb in one language, c) diminutive—idioms where one language employs a diminutive, d) change in WO—a change in word order, i.e. there is some element in the idiom which is placed in a different position in each of the two languages compared, and e) different form—a different way of forming the corresponding part of speech. The figures in the table show the number of idioms belonging to the individual sections and are complemented by percentage. It needs to be remarked that the percentage introduced with the number of idioms in the particular sections does not indicate the percentage within the group of total correspondence but is counted from the total number of body idioms in the pair of languages compared. Similarly, this holds true about the percentage introduced with the line totals which is the line providing the number of totally correspondent body idioms where the percentage indicates the percentage these idioms form from the total number of body idioms in the two languages in question. The reason for introducing the system of percentage into the table is twofold—on the one hand, the percentage is a tool which serves as a better comparison than the figures alone. On the other hand, as has been already mentioned above, there were no counterparts found for some English idioms whether it was in Czech, French or German, which suggests that the total numbers of idioms in the pairs of languages differ. Hence it would be impossible to make a comparison on the basis of the number of occurrences only without translating them into percentage points. As shown in Table 1, the highest number of totally correspondent idioms and consequently the highest percentage is revealed for Czech and German

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5 Idiom Analysis idioms. This proves our hypothesis that there are more corresponding idioms within the group of Czech and German than Czech and English or Czech and French. This is valid for both 100% correspondence where Czech and German idioms represent 99 instances of idioms which equals 24.8% of all Czech and German body idioms as well as for 100% correspondence matched by overall correspondence, where the figure is 111 idioms which stands for 27.8% of all body idioms in Czech and German. When compared with other sets of languages, the second highest number is discovered with English and German idioms whereby 100% correspondence is found with 72 idioms, i.e. 18% of all English and German idioms. When overall correspondence is added, their percentage accounts for 26.7% of English and German idioms which is only about 1% less than the percentage of Czech and German idioms. Czech and English and Czech and French idioms also confirm the hypothesis of being less numerous than Czech and German idioms. As can be seen from Table 1, their percentage is 22% and 21.3% respectively. The comparison with 27.8% of Czech and German idioms demonstrates the difference of about 6% by which Czech and German idioms outnumber Czech and English or Czech and French body idioms. The contrast becomes even more visible if only the number of 100% correspondence is taken into consideration. The result is that Czech and German idioms represent 24.8% which is almost twice as much than English and Czech idioms symbolized by 12.6% and by almost 10% more than 15.9% allocated to Czech and French idioms.

5.1.2 Partial Correspondence Table 2 gives an overview of partial correspondence in body idioms. This issue is studied in the identical pairs of languages as the total correspondence. But 73

5 Idiom Analysis

Table 2: Body idioms—partial correspondence

partial correspondence, in contrast to total correspondence, includes more sections which include all examples of body idioms which are characterized by neither being totally correspondent nor being totally different, i.e. belonging to non correspondence. To put it very simply, this table covers all idioms which are to some extent similar to each other in the two languages compared but still not dissimilar enough to be considered as non correspondent. The core lies in semantics as was explained above in the Typology applied in this dissertation. There are nine sections altogether distinguished among partially correspondent idioms. Section a) expressive vs. neutral—presenting idioms which show expressiveness in one language and use a neutral expression in the other, b) lexically different vs. semantically ok—these are idioms characterized by using lexically different words but keeping the semantic meaning. Next comes c) one element different—using a different lexical means for one element of the idiom, followed by d) hypernym or hyponym—where there are instances

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5 Idiom Analysis of employing hypernyms or hyponyms appear. Section e) different number of lexical expressions—includes idioms which, from the point of view of form, are created by more lexemes in one language. As for section f) grammatically different—it contains idioms which are grammatically different. Section g) different lexical means—suggests that the whole idiom is expressed with different lexical means but still bear the meaning of the idiom. Into section h) different body part—were grouped idioms containing an idiomatic expression using a different part of the body. Finally, section i) abstract vs. Concrete— encompasses idioms where an abstract expression is contrasted with a concrete body part. As for the results obtained from Table 2, they are dissimilar to the results received for body idioms total correspondence. The percentage of Czech and German partially correspondent idioms contrasted with Czech and English or Czech and French idioms contradicts the hypothesis. 78 Czech and German partially correspondent idioms form 19.5% of all Czech and German body idioms, which is almost a half of the percentage represented by Czech and English partially correspondent body idioms constituting 38.6%. It should be noted that among partially correspondent idioms there is one pair of languages possessing even more examples because the highest percentage is achieved by English and French idioms—39.8%. Similarly, even the percentage of Czech and French partially correspondent body idioms—24.4% exceeds the percentage of Czech and German idioms. Nevertheless, the gap between them is about 5%. Table 2 shows that Czech and English idioms manifest more partially correspondent idioms (38.6%) than totally correspondent ones which accounted for 22%. Partial correspondence is not so high with Czech and French idioms.

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5 Idiom Analysis These agree in 24.4% which is more than their total correspondence (21.3%) but far less than non correspondence (54.3%) depicted in Table 3.

5.1.3 Non Correspondence Table 3 aims at presenting the percentage of body idioms which do not correspond in the languages compared. These figures and percentages are given to complete the picture of body idioms even if they portray cases where the languages disagree or lack any idiomatic equivalent. However, it would be an oversimplification to say that non correspondence signifies that there is a number of expressions which are different without attempting to sort them out into several sections. Because even expressions falling into the table of non correspondence are characterized by some common features which assign them into sections. The sections distinguished are a) periphrasis—if one of the languages contrasted has no idiomatic counterpart, then a description or explanation of that idiom is used instead, b) calque—literal or word for word translation of the individual components of the idiom which, as can be seen from Table 3, is not a very

Table 3: Body idioms—non correspondence

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5 Idiom Analysis common way of substituting a missing idiom as far as body idioms are concerned. The following section is called c) one-word expression—the missing idiom is replaced by means of a one-word expression. The last but one section d) free combination of language elements is based on using other words than idioms which would express the reality in the closest possible way to the idiom in the other language. Apart from the four sections, there are instances where none of the above mentioned sections is applicable. As can be observed from Table 3, it concerns solely Czech and German and Czech and French idioms. The table indicates this section as non idiomatic expressions by which are understood those occurrences where neither of the two languages compared uses an idiom. This situation is due to the fact that the corpus of idioms was created with English as the source language. Consequently, there were examples where no idiomatic counterpart exists in either Czech, French or German to the English idiom. Therefore, when comparing either Czech and German or Czech and French expressions, if none of the counterparts of the English idioms in these languages was of idiomatic nature, they were sorted within the group of non idiomatic expressions. In the case of Czech and German, non idiomatic expressions account for 28.3%, which is almost identical proportion as with Czech and French expressions—29%. The information which can be extracted from the entries in Table 3 is that non correspondence is around 50% for Czech and German, Czech and French and English and German. On the other hand, the comparison of English and Czech or English and French reveals that non correspondence equals 39.5% and 36.4% respectively. The high percentage of non correspondence for English and

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5 Idiom Analysis German idioms is a result which was not expected unlike the comparison of Czech and German or Czech and French. Any attempt to give reasons for that would be mere speculation because no confirmative evidence was found to explain the situation. Perhaps, the reason is as simple as the fact that English uses particular body idioms which do not exist in German.

5.1.4 Conclusion To sum up, the data obtained from the analysis of body idioms proved partly the hypothesis. This means that there are more corresponding idioms in Czech and German than in Czech and English or Czech and French. This suggests that he

hypothesis

is

valid

for

total

correspondence

but

when

partial

correspondence is considered, the hypothesis is not valid because Czech and German idioms do not exceed the percentage of Czech and English or Czech and French idioms. The situation is opposite, Czech and German partially correspondent body idioms demonstrate the lowest percentage of all the partially correspondent body idioms. The analysis of body idioms also revealed that more than half of Czech and German expressions in the corpus belong to the category of non correspondence, the exact figure is 52.6%, which represents the second largest group of non correspondence as it was surpassed by Czech and French where non correspondence reached 54.3%. If the percentage of total and partial correspondence is counted, the results

are

figures

showing

that

among

body

idioms,

the

biggest

correspondence among the pairs of languages compared is attained by English and French idioms (63.6%) followed by English and Czech idioms (60.6%). The result for Czech and German idioms is 47.3% which is slightly more than what

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5 Idiom Analysis demonstrate Czech and French idioms (45.7%). To complete the list, English and German idioms are in the middle with 50.8%. To conclude, if total correspondence is regarded separately, Czech and German idioms prove to be on top of the percentage list. On the other hand, if partial correspondence is added, Czech and English body idioms are assigned the leading position with 60.6% and Czech and German body idioms (both totally and partial correspondent) lack behind with 47.3%. In other words, among the corpus of body idioms collected for this dissertation there are more than half expressions in Czech and German which are characterized as having no correspondence.

5.2 Animal Idioms The second largest group of idioms analyzed are idioms containing animals. They are sorted similarly as body idioms into three tables—total, partial and non correspondence.

5.2.1 Total Correspondence The general layout of Table 4 is analogous to Table 1 which introduced body idioms total correspondence, which means that it is divided into two subgroups—100% correspondence and overall correspondence. The former remains unchanged but the latter is subject to a change when contrasted with the subgroup of overall correspondence in body idioms. Animal idioms, in contrast to body idioms, do not possess the section of change in word order. The corpus of animal idioms did not reveal any idiom which would match this section. On the other hand, two new sections were introduced within overall correspondence for animal idioms—a different part of speech and different sex.

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5 Idiom Analysis

Table 4: Animal idioms—total correspondence

Accordingly, animal idioms’ total correspondence include one more section in comparison to body idioms in Table 1. In

brief,

overall

correspondence

is

divided

into

compounds,

morphological and syntactical correspondence. Morphological correspondence includes six sections—a) sg. vs. pl.—idioms which use singular in one language and plural in the other, b) different case—idioms characterized by the use of a different grammatical case or preposition, or by using a reflexive verb in one language, c) diminutive—idioms where one language employs a diminutive, d) different form—a different way of forming the corresponding part of speech, e) different part of speech—the idiom is formed by means of a different part of speech, and f) different sex—the corresponding idiom uses an animal of a different sex in one of the two languages compared. The overall figures in Table 4 indicate that Czech and German animal idioms with total correspondence representing 17.8% outnumber Czech and

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5 Idiom Analysis English animal idioms which form 13.2% of all Czech and English animal idioms as well as Czech and French animal idioms where the percentage is 12.7%. The percentage substantiates our hypothesis that there are more corresponding idioms within the group of Czech and German than Czech and English or Czech and French idioms. The statement is valid both for totally correspondent animal idioms as a whole, the percentages of which is given above and for its part—100% correspondence as well. The percentage there is 13% for Czech and German, 8.9% for Czech and English and 9.9% for Czech and French animal idioms. As for the other pairs of languages compared, English and German show the highest percentage (21.4%) of all sets of languages contrasting total correspondence with animal idioms. This suggests that there are more totally corresponding idioms in English and German than in English and Czech (13.2%). However Czech and German animal idioms with 17.8% exceed the percentage of English and French animal idioms which represent 15.8%. To sum up, the figures in Table 4 confirm our hypothesis of the existence of more Czech and German correspondent idioms than Czech and English or Czech and French idioms.

5.2.2 Partial Correspondence Table 5 outlines the partial correspondence concerning animal idioms. The sections into which partial correspondence is divided are based on the sections introduced in Table 2, i.e. partially correspondent body idioms. Naturally, there are some differences—first, instead of employing different body part, this table includes a different animal. Second, partially correspondent animals do not contain the section of abstract versus concrete expressions. Instead, there are two new sections—adult animal versus baby animal and identical animal but 81

5 Idiom Analysis

Table 5: Animal idioms—partial correspondence

different lexical means. Partial correspondence in animal idioms is therefore subdivided into ten sections. It is assumed that the sections which remain identical with the sections already introduced in Table 2 do not necessitate any explanation. Therefore only the newly introduced sections are commented on here in this paragraph. The first expected change comes in section h) different animal—which suggests that each of the two languages compared uses a different animal in its idiom. Into section i) adult animal vs. baby animal—are grouped idioms where one language employs an adult animal and the other one its young one. As suggested by the name of the last section j) identical animal, different lexical means—the idioms contain an animal in both languages but it is a different animal in each case.

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5 Idiom Analysis When the data gathered from Table 5 are analyzed, they partly contradict the hypothesis. “Partly” means that this is due to Czech and English animal idioms which with 23.2% surpass Czech and German partially correspondent animal idioms representing 14.6%. As regards Czech and French animal idioms, the hypothesis remains valid. There are 13.8% Czech and French partially correspondent animal idioms. English and French as well as English and German animal idioms demonstrate higher percentage than Czech and German idioms—22.4% and 18.1%, respectively.

5.2.3 Non correspondence Table 6 depicts an overview of non correspondence in animal idioms. Its organization is almost identical as the layout of Table 3 so it introduces periphrasis, calque, one-word expression and free combination (what is understood by them was explained with Table 3). Nevertheless, in contrast to non correspondence in body idioms in Table 3 which presented non idiomatic expressions, Table 6 distinguishes two types of non idiomatic expressions— identical wording, no idioms and different wording, no idioms. These two

Table 6: Animal idioms—non correspondence

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5 Idiom Analysis sections are only applicable for Czech and German and Czech and French idioms. Section e) identical wording, no idioms groups expressions which are formed by means of corresponding lexemes in the two languages compared but they do not represent an idiom. Similarly, section f) different wording, no idioms introduces instances where neither in the pair of languages compared uses an idiom nor do they employ an expression made of identical lexemes. As for the results provided by Table 6, at first sight it signals that animal idioms are characterized by a high degree of dissimilarity. The percentage of non correspondence is well over 50%, in fact all languages compared manifest the percentage of non correspondence going over 60%. Czech and French languages demonstrate this feature most with 73.5% of instances of non correspondence. Then come Czech and German with 67.6% and Czech and English with 63.6%. The high score for Czech and French and Czech and German can be explained by a considerable number of expressions falling into sections e) and f) because if the percentage in these two sections is counted, the result is 56.3% for Czech and German expressions and 51.7% for Czech and French expressions.

5.2.4 Conclusion In conclusion, totally correspondent animal idioms confirm the hypothesis that there are more corresponding idioms within the group of Czech and German than Czech and English or Czech and French idioms. As far as partially correspondent animal idioms are concerned, the hypothesis is contradicted by one pair of languages—Czech and English idioms which show a higher level of partial correspondence (23.2%) than Czech and German idioms (14.6%). The hypothesis is confirmed for Czech and French where partial correspondence reaches 13.8%. 84

5 Idiom Analysis If total and partial animal correspondence of the three pairs of languages which affect the hypothesis is regarded as a whole, the outcome due to the percentage of Czech and English partially correspondent idioms is 36.4% for Czech and English corresponding animal idioms. Czech and German come in the second place because they only account for 32.4%. The least level of correspondence is among Czech and French animal idioms—26.5%. More correspondence is observed for English and German animal idioms (39.5%) and English and French animal idioms (38.2%). The figures and percentage in Table 6 signify that animal idioms collected in the corpus comprise a large amount of expressions characterized by non correspondence. To be exact, the percentage exceeds 60% in all language pairs. This indicates that far fewer animal idioms show correspondence, regardless whether it concerns total or partial correspondence.

5.3 Color Idioms The third group of idioms to be analyzed are idioms formed on the basis of colors. Similarly, as with both body and animal idioms, color idioms are divided into three tables—total, partial and non correspondence.

Table 7: Color idioms—total correspondence

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5 Idiom Analysis

5.3.1 Total Correspondence The first figures to be commented on are those presented in Table 7 which depicts the situation for totally correspondent color idioms. Color idioms represent the most numerous group of idioms in the corpus. Table 7 introduces totally correspondent color idioms. Although its sections were created analogously to Table 1 and Table 4 depicting totally correspondent body and animal idioms, it is apparent at first sight that Table 7 includes fewer sections. The basic division among 100% correspondence and overall correspondence remains preserved. The distinction lies in the subdivision of overall correspondence, its morphological part, to be precise. It only contains one section—different case. As can be observed from Table 7, as far as the hypothesis is concerned, Czech and German color idioms belonging to 100% correspondence reveal the highest percentage—22%. When Czech and English color idioms with 20.4% and Czech and French color idioms with 12.5% are added, the conclusion is that 100% correspondence substantiates the hypothesis. Moreover, if 100% correspondence is added to overall correspondence, the percentage obtained for total correspondence still remains in terms of confirming the hypothesis because Czech and German color idioms form 24.4%, Czech and English 22.4% and Czech and French 12.5%. To complete the overview of total correspondence, English and German color idioms are characterized by the highest percentage of all totally correspondent color idioms—29.3%. English and French color idioms account for 27.1%.

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5 Idiom Analysis

Table 8: Color idioms—partial correspondence

Table 7 thus revealed that all language pairs compared show total correspondence over 20% with the exception of Czech and French where the correspondence is only 12.5%.

5.3.2 Partial Correspondence Partial correspondence of color idioms is outlined in Table 8. As mentioned above, color idioms are less numerous than both body and animal idioms. Therefore when partial correspondence is analyzed, there are fewer sections into which color idioms fall. Two sections are maintained—a) one element different and b) different number of lexical expressions. Section c) different color is formed on the basis of analogy with body and animal idioms as well as section d) identical color, different lexical means. When data gathered in Table 8 are analyzed, the outcome contradicts the hypothesis. Czech and German partially correspondent color idioms demonstrate the lowest percentage of all partially correspondent color idioms— 9.8%. Both Czech and English and Czech and French color idioms show more correspondence—16.3% and 14.6% respectively. As for the two other pairs of languages, partial correspondence among color idioms is higher with English

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5 Idiom Analysis

Table 9: Color idioms—non correspondence

and German color idioms (19.5%) whereas English and French color idioms with 10.4% resemble more closely to Czech and German idioms.

5.3.3 Non correspondence Table 9 gives an overview of non correspondence in color idioms. The arrangement of the table is as organized into five sections—a) periphrasis, b) one-word expression, c) free combination, d) identical wording, no idioms and e) different wording, no idioms. All of them were explained either with Table 3 or Table 6 so no further comment on what is meant by them is provided here. The data provided by Table 9 indicate that similarly as animal idioms, color idioms show a high percentage of non correspondence which reaches over 60% in all pairs of languages compared, the only exception being English and German expressions manifesting 51.2% of non correspondence. To present the exact percentage of non correspondence—Czech and German demonstrate 65.9%, Czech and English 61.2%, Czech and French 72.9%, and English and French 62.5%. The high percentage in Czech and German expressions and Czech and French expressions is mainly due to a number of expressions belonging to sections d) and e). The two sections in the case of Czech and

88

5 Idiom Analysis German expressions account for 61% whereas in Czech and French the two sections represent 52.1%.

5.3.4 Conclusion To sum up, the data obtained from the analysis of color idioms undergirds the hypothesis’ validity for total correspondence where there is higher percentage of Czech and German idioms than the percentage of Czech and English or Czech and French color idioms. On the other hand, as far as partial correspondence is concerned, the result is opposite. Partial correspondence in color idioms contradicts the hypothesis because all compared pairs of languages are characterized by a higher percentage of partial correspondence than Czech and German where the percentage is 9.8%. If the percentage of partial correspondence is added to the percentage obtained in total correspondence, the results received are figures demonstrating that the hypothesis is contradicted by one pair of languages—Czech and English. Czech and English idioms show a higher level of correspondence (38.7%) than Czech and German idioms (34.2%). The hypothesis is confirmed for Czech and French color idioms where total and partial correspondence added together form 27.1%. The figures in Table 9 complete the analysis of color idioms by introducing percentage of expressions which do not demonstrate any correspondence. As can be observed from Table 9, all language pairs compared indicate that more than half of their expressions bear no correspondence. The percentage can reach as high as 72.9%, which is the case of Czech and French color expressions. On the other side lie English and German color expressions where 51.2% of expressions disagree. 89

6 Examination of Individual Examples

6 Examination of Individual Examples 6.1 Body Idioms The present chapter, related to the data introduced in the previous chapter and graphically summarized in its tables, is devoted to the study of body idioms. Its main focus is on partial correspondence although total correspondence is also mentioned. Last but not least, there is a note on non correspondence. Nevertheless, this notion is not studied extensively because this dissertation concentrates on correspondence. The chapter aims at analyzing in detail the sections described in the previous chapter, sections which form total and partial correspondence. Its attempt is to find some common features within the individual sections and thus further divide the idioms belonging into them. To illustrate the situation, a number of examples of idioms are introduced. However, not all idioms could be presented in this chapter because of being too numerous. Therefore it was decided to enumerate all the examples illustrating the individual subsections to bring a complete view of the division of idioms and for a complete list of idioms belonging to the particular sections see the appendices which include all idioms. As for the structure of this chapter, it is divided into the pairs of languages introduced in the previous chapters, the order remains identical to the one presented in the tables.

90


6.1.1 English and Czech Idioms 6.1.1.1 Total Correspondence a) 100% correspondence The nature of this section suggests that the idioms it contains are identical and it was decided to list them in the appendix only as there is nothing to be compared about them. This holds true for all sections bearing 100% correspondence. b) Overall correspondence Morphological deviation •

Different grammatical case or preposition, using reflexive verb in one language A number of idioms in this section revealed that Czech unlike English uses reflexive verbs.

save face zachovat si tvář to burn one’s fingers spálit si prsty

Syntactical deviation

to be in s’one’s blood mít něco v krvi (have) my heart was in my mouth/throat měl jsem srdce v krku (have)

6.1.1.2 Partial Correspondence a) Expressiveness versus neutrality The overall view demonstrates that Czech is more expressive than English which uses neutral expressions.

to do sth with one’s eyes closed/shut dokázat se zavřenýma očima 91


a big mouth velká huba to fall flat on one’s face spadnout rovnou na hubu

b) Using lexically different words but keeping the semantic meaning English—a verb indicating more active approach of the agent than Czech which suggests that the person is allowed to do something

to give s‘one a free hand/have a free hand nechat komu volnou ruku

English—a verb comprising the part of the body x Czech—a neutral verb; English—body part x Czech—no body part

to elbow s’one aside odstrčit stranou to keep one‘s head above water držet se nad vodou

English—expressive x Czech less expressive

to be dead on one’s feet sotva stát na nohou to keep one‘s eyes skinned/peeled mít oči otevřené to put one’s shoulder to the wheel přiložit ruku k dílu it is straight from the horse’s mouth je to z první ruky be a pain in the neck jít komu na nervy

English—less expressive x Czech more expressive

to be thick-skinned mít hroší kůži

English—neutral x Czech specific

to get out of hand vymknout se z ruky

92


to get sth into one’s head vzít si něco do hlavy to go to s’one‘s head stoupat/stoupnout komu do hlavy

English—concrete noun x Czech abstract noun

before/under s’one’s very eyes přímo před zraky koho brainchild duchovní dítě in my heart of hearts v hloubi duše/ podle mého nejhlubšího přesvědčení to force s’one’s hand vnutit komu svou vůli to have one’s eye on sth mít něco vyhlídnuté, dělat si zálusk to work one’s fingers to the bone dřít, pracovat do úpadu

English nominal phrase x Czech verbal phrase

out of sight, out of mind sejde z očí, sejde z mysli

English—modal verb x Czech—imperative

you shouldn’t look a gift-horse in the mouth darovanému koni na zuby nehleď

English and Czech both use an abstract expression but not an identical one

to read s’one’s mind x číst komu myšlenky

English idiom is based on prepositions in and out whereas Czech employs adverbs of place tam (there) and ven (out)

it goes in one ear and out the other jít jedním uchem tam a druhým ven

English verbal phrase ‘jump out of’ against the Czech ‘fly out of’

to jump out of one’s skin vyletět z kůže

English negative verbal expression x Czech positive verb 93


don’t waste your breath! šetři s dechem!/ nemluv do větru!

The concept of wall in English is expressed by the noun corner in Czech

to have one’s back to the wall být zahnaný do kouta

Where English has frog, Czech employs dumpling and although both expressions are figurative, Czech uses a feature which is considered typically Czech

to have a frog in one’s throat mít knedlík v krku, chraptět

The English pins and needles are in Czech expressed with an abstract noun formed from the noun ant.

to have pins and needles in one’s legs mít mravenčení, brnění v noze

The English idiom comprising a body part is opposed to the Czech idiom with no body part. In English a perfect knowledge of something is compared to the back of one’s hand and the Czech equivalent is one’s shoes

to know sth like the back of one’s hand znát něco jako svoje boty

c) Using a different lexical means for one element of the idiom Different body part

not to turn a hair nehnout ani brvou (eyelash) to snatch s’one from the jaws of death vyrvat ze spárů (tlamy, chřtánu) smrti (claws, mouth, throat) from head to toe/foot od hlavy k patě (heel) to have a delicate palate mít fajnový jazýček (little tongue)

Using a different expression

bone of contention jablko sváru (apple)

94


to keep a straight face zachovat vážnou/ kamennou tvář (stony) to put an idea into s’one’s head nasadit někomu brouka do hlavy (bug) poker face kamenná tvář, ledový obličej (stony, icy) to get off on the wrong foot vykročit levou nohou (left) to fall on s’one’s neck skočit komu na krk (jump)

English—more expressive than Czech

to stick one’s neck out riskovat krk (risk) to put one‘s hand to the plough přiložit ruku k dílu (work)

English—less expressive than Czech

to put one’s feet up dát si pauzu, nohy na stůl (to the table) to open one‘s heart vylít si srdce, svěřit se (empty, pour out)

English—concrete x Czech abstract

to play (a piece of music) by ear hrát podle sluchu (hearing) to have a nose for sth mít čich na něco (sense)

English—verb have x Czech—full verb

to have feet of clay stát na hliněných nohou (stand)

English verb—collocation with the noun x Czech verb—less figurative

not to lay a finger on s’one nedotknout se prstem, nezkřivit komu ani vlas (not to touch)

English—positive verb x Czech—negative verb

to keep one‘s head neztratit hlavu (not to lose) 95

6 Examination of Individual Examples d) Using hypernyms or hyponyms As for the use of hypernyms and hyponyms, there are several groups which can be revealed when analyzing Czech and English body idioms. The criterion which is selected is grouping the idioms into areas describing one body area. To start with, there is one idiom which applies bones in English and skeleton in Czech. Thus it can be regarded as an example of the category with bones which are a hypernym of the skeleton which is its hyponym.

the bare bones of sth hrubá kostra (skeleton)

However, unlike the previous example which was a single idiom, more examples can be grouped under one heading—idioms containing arm or its parts. As can be seen from the seven examples which follow, there are several idioms in English and Czech comprising either arm or hand or finger. There are three English idioms where the body part functions as a hypernym and four English idioms with body parts in the role of a hyponym. The two subgroups are presented below, starting with the former one. The examples demonstrate that the number of English idioms where the body part is a hypernym is almost identical with the number of English idioms where the body part is a hyponym. In English there exist idioms with finger as a hypernym (see to keep one‘s fingers crossed—držet palce/palec) and at the same time finger can be a hyponym e.g. in Get/pull your finger out!—Vytáhni ruce z kapes. Similarly, arm can also be a hypernym in English (to have a long arm—mít dlouhé prsty) or a hyponym (to keep s’one at arm’s length—držet si koho od těla).

to have a long arm mít dlouhé prsty, mít konexe (fingers) to keep one‘s fingers crossed/ to cross one’s fingers držet palce/palec (thumb)

96


to have a hand in sth mít prsty v čem (fingers) Get/pull your finger out! Vytáhni ruce z kapes, začni něco dělat! (hands) to have sth at one‘s fingertips mít něco v malíčku (little finger) to keep s’one at arm’s length držet si koho od těla (body) to be at s‘one’s elbow být po ruce (arm)

Another area of hyponyms is idioms which are connected with the eyesight. The two idioms concerning human eyes both demonstrate that English idioms when compared with Czech idioms employ eye as a hyponym.

to cherish s’one like the apple of s’one’s eye střežit koho jako oko v hlavě (eye in the head) to be eyeball to eyeball z očí do očí/tváří v tvář (eyes/face)

The following set of idioms is based around the key word head. As can be seen from all the examples head is present in all Czech idioms. English idioms contain more specific expressions and head in the Czech idioms bears the function of a hypernym.

to keep one‘s chin up držet hlavu vzhůru, nedat se (head) Chin up! Hlavu vzhůru! (head) to put a bug in one’s ear nasadit brouka do hlavy (head) to have a mind of one‘s own mít svou hlavu (head) to beat one’s brains lámat si hlavu to rack one’s brains lámat si hlavu (head)

97

6 Examination of Individual Examples Idioms belonging to the area of mouth provide one example of mouth used as a hypernym within English idioms (to keep one’s mouth shut—držet jazyk za zuby/ ústa) and one example where English employs jaw—a hyponym to the Czech mouth.

to keep one’s mouth shut držet jazyk za zuby/ ústa (tongue behind teeth) Hold your jaw! Drž hubu! (mouth)

e) Idioms possessing a different number of lexical expressions English idioms containing possessive pronouns

to fall/land on one’s feet dopadnout na nohy to have (got) both/ one’s feet (firmly) on the ground stát nohama na zemi to grit one’s teeth zatnout zuby to stand on one’s own (two) feet stát na vlastních nohou to have one‘s hands full with sth/s’one mít plné ruce práce s čím

Czech idioms possess some extra expression as opposed to English idioms

not to lift a finger ani nehnout prstem to breast the tape protnout hrudí cílovou pásku

Czech employs a more specific description

to hold one’s tongue držet jazyk za zuby

English idioms possess some extra expression as opposed to Czech idioms, English uses a more specific description

to have eyes in the back of one‘s head mít oči i vzadu

98


on the tip of one’s tongue na jazyku to bang one’s head against a brick wall jít hlavou proti zdi by word of mouth ústně to smite s’one under the fifth rib bodnout mezi žebra

English uses two body parts as opposed to one in Czech

to thumb one’s nose at s’one dělat dlouhý nos na koho to have a good head on one’s shoulders mít dobrou hlavu/ hlavu na pravém místě

Czech uses two body parts as opposed to one in English

to take to one’s legs vzít nohy na ramena to wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve mít srdce na dlani

Czech idiom does not use any body part

to have egg on one’s face být za blbce, vypadat hloupě

f) Grammatically different idioms English employs nominal expression whereas Czech uses verbal expression

that was a real eye opener to me otevřelo mi to oči to have a heart to heart talk with s’one promluvit si s někým od srdce

English uses a compound and Czech a two-word expression

by the handful plnýma rukama, štědře

An English noun versus a Czech adjective

to give sth the thumbs up dát čemu zelenou

99

6 Examination of Individual Examples An English verbonominal expression against a Czech verb

to get one’s teeth into sth zakousnout se to set/put foot somewhere vkročit, vstoupit

An English verb against a Czech verbonominal expression

to stab s’one in the back vrazit komu nůž do zad, dát ránu pod pás

English—noun against Czech where the body noun is missing and the English verb corresponds to a noun in Czech

to laugh on the other side of one‘s face přejde (tě) smích

g) The whole idiom is expressed with different lexical means English heart is matched by the Czech blood type

a man/woman after my own heart člověk mé krevní skupiny/podle mého gusta

English twiddling one’s thumbs is equivalent to Czech sitting with one’s hands in the lap

to twiddle one’s thumbs sedět s rukama v klíně

English foot in both camps is expressed in Czech as open door on both sides

to have a foot in both camps nechávat si otevřená dvířka na obě strany

English idiom containing face and nose is in Czech expressed with an idiomatic expression with no part of the body to foul one’s own nest

to cut off one’s nose to spite one’s face nadělat si do vlastního hnízda

The English idiom as well as the Czech idiomatic expression originated in the game of cards but each of them is describing the situation from a different point of view. English uses revealing hand whereas Czech laying cards. 100


to show/reveal one’s hand vyložit karty na stůl

English and Czech describing the relief when a burden disappears use different idioms. Although both languages use a figurative expression, English with its load off one’s mind is more abstract than Czech when employing a stone off one’s heart.

to be a weight/load off one‘s mind spadnout kámen ze srdce

English sealed lips are equivalent to the Czech idiom I am like a tomb.

my lips are sealed jsem jako hrob

Czech idiomatic expression with no body part as if talking to an oak tree is the equivalent to the English idiom with blood.

like getting blood from/out of a stone jako když mluví do dubu, spíš kámen by se ustrnul

h) Idiomatic expression using a different part of the body English employs eyes whereas Czech ears

to be up to one’s eyes in work být zavalený prací/po uši v práci

English uses a hyponym compared to Czech

to have one’s fingers all thumbs mít obě ruce levé

English uses more parts of the body than Czech

to fall head over heels in love with s’one zamilovat se až po uši

English heart is expressed in the Czech idiom as eyes

to cry/sob one’s heart out moci si oči vyplakat/ srdceryvně plakat

English neck versus Czech heels

101


to be on s’one’s neck být komu v patách

English throat against Czech hair

to be at each other’s throats vjet si do vlasů

English sore thumb is opposed to the Czech fist on the eye

to stick/stand out like a sore thumb být jako pěst na oko/ bít do očí

English heart versus Czech throat

to one’s heart’s content co hrdlo ráčí

English neck opposed to Czech back

to breathe down s’one’s neck být komu za zády

The neutral English nose is complemented by the expressive Czech trap

to rub s’one’s nose in sth omlátit o hubu

English cheek by jowl against the Czech side by side

cheek by jowl bok po boku, těsně vedle sebe

English uses a hypernym face whereas Czech is more specific when employing the hyponym eyes or nose

to be staring s’one in the face mít přímo na očích/ mít před nosem

English guts versus Czech blood

to slog/work/sweat one’s guts out potit krev/ makat jako barevnej

English hyponym hand is opposed to the Czech hypernym body

(to fight) hand to hand (bojovat) tělo na tělo

English over head and ears is the extension of the Czech over head 102


to be over head and ears in work / up to one’s ears in work mít práce nad hlavu

English leg versus Czech neck

Break a leg! Zlom vaz!

English teeth against Czech hair

to escape by the skin of one‘s teeth uniknout jen o vlásek/chlup

English blood versus Czech neck

to be after s‘one’s blood jít komu po krku

English head opposed to Czech stomach

to laugh one’s head off popadat se smíchy za břicho

English uses heels whereas Czech legs to shoulders

to take to one’s heels vzít nohy na ramena

English employs a part of the body—leg and Czech the whole body—skeleton

Shake a leg! Hejbni kostrou!

English lips are in Czech expressed by mouth

to button one’s lips zamknout pusu na zámek

English nose against Czech neck

to get up s‘one’s nose lézt krkem

English skin off my nose versus Czech veins

it is no skin off my nose to mi žíly netrhá

English thumb against Czech eye

103


by rule of thumb/by guess od oka/zkusmo

English employs hyponym teeth and Czech hypernym mouth

to lie through one‘s teeth lhát až se od pusy práší

English uses hip and thigh whereas the Czech idiom head non-head

to be beaten hip and thigh být zbit hlava nehlava

English lungs are opposed to Czech blood.

to cough one’s lungs up vykašlávat krev

English throat versus Czech stomach

to stick in s’one’s throat ležet komu v žaludku

i) Abstract expression contrasted with a concrete body part A concrete English noun tongue is in Czech expressed by an abstract noun speech

to lose one’s tongue ztratit řeč

6.1.1.3 Non Correspondence This group of English idioms does not contain any Czech idiomatic counterparts and the idioms therefore have to be described by other means—a periphrasis, a calque, a one-word expression or a free combination of lexemes. There could be traced some common features for these idioms and their counterparts but as the study is concerned with similarities and its main focus is on correspondence, these non-corresponding idioms are not dealt with in detail. Two subgroups of idioms which are substituted by means of periphrasis are presented to demonstrate that even non-corresponding idioms can reveal some characteristics which would be applied to more than one example.

104

6 Examination of Individual Examples a) Periphrasis Concrete English against abstract Czech

to catch s’one’s eye upoutat něčí pozornost to lose heart ztratit odvahu to turn a deaf ear to sth nechtít slyšet, ignorovat to fall on deaf ears vyznít na prázdno, zůstat nevyslyšen

English—verbonominal expression against Czech verbal expression

to make up one’s mind rozhodnout se to see eye to eye with s‘one rozumět si, mít stejný názor to have a sweet tooth rád mlsat, mít rád sladkosti to set one’s heart on sth (za)toužit po něčem

6.1.2 English and French Idioms 6.1.2.1 Total Correspondence b) Overall correspondence Compound The only example shows the tendency of French to express ideas by means of genitive rather than forming a compound which is found in English for this idiom.

brainwashing du lavage de cerveau

Morphological deviation •

The singular in one language against the plural in the other

105

6 Examination of Individual Examples Five out of six idioms contain a body part in singular in English and in plural in French. There are two idioms with foot/feet.

from head to toe/foot de la tête aux pieds to set/put foot somewhere mettre les pieds quelque part The only idiom with a part of the body in plural in English and in

singular in French is to beat one’s brains against the French se creuser/ casser le cerveau. •

Different grammatical case or preposition, using reflexive verb in one language In this section, there are three idioms which are expressed in French with the preposition to describing the person who is concerned about the action, i.e. the dative is used. English, on the other hand, uses no preposition, it employs the genitive.

•

to open s’one’s eyes ouvrir les yeux à qu’un to break s’one’s heart briser le coeur à qu’un to loosen s’one’s tongue délier la langue à qu’un

A different way of forming the corresponding part of speech The English verb including the part of the body corresponds to the French verbonominal expression where the part of the body is a noun and the verbal expression is a general verb push.

to elbow s’one aside écarter qu’un du coude

Syntactical deviation •

A different structure (accompanied by e.g. a different verb)

106


to be in s’one’s blood avoir cela dans le sang (have) to be nothing but skin and bone(s) n’avoir que la peau et les os (have) to be thick-skinned avoir la peau dure/une peau de rhinocéros (have) my heart was in my mouth/throat j’avais le coeur dans la gorge (have)

6.1.2.2 Partial Correspondence a) Expressiveness versus neutrality The overall view of all idioms in this section demonstrates that French is more expressive than English which uses neutral expressions. Although the expressiveness lies mainly in lexemes which are not parts of the body.

to fall/land on one’s feet retomber sur ses pattes/pieds (fall again) brain drain exode des cerveaux (exodus) to cry one’s eyes out pleurer toutes les larmes de ses yeux (all the tears of one‘s eyes) to grease s’one’s palm graisser la patte à qu’un (paw)

b) Using lexically different words but keeping the semantic meaning English—idiom comprising a body part (nominal part of the idiom in most cases) x French—no body part

to elbow one’s way se frayer un passage (make a way) to give sth the thumbs up donner le feu vert à qch (green light) to live from hand to mouth vivre au jour le jour (from a day to a day) to have one‘s hands full with sth/s’one avoir fort à faire (a lot to do) to be under s’one’s thumb être sous la domination de qu’un (domination) 107


to know sth like the back of one’s hand connaître qch comme sa poche (one’s pocket) to have a hand in sth être pour qch dans qch (be for something in something) to show/reveal one’s hand jouer cartes sur table (play cards on the table) to make money hand over fist ramasser l’argent à la pelle (pick by shovel) to look down one’s nose at s’one regarder qu’un de haut (from above) to get/have one‘s foot in the door faire le premier pas (do the first step)

French—expressive x English—less expressive

to be open-handed avoir le coeur sur la main (heart on the hand) to put an idea into s’one’s head mettre la puce à l’oreille de qu’un (flea in the ear) to kick/cool one’s heels faire le pied de grue (leg of a crane) to lie through one‘s teeth mentir comme un arracheur de dents (a teeth puller, person who pulls teeth) to fall flat on one’s face tomber face contre terre (face against the ground)

English—expressive x French—less expressive

to keep one‘s eyes skinned/peeled ouvrir l‘oeil (open the eye) to breathe down s’one’s neck talonner qu‘un (be at heels; the French verb is made of the noun heel)

English—abstract noun x French—concrete noun

out of sight, out of mind loin des yeux, loin du coeur (eyes, heart)

English—opposite concept than French; in this idiom English focuses on losing one’s heart, whereas French emphasizes offering or giving one’s heart to someone

108


to lose one’s heart donner son coeur à qu’un (give)

English—specific expression x French—general expression

to twist s’one’s arm faire la main à qu’un (do)

English employs an outside part of the body as opposed to French where getting on s’one’s nerves is used.

to get under s’one’s skin taper sur les nerfs à qu’un

c) Using a different lexical means for one element of the idiom Different body part

to snatch s’one from the jaws of death arracher qu’un des bras de la mort (arms)

Different nominal expression

bone of contention une pomme de discorde (apple) to put one’s foot in it mettre les pieds dans le plat (meal) to put a bug in one’s ear mettre la puce à l’oreille de qu’un (flea) to have a frog in one’s throat avoir un chat dans la gorge (cat) to put one‘s hand to the plough mettre la main à la pâte (dough) to wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve avoir le coeur sur les lèvres (lips)

Different verb

to go/come cap/hat in hand se présenter le bonnet à la main (appear) to jump out of one’s skin ne pas tenir dans sa peau (not to hold) to put on a brave/ good face faire bon visage (make)

Using an opposite expression 109


to win/beat s‘one hands down gagner haut la main (up)

d) Using hypernyms or hyponyms As for the use of hypernyms and hyponyms, there exist several groups which can be revealed when analyzing English and French body idioms. The criterion of the selection remains as with English and Czech idioms grouping according to body areas described. Three areas connected with human head were discovered and are analyzed below. They are followed by idioms grouped around human hand. The first group includes idioms containing head. Two English idioms can be considered variants of semantically identical idiom, there is alternation of the verb—to get/beat sth into one’s head. The noun head functions here as a hypernym of the noun skull which is used in French. Similarly, head is a hypernym in to go to s’one‘s head whose French counterpart contains the noun brain. On the other hand, the corpus of idioms collected includes two idioms where head is used in French as the counterpart for the English hyponym brain—to rack one’s brain(s), to have sth on the brain.

to get sth into one’s head s’enfoncer qch dans le crâne to beat sth into s’one’s head s’enfoncer qch dans le crâne to go to s’one‘s head monter au cerveau à qu’un to rack one’s brain(s) se casser la tête to have sth on the brain avoir qch en tête

The following group of idioms could be sorted within the previous area of head described above but since it contains a specific area of head—mouth, it is treated separately. Mouth works as a hypernym in the first two idioms—you shouldn’t 110

6 Examination of Individual Examples look a gift-horse in the mouth, to keep one’s mouth shut. French uses tooth in the former idiom and tongue in the latter. The English hyponym tooth is employed as a counterpart to the French noun mouth.

you shouldn’t look a gift-horse in the mouth à cheval donné on ne regarde pas la dent to keep one’s mouth shut tenir sa langue to have a sweet tooth avoir la bouche sucrée

Thirdly, three more idioms including eyes and face are presented. The English hypernym face is used for the French nose in the idiom to laugh in s‘one’s face. Then the hyponym eye/eyeball is employed for the French noun face/head.

to laugh in s‘one’s face rire au nez de qu’un to be eyeball to eyeball être face à face/tête à tête to be up to one’s eyes in work avoir du travail par-dessus la tête

The last area of the human body in this section concentrates on fingers or hand. There are two idioms where finger (not to lift a finger, to have green fingers) in English is a hypernym to the French little finger and thumb respectively.

not to lift a finger ne pas remuer le petit doigt to have green fingers avoir le pouce vert

The noun thumb in the English idiom to have a green thumb functions as a hyponym when contrasted with the French noun hand. The English idiom containing the hyponym hand corresponds to the French body.

to have a green thumb avoir la main verte (to fight) hand to hand (combattre) corps à corps 111

6 Examination of Individual Examples e) Idioms possessing a different number of lexical expressions English idioms contain possessive pronouns unlike the French idioms where there are no possessives used

to bring s’one to his/her knees mettre qu’un à genoux s’one’s right hand un bras droit

French uses two body parts as opposed to one in English

to do sth under s’one’s (very) nose faire qch au nez et à la barbe de qu’un (nose and beard) to take to one’s legs prendre ses jambes à son cou (legs to one’s neck) to curl one’s hair à te faire dresser les cheveux sur la tête (hair on the head)

English employs two body parts whereas French only one

to be over head and ears in work avoir du travail par-dessus la tête (over head)

French does not use any body part

to keep a straight face garder son sérieux to make s’one’s blood boil faire bouillir qu’un (make someone boil)

French is more expressive

to feel sth in one’s bones sentir qch dans tous ses os (all one’s bones) to keep one‘s head garder toute sa tête (all one’s head)

English uses more lexical expressions than French

to ride at a break-neck pace aller au casse-cou

French employs more lexical expressions than English

to sweat blood suer sang et eau (water) 112


new blood un apport de sang frais (bringing) to make eyes at s’one faire les yeux doux/de velours à qu’un (nice/ velvet) to split hairs couper les cheveux en quatre (in four) to get up s‘one’s nose faire monter la moutarde au nez (mustard)

f) Grammatically different idioms English uses a verbonominal expression as opposed to a verbal expression in French

that was a real eye opener to me ça m‘a ouvert les yeux (opened) to be hot on s’one’s heels talloner qu’un (a verb made of the noun heel) to tear s’one limb from limb démembrer (a verb made of the noun limb) to raise one’s eyebrows at sth sourciller (a verb made of the noun eyebrow)

English employs a compound whereas French two lexemes

by the handful à pleines mains (full hands)

g) The whole idiom is expressed with different lexical means English applies a figurative expression based on the human body. The core of the French idiom, on the other hand, lies in the animal world—wings are used as the counterpart to feet.

to stand on one’s own (two) feet voler de ses propres ailes (fly on one’s own wings)

Similarly, the human body is used in English and an animal in the corresponding French idiom in the example which follows. Although the English idiom even if it contains the noun hand might refer to the animal world as well.

113


to eat out of s’one’s hand obéir qu’un comme un chien (obey someone like a dog)

The next lines introduce English idioms which have French counterparts containing different parts of the human body.

turn up one’s nose faire la petite bouche (make a little mouth) to dig/poke s’one in the ribs pousser qu’un du coude (push s’one by an elbow) to one’s heart’s content à bouche que veux-tu (to a mouth as you wish) to face the music tenir tête à l‘orage (keep head against storm) to be run/rushed off one’s feet ne plus savoir où donner de la tête (not to know where to put one’s head) to ram sth down s’one’s throat rebattre les oreilles à qu’un (to beat again s’one‘s ears)

Other idioms in this section are not grouped under any heading as they are individual idioms which do not demonstrate a common feature. Two idioms are listed below to illustrate this statement.

to be wet behind the ears être encore bleu (to be blue yet) to be dressed up to the teeth être sur son trente et un (to be on one’s thirty-one)

h) Idiomatic expression using a different part of the body

to be soaked/ drenched to the skin être mouillé/trempé jusqu’aux os (bones) to bite one’s tongue se mordre les lèvres (lips) that turns my stomach! ça soulève le coeur! (heart) to have a sharp tongue avoir la dent dure (hard tooth) don’t waste your breath! épargne ta salive! (saliva)

114


to save one’s neck sauver sa peau (skin) to stick one’s neck out risquer sa tête (head) I‘ll have your guts for garters! J’aurai ta peau! (skin) to drag one’s heels se faire tirer l’oreille (ear) be a pain in the neck être un casse-pieds (feet) to be on s’one’s neck être sur le dos de qu’un (back) to be at each other’s throats se manger le nez (to eat the nose) cheek by jowl côte à côte (side) to be at s‘one’s elbow être sous la main (under the hand) Break a leg! Casse le cou! (neck) to escape by the skin of one‘s teeth échapper d’un cheveu/ poil (hair) to cost an arm and a leg coûter la peau des fesses/ les yeux de la tête (skin of one’s backside/ eyes of the head) to keep one’s hand in garder un pied dans qch (foot) to talk one’s head off rompre les oreilles à qu’un (break ears) to take to one’s heels prendre ses jambes à son cou (legs to one’s neck) to give s’one a leg up donner un coup de main à qu’un (hand) to pay through the nose payer quelque chose les yeux de la tête (eyes of the head) My foot! Mon oeil! (eye) to have guts avoir de l’estomac/du coeur au ventre (stomach/heart in the stomach)

115


to get s‘one by the short hairs tenir le couteau sur la gorge à qu‘un (hold a knife at s’one’s throat) to be out for s’one’s neck vouloir la peau de de qu’un (skin)

6.1.2.3 Non Correspondence a) Periphrasis English concrete whereas French abstract expression

to keep one‘s ear to the ground être aux écoutes (hearing) not to lay a finger on s’one ne pas toucher (touch) to have one’s eye on sth avoir qch en vue (view) to have brains être intelligent (intelligent) with an eye to en vue de (view)

6.1.3 Czech and German Idioms 6.1.3.1 Total Correspondence b) Overall correspondence Compound The two instances of idioms in this section prove the fact that compounds are common for German but not for Czech nor English.

být uzlíček nervů ein Nervenbündel sein (to be a bundle of nerves) mít vosí pas eine Wespentaille haben (to have a wasp waist)



116

6 Examination of Individual Examples There is no tendency towards any general trend in this category because only two examples of idioms were found within the corpus and one of them uses a singular noun in Czech against a plural one in German and with the other example the situation is opposite. Hence it could be said that the following idioms are isolated instances in the total number of 399 Czech and German body idioms. •

hrát komu na ruku (hand) jdm. in die Hände spielen (to play into s‘one’s hands) zavírat nad něčím oči (eyes) bei etwas eine Auge zudrücken (to turn a blind eye to/on sth)

A diminutive in one language There is only one idiom which employs a diminutive in Czech but not in German although it should be noted that the corresponding idiom in German is in the form of a compound.

•

obličej jako měsíček (a face like a little moon) Mondgesicht (moon face)

Change in word order Similarly, there exists only one example of an idiom which is characterized by a changed word order in Czech as opposed to German. It should be remarked that Czech idiom differs in this respect not only from the German one but also from the English and French idioms which have an identical word order as German.

•

být kost a kůže (bone and skin) nur noch Haut und Knochen sein (skin and bone)

A different way of forming the corresponding part of speech The

Czech verb is

a

simple

one-word expression and is

complemented by the German verbal component which is made of the verb make and the adjective dirty.

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špinit si ruce čím (dirty) sich mit etwas die Hände schmutzig machen (make dirty)


A different structure (accompanied by e.g. a different verb) Czech the verb have against the German verb be

mít nohy do X (have) X-beinig sein (to be x-legged) mít nohy do O (have) O-beinig sein (to be o-legged) Czech verbal expression versus non-verbal expression, i.e. nominal

expression in German

sejde z očí, sejde z mysli (departs from eyes, departs from mind) aus den Augen, aus dem Sinn (out of eyes, out of mind) Czech verb be as opposed to German full verb come

být znovu na nohou (be again on one’s legs) wieder auf die Beine kommen (come) Czech employs the verb have whereas German uses a more expressive

verb beat

měl jsem srdce v krku (I had) mir schlug das Herz bis zum Hals (the heart beat)

6.1.3.2 Partial Correspondence a) Expressiveness versus neutrality The overall view of all idioms in this section demonstrates that German is more expressive than Czech which uses neutral expressions. Although, similarly as it was the case with French and English idioms, the expressiveness lies solely in lexemes which are not parts of the body, especially in verbs. The only exception is the adjective soaked used in the idiom where Czech is more expressive than German which applies wet in this idiom.

118


být promoklý až na kůži (soaked) bis auf die Haut nass sein (wet)

Only one idiom out of those where the expressiveness is demonstrated by a change in verb is more expressive in Czech than in German.

dokázat se zavřenýma očima (manage) etwas mit geschlossenen Augen machen (do)

The following examples prove our statement that the German language in this section is more expressive than the neutral verbs used in Czech.

být v něčem až po krk (be) bis über den Hals in etwas stecken (be stuck) zobat komu z ruky (peck) jdm. aus der Hand fressen (devour) dát hlavy dohromady (put) seine Köpfe zusammenstecken (pin together) jít hlavou proti zdi (go) mit dem Kopf gegen die Wand rennen (run)

b) Using lexically different words but keeping the semantic meaning This section heads a number of different idioms the status of which makes it almost impossible to draw any general conclusions. The attempt of sorting them can be seen in the following lines nevertheless it has to be stated that there were no numerous categories found and all the examples provided illustrate the category on their own. This probably is due to the whole character of this category which encompasses idioms with unchanged meaning but different lexical representation. Using a different body part and a different verb

mít srdce na dlani (to have the heart on the palm) das Herz auf der Zunge tragen (to wear the heart on the tongue)

Czech is more expressive than German

pouštět si hubu na špacír (let one’s trap ramble) das Maul aufreißen (open the trap)

119

6 Examination of Individual Examples German employs a compound

mít hroší kůži (to have a skin of a hippopotamus) dickfellig sein (to be thick-skinned)

German uses a body part, Czech employs a completely different set of lexemes

jsem jako hrob (I am like a tomb) meine Lippen sind versiegelt (my lips are sealed)

Czech applies an abstract expression whereas German a concrete one

mít něco vyhlídnuté (to watch for) auf etwas ein Auge geworfen haben (to have cast an eye)

Czech uses a concrete expression unlike German which uses an abstract expression

obrátit se ke komu zády (to turn one’s back to s’one) jdn. im Stich lassen (to leave s’one in pickle) vtlouct komu co do hlavy (to beat something into the head) jdm. etwas eintrichtern (German verb meaning to use the funnel to get something into the head)

Some other examples

nasadit brouka do hlavy (to put a bug in the head) jdm einen Floh ins Ohr setzen (to put a flea in the ear) být jako pěst na oko (to be like a fist on the eye) das springt einem direkt ins Auge (it jumps to one straight in the eye)

c) Using a different lexical means for one element of the idiom There are four idioms in this section and no general conclusion can be drawn upon them even if one of them differs in the adjective used (the Czech idiom totally corresponds to the English one) whereas the three remaining ones show that German is a bit more specific than Czech because it employs a more concrete expression.

nová krev (new) frisches Blut (fresh)

Next come three idioms which are more figurative in German than in Czech.

120


dělat oči (eyes) jdm. schöne Augen machen (nice eyes) mít prsty v čem (fingers in sth) seine Finger im Spiel haben (fingers in the play) mít knedlík v krku (dumpling) einen Frosch im Hals haben (frog)

d) Using hypernyms or hyponyms Among the five idioms in this group there does not prevail any language which could be characterized as using either hypernyms or hyponyms in contrast with the other language compared. There are three examples where Czech employs hypernyms and two with hyponyms. The last example is connected with animal idioms as far as hypernyms and hyponyms are concerned, the key noun brain is kept in both idioms.

tváří v tvář (face to face) Auge in Auge (eye to eye) střežit koho jako oko v hlavě (eye) jdm. wie seinen Augapfel hüten (eyeball) mít ptačí mozek (bird brain) ein Spatzenhirn haben (sparrow brain)

Follow the two idioms where Czech uses hyponyms.

mít dlouhé prsty (long fingers) einen langen Arm haben (long arm) od hlavy k patě (to heel) von Kopf bis Fuß (to foot)

e) Idioms possessing a different number of lexical expressions Czech employs one body part whereas German two

Zlom vaz! (break a neck) Hals- und Beinbruch! (break a neck and a leg)

Czech uses a body part as opposed to German with no body part

vrazit komu nůž do zad (knife in the back) jdm. einen Dolchstoss von hinten versetzen (stab with dagger)

German employs a body part unlike Czech 121


odstrčit stranou (to set aside) jdm. mit den Ellenbogen zur Seite stoβen (to set aside with elbows)

German uses more lexical expressions than Czech Although the following idiom is specific as there are two variants of idiomatic expressions in Czech which correspond to the English idiom to make s’one’s blood boil and the combination of these would create the German idiom.

zpěnit krev, přivést do varu (to foam blood, to bring to boil) jdm. das Blut in Wallung bringen (to bring s’one’s blood to boil) stát nohama na zemi (legs) mit beiden Beinen (fest) auf der Erde stehen (both legs)

Czech uses more lexical expressions than German

mít co v krvi od narození (to have sth in blood since birth) etwas im Blut haben (to have sth in blood)

f) Grammatically different idioms Czech employs a noun and German an adjective

mít srdce ze zlata (heart of gold) ein goldenes Herz haben (golden heart)

Czech positive verb is contrasted with a different German negative verb

mít v hlavě (to have in the head) jdm. nicht aus dem Kopf gehen (not to go out of head)

Czech uses the noun have as opposed to the German full verb

mít brnění v noze (to have prickle in the leg) die Beine kribbeln (the legs prickle)

Czech verb have against German be

mít dobrou hlavu (to have a good head) ein kluger Kopf sein (to be a clever head)

g) The whole idiom is expressed with different lexical means This section groups idioms which vary in Czech and German. Their number is not high, there are six of them and three examples are introduced below to illustrate that they are individual occurrences. 122

6 Examination of Individual Examples Czech uses an abstract expression as opposed to a concrete noun in German

chopit se (to grasp) Jdm./etwas in die Hand nehmen (to take in the hand)

Czech idiom contains a body part, German idiom is formed with no body part

vyletět z kůže (fly out of the skin) aus dem Häuschen geraten (to get out of the little house)

Both Czech and German use a body part but each of them a different one

člověk mé krevní skupiny (of my blood type) ein Mann/eine Frau ganz nach meinem Herzen (exactly according to my heart)

h) Idiomatic expression using a different part of the body A number of idioms in this section contain a part of the body connected with head and its various parts. These idioms are introduced on the following lines

darovanému koni na zuby nehleď (teeth) einem geschenkten Gaul schaut man nicht ins Maul (mouth) zvednout obočí (eyebrow) die Stirn runzeln (forehead) spadnout rovnou na hubu (on the mouth) auf die Nase fallen (on the nose) mít fajnový jazýček (little tongue) einen empfindlichen Gaumen haben (palate) prát se zuby nehty (teeth nails) bis aufs Blut kämpfen (to blood) zachránit si krk (neck) seinen Kopf retten (head) riskovat krk (neck) seinen Kopf riskieren (head) držet jazyk za zuby (tongue behind teeth) den Mund halten (mouth) mít přímo na očích/ mít před nosem (eyes/nose) klar auf der Hand liegen (hand) udělat něco přímo pod nosem (nose) etwas vor jds. Augen tun (eyes)

123


omlátit o hubu (mouth) jdm. etwas dauernd unter die Nase reiben (nose) mít práce nad hlavu (over the head) bis zum Hals in Arbeit sein (up to the neck) co hrdlo ráčí (throat) nach Herzenslust (heart)

The next four idioms which are characterized by the use of a different body part employ either back or shoulder.

poplácat koho po zádech (back) jdm. auf die Schulter klopfen (shoulder) být komu za zády (back) jdm. im Nacken sitzen (nape) vzít nohy na ramena (legs to the shoulders) die Beine in die Hand nehmen (legs to the hand) nechat koho vyplakat se na rameni (shoulder) jdm. anbieten sich an jds. Brust ausweinen (breast)

The two idioms which follow are separate because they represent body parts which do not comply with any of the categories stated above—either head or back.

cítit co v kostech (bones) etwas im Urin spüren (urine) křičet z plných plic (lungs) schreien aus vollem Halse (throat)

i) Abstract expression contrasted with a concrete body part Two out of the three idioms in this section demonstrate that Czech uses an abstract expression whereas German a concrete part of the body. The reverse can be said about the third example—a concrete body part in Czech corresponds to an abstract expression in German.

přímo před zraky koho (eyesight) direkt vor seinen Augen (eyes) mít čich na něco (sense of smell) eine Nase für etwas haben (nose)

124


říct, co má člověk na srdci (heart) sich etwas von der Seele reden (soul)

6.1.3.3 Non Correspondence Calque

odliv mozků Braindrain

6.1.3.4 Non Idiomatic Expressions Apart from non correspondence, it was necessary to distinguish non idiomatic expressions as well. There is a strict dividing line between non correspondence and non idiomatic expressions. The former includes instances where an idiom in one language is complemented by an expression in the other language which is not idiomatic. The latter encompasses examples where neither of the two languages compared uses an idiom. This situation stems from the fact that the corpus of idioms was created with English as the source language. As a result, there were examples where there exists no idiomatic counterpart either in Czech, French or German to the English idiom. Consequently, when comparing either Czech and German or Czech and French expressions if none of the counterparts of the English idioms in these languages was of idiomatic nature, they were sorted within the group of non-idiomatic expressions. Therefore the expressions in this group are not idioms and thus they cannot be compared for the purpose of the study. But it was decided to indicate their presence in order to have a complete picture of the way languages such as Czech, French and German deal with not possessing any idiomatic counterparts to some English idioms. The total amount of these non idiomatic expressions in Czech and German is 113.

125


6.1.4 Czech and French Idioms 6.1.4.1 Total Correspondence b) Overall correspondence Morphological deviation •

The singular in one language against the plural in the other There are seven instances of idioms which employ singular in one language and plural in the other language compared. But since four of them use singular in Czech and plural in French and three possess a body part in plural in Czech and in singular in French, it does not lead to any conclusion or prove any general tendency in any of the two languages contrasted here. Nor can it be said that a particular body part would be used solely in plural or singular in one language because as it can be seen from the examples which follow e.g. the noun eye is twice used in plural in Czech and next to it there is one occurrence of it in singular as well.

přelétnout očima (eyes) jeter un coup d’oeil à/sur qch (eye) mít oči otevřené (eyes) ouvrir l‘oeil (eye) lahodit oku (eye) être un plaisir pour les yeux (eyes) The two examples below introduce a body part noun in singular in

Czech and plural in French.

vymknout se z ruky (hand) échapper des mains (hands) otočit se na na patě (heel) tourner les talons (heels) být jedno ucho (ear) être tout oreilles (ears)

126

6 Examination of Individual Examples The last example is an idiom with a plural body part noun in Czech and singular in French. •

darovanému koni na zuby nehleď (teeth) à cheval donné on ne regarde pas la dent (tooth)

Different grammatical case or preposition Three idioms in this group are formed in Czech by the use of preposition which is not present in French. The fourth example introduces an instance of a different preposition and a different case at the same time.

•

spustit z čeho oči (eyes fom sth) quitter qch des yeux (sth of eyes) ukázat na koho prstem (at s’one with a finger) montrer qu’un du doigt (s’one with a finger) kousat se do rtů (in the lips) se mordre les lèvres (lips) po ruce (at hand) sous la main (under the hand)

A diminutive in one language The number of idioms in this section is probably very low to judge them as a proportional sample of the use of diminutives in Czech and French. Although they definitely demonstrate that diminutives are more used in Czech than in French.

•

obličej jako měsíček (little moon) une face de lune (moon) uniknout o vlásek (little hair) échapper d’un cheveu (hair)

Change in word order There is only one occurrence of an idiom in this group. The order of the two items in this idiom is reversed in Czech as opposed to the French idiom which corresponds to the order in the English original.

127

6 Examination of Individual Examples •

být kost a kůže (bone and skin) n’avoir que la peau et les os (skin and bones)

A different way of forming the corresponding part of speech A simple Czech verb is matched by a verbonominal expression in French which is composed of the noun foot indicating the part of the body and the general verb put. The Czech verb implies the part of the body even if it is not mentioned directly.

šlápnout vedle (step) mettre un pied de travers (put a foot)


A different structure (accompanied by e.g. a different verb) Czech verb stand against the French verb have

stát nohama na zemi (stand) avoir bien les pieds sur terre (have) stát na hliněných nohou (stand) avoir des pieds d’argile (have) French employs an emphasizing structure ne que (no one but) thus the

French expression is negative in form whereas Czech uses a straightforward positive expression

má oči jen pro ni (he has eyes only for her) il n’a d’yeux que pour elle (he has eyes for no one but her) French unlike Czech uses the part of the body as the subject, in Czech

it is not expressed directly, it is it but the subject is not mentioned in the idiom

jistě vám zvonilo v uších les oreilles ont dû vous tinter (ears)

128

6 Examination of Individual Examples 6.1.4.2 Partial Correspondence a) Expressiveness versus neutrality The idioms in this section represent only 1% of body idioms in Czech and French and therefore it would be premature to draw any general conclusions about the two languages in terms of expressiveness. Still, it can be said that three of the four idioms manifest expressiveness in Czech and only one in French. The expressiveness concerns verbs in three cases and a noun in the fourth example. The idioms demonstrating expressiveness in Czech are presented first.

dokázat se zavřenýma očima (manage) faire qch les yeux fermés (do) srazit koho na kolena (knock down) mettre qu’un à genoux (put) spadnout rovnou na hubu (trap) tomber face contre terre (face)

Follows the only instance which shows that French employs an expressive verb whereas Czech a neutral one.

říct, co má člověk na srdci (say) déballer ce qu’on a sur le coeur (unwrap)

b) Using lexically different words but keeping the semantic meaning Both Czech and French use some part of the body but it is a different part of the body in each of the two languages. The reason why these idioms are sorted into this category and not into section h which heads idiomatic expression using a different part of the body is that these idioms employ not only a different body part but also their wording or structure differs. Idioms belonging to section h, on the other hand, differ solely in the part of the body.

ohrnovat nos (turn up one’s nose) faire la petite bouche (make a little mouth) 129


sedět s rukama v klíně (sit with hands in the lap) se tourner les pouces (to turn the thumbs) nasadit brouka do hlavy (bug in the head) mettre la puce à l’oreille de qu’un (flea in the ear) mít něco v malíčku (little finger) savoir qch sur le bout du doigt (the end of the finger) být po uši v práci (up to the ears) avoir du travail par-dessus la tête (over the head) vjet si do vlasů (to get into the hair) se manger le nez (eat one’s nose) omlátit o hubu (mouth) mettre le nez dedans à qu’un (nose) být jedna ruka s kým (hand) être comme les doigts de la main (fingers of the hand) lézt krkem (throat) faire monter la moutarde au nez (nose)

Czech employs a body part but French while remaining figurative uses an expression from the animal world.

stát na vlastních nohou (stand on one’s own feet) voler de ses propres ailes (fly on one’s own wings) zobat komu z ruky (hand) obéir qu’un comme un chien (dog)

Czech uses a body part whereas French a different expression

nechat komu volnou ruku (free hand) avoir carte blanche (white card) žít z ruky do úst (from hand to mouth) vivre au jour le jour (from day to day) mít hlavu v oblacích (head in the clouds) être dans la lune (on the moon)

Czech idiom is formed with a body part in the nominal form whereas its French counterpart is a verbal expression containing the part of the body and the part of the body is not identical

nehnout ani brvou (eyelash) faire quleque chose sans sourciller (verb meaning moving an eyebrow)

130


být komu za zády (back) talonner qu‘un (verb meaning be in s’one’s heels)

Both Czech and French employ an identical part of the body but they differ in the lexical expressions which form the idioms and as can be seen from the two examples which follow, Czech verb have corresponds to the French verb be in some of these idioms

mít oči na stopkách être tout yeux mít obě ruce levé être maladroit de ses mains mít hlavu na pravém místě (head in the right place) avoir la tête bien sur les épaules (head on the shoulders)

Czech uses an abstract expression whereas French a concrete one

přímo před zraky koho (eyesight) juste sous les yeux de qu’un (eyes)

Czech verbonominal expression is matched by French nominal expression

sejde z očí, sejde z mysli (comes out of eyes, comes out of mind) loin des yeux, loin du coeur (far from eyes, far from heart)

Czech negative verb is in contrast with the French positive verb while they introduce identical concept

neztratit hlavu (not to lose head) garder toute sa tête (keep all one’s head)

c) Using a different lexical means for one element of the idiom Czech uses a different body part than French

vzít nohy na ramena (legs to the shoulders) prendre ses jambes à son cou (one’s legs to one’s neck) mít srdce na dlani (the heart on the palm) avoir le coeur sur les lèvres (the heart on the lips)

Czech employs a different nominal expression than French

mít nervy ze železa (iron) avoir des nerves d’acier (steel)

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mt nohy do O (into O) avoir les jambes en parenthèses (into parentheses) mít knedlík v krku (dumpling) avoir un chat dans la gorge (cat) přiložit ruku k dílu (work) mettre la main à la pâte (pastry)

Some other examples

jít komu na nervy (go) taper sur les nerfs à qu’un (to tap) dělat dlouhý nos na koho (long nose) faire un pied de nez à qu’un (a foot of nose) vyletět z kůže (fly out) ne pas tenir dans sa peau (not to hold) mít oči i vzadu (at the back) avoir les yeux derrière la tête (behind the head)

d) Using hypernyms or hyponyms As far as the use of hypernyms and hyponyms is concerned, there exist three groups which can be revealed when analyzing Czech and French body idioms. The criterion of the selection remains similarly as it was the case with English and Czech idioms and English and French idioms grouping them according to body areas described. The three areas discovered are connected with human head, legs and arms. Their analysis follows. The first group includes idioms containing head or its parts. This group heads five idioms. What can be seen from all five idiomatic expressions is the fact that the body parts in Czech are hypernyms.

smát se komu do obličeje (face) rire au nez de qu’un (nose) vzít si něco do hlavy (head) s’enfoncer qch dans le crâne (skull) stoupnout komu do hlavy (head) monter au cerveau à qu’un (brain) vtlouct komu co do hlavy (head) s’enfoncer qch dans le crâne (skull) 132


střežit koho jako oko v hlavě (eye in the head) garder qu’un comme la prunelle de ses yeux (pupil of one’s eyes)

The second group covers idioms which contain human arm or some of its parts. They are less numerous than the idioms in the preceding group. As opposed to the previous group, the Czech lexemes denoting the parts of the body represent (with the exception of the fourth example) hyponyms. The Czech nouns thumbs and fingers in the first two idioms are hyponyms whereas finger in the fourth idiom is a hypernym.

držet palce (thumbs) croiser les doigts (fingers) mít dlouhé prsty (fingers) avoir le bras long (arm) mít srdce na dlani (palm) avoir le coeur sur la main (hand) ani nehnout prstem (finger) ne pas remuer le petit doigt (little finger)

Thirdly, there are two idioms based around feet in French. Nevertheless, the role of the French noun feet is reverse in the two examples—it designates a hyponym in the first case and a hypernym in the second instance.

dopadnout na nohy (legs) retomber sur ses pieds (feet) od hlavy k patě (heel) de la tête aux pieds (feet)

e) Idioms possessing a different number of lexical expressions Czech idiom contains more lexical expressions than the French idiom

mít co v krvi od narození (since birth) avoir qch dans le sang pevně v rukou (tightly) en main držet jazyk za zuby (behind the teeth) tenir sa langue

French possesses more lexical expressions

133


potit krev (blood) suer sang et eau (blood and water) vyplakat si oči (eyes) pleurer toutes les larmes de ses yeux (all the tears of one’s eyes) strkat nos (nose) fourrer son nez partout (nose everywhere) cítit co v kostech (bones) sentir qch dans tous ses os (all one’s bones) udělat něco přímo pod nosem (under the nose) faire qch au nez et à la barbe de qu’un (at the nose and beard) na jazyku sur le bout de la langue (on the tip of the tongue) promluvit si s někým od srdce parler à coeur ouvert avec qu’un (with open heart)

f) Grammatically different idioms Czech verbonominal expression corresponds to French verbal expression. Three idioms in this section can be characterized by an identical structure. What is meant by that is the fact that these three idioms which are presented below are in French formed by means of a verb which includes in itself the body part in question. Therefore French employs one-word expressions which match Czech expressions formed on the basis of a noun indicating the body part.

být těsně v patách (to be in the heels) talloner qu’un (verb meaning to be in the heels) nehnout ani brvou (not to move an eyelash) ne pas broncher (verb meaning not to move) zvednout obočí (raise eyebrow) sourciller (verb meaning raise eyebrow)

Czech verb have against French verb be

mít před nosem (have) être devant le nez de qu’un (be)

g) The whole idiom is expressed with different lexical means Czech uses a different body part than French

134


dloubnout koho do žeber (dig s’one in the ribs) pousser qu’un du coude (push s’one with the elbow) jít komu po krku (go after s’one’s neck) vouloir la peau de qu’un (want s’one’s skin) popadat se smíchy za břicho (catch one’s belly with laughter) se fendre la gueule (to tear one’s mouth) vtloukat co do hlavy (to beat sth to s’one’s head) rebattre les oreilles à qu’un (to beat again s’one’s ears) od oka (by eye) à vue de nez (at nose’s view) mít koho v hrsti (to have s’one in the palm) tenir le couteau sur la gorge à qu‘un (to hold the knife at s’one’s throat)

Czech employs a body part whereas in French there is no part of the body

mít plné ruce práce s čím (to have hands full with work) avoir fort à faire (to have a lot to do) utrhnout komu hlavu (to tear off s’one’s head) passer un savon à qu’un (to pass a soap to s’one) bít do očí (to beat in the eyes) cela va ensemble comme un tablier à une vache (that goes together like an apron to a cow)

h) Idiomatic expression using a different part of the body As can be seen from the examples of idioms below, the majority of them are connected with human head or some of its parts in Czech. Some of these remain within the scope of human head in French as well although the matching part of the body is different. This is apparent e.g. in the idiom mít ostrý jazyk (tongue) and its French counterpart avoir la dent dure (tooth). Next to these instances, there are occurrences where the part of the body is distant. An example illustrating this statement is the idiom vyrvat ze chřtánu smrti (throat) which corresponds to the French idiom arracher qu’un des bras de la mort (arms).

v potu tváře (at the sweat of one’s face) à la sueur de son front (at the sweat of one’s forehead) vyrvat ze chřtánu smrti (to tear out of the throat of death) arracher qu’un des bras de la mort (to tear out of the arms of death)

135


co hrdlo ráčí (as the throat pleases) à bouche que veux-tu (as the mouth pleases) zachránit si krk (save one’s neck) sauver sa peau (save one’s skin) riskovat krk (risk one’s neck) risquer sa tête (risk one’s head) mít ostrý jazyk (to have a sharp tongue) avoir la dent dure (to have a hard tooth) mít fajnový jazýček (to have a fine little tongue) avoir le palais fin (to have a fine palate) šetři s dechem! (save your breath) épargne ta salive! (save your saliva) z toho se mi zvedá žaludek (that turns my stomach) ça soulève le coeur! (that turns the heart) vykašlávat krev (to cough blood) cracher ses poumons (to cough one’s lungs) být promoklý až na kůži (to be soaked to the skin) être mouillé jusqu’aux os (to be soaked to the bones) být komu v patách (to be in s’one’s heels) être sur le dos de qu’un (to be in s’one’s back)

i) Abstract expression contrasted with a concrete body part Judging by the two idioms in the section, it seems that Czech has a tendency to express ideas in an abstract way unlike French which uses concrete body parts for identical notions.

mít čich na něco (sense of smell) avoir du nez pour qch (nose) hrát podle sluchu (sense of hearing) jouer à l’oreille (ear)

6.1.4.3 Non Correspondence a) Periphrasis As has been stated above, the core of the comparison of idioms lies in analyzing how close the idioms are to each other in the four languages compared. Therefore the aim is not to concentrate on the cases of non-correspondence although Czech and French human body idioms formulated by means of 136

6 Examination of Individual Examples periphrasis form the second largest group within the human body idioms periphrasis. They represent 23.2% of all Czech and French body idioms. 6.1.4.4 Non Idiomatic Expressions The study of the idioms collected revealed that Czech and French body idioms similarly as Czech and German body idioms presented above in 3.1.5.4. include a high number of instances of non idiomatic expressions by which are meant the cases where there are no idiomatic expressions in either of the two languages compared (Czech and French in this section). As explained above this is due to the fact that English served as the source language and some English idioms do not possess any idiomatic counterpart neither in Czech nor in French. To present a complete overview of all the expressions in the corpus of idioms, the total amount of Czech and French non idiomatic expressions is 120, i.e. their number is even higher than the number of Czech and German expressions of the identical nature (it was 113 expressions).

6.1.5 English and German Idioms 6.1.5.1 Total Correspondence b) Overall correspondence Compound German idioms in this section demonstrate the highest number of occurrence of compounds in body idioms. The total number is 9, which represents 2.2% of all English and German body idioms. It is common to create

137

6 Examination of Individual Examples compounds in German, it is very frequent with compound nouns, however verbs or adjectives can also be formed by compounding.4 Two examples are presented to illustrate the German compounds.

to be a bundle of nerves ein Nervenbündel sein to have a wasp waist eine Wespentaille haben


The singular in one language against the plural in the other This section groups two idioms and one of them uses a body part in singular in English and the other one in German.

•

to be all ears ganz Ohr sein (ear) to cast one’s eye over sth etwas mit den Augen überfliegen (eyes)

Different grammatical case or preposition, using reflexive verb in one language German uses a reflexive verb in one of the idioms in this section. The English idiom employs a possessive in place of it.

to beat one‘s breast sich an die Brust schlagen The three other idioms all use possessive case in English which is

complemented by a dative in German.

to open s’one’s eyes jdm. die Augen öffnen (to s’one) to break s’one’s heart jdm. das Herz brechen (to s’one)

DUDEN Grammatik der deutschen Sprache. Der Duden in 12 Bänden. Vol.4. 1995. Dudenverlag. Mannheim, pp.465 ff.

4

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6 Examination of Individual Examples •

to hang on s’one’s lips jdm. an den Lippen hängen (to s’one)

A different way of forming the corresponding part of speech The English verb including the part of the body corresponds to the German verbonominal expression where the part of the body is a noun and the verbal expression is a the verb make.

to elbow one’s way sich mit den Ellenbogen einen Weg bahnen (make with elbows) The English verb is a simple one-word expression and is

complemented by the German verbal component which is made of the verb make and the adjective dirty.

to dirty one’s hands with sth sich mit etwas die Hände schmutzig machen (make dirty)


A different structure (accompanied by e.g. a different verb) The idioms below indicate that English when compared with German seems to use more often the verbs be or have in situations where German prefers a full verb. English verb be is complemented by the German verb have

to be in s’one’s blood etwas im Blut haben (to have sth in blood) English verb be is in German matched by a full verb

that was a real eye opener to me das hat mir die Augen geöffnet (it opened my eyes) to be all eyes groβe Augen machen (to make big eyes) English uses the verb have and German a full verb

to have a free hand jemandem freie Hand lassen (to let s’one a free hand)

139


to have both feet on the ground mit beiden Beinen auf der Erde stehen (to stand with both legs on the ground)

6.1.5.2 Partial Correspondence a) Expressiveness versus neutrality This section heads four idioms, three of them are more expressive in German and one in English. The expressiveness is based on the part of the body in the first example only, the other idioms demonstrate expressiveness in verbs (two examples) and in the adjective. As can be seen from the idioms, English demonstrates a higher level of expressiveness in the last idiom in the use of the adjective which is neutral in German.

a big mouth eine große Klappe (trap) to be up to one’s neck in sth bis über den Hals in etwas stecken (to stick) to eat out of s’one’s hand jdm. aus der Hand fressen (to devour) to be soaked/drenched to the skin bis auf die Haut nass sein (wet)

b) Using lexically different words but keeping the semantic meaning English uses a different body part than German

to rack one’s brain(s) sich den Kopf zerbrechen (head) to beat one’s brains sich den Kopf zerbrechen (head) to have sth at one‘s fingertips etwas im kleinen Finger haben (little finger) to have a hand in sth seine Finger im Spiel haben (fingers in the play) to have brains Köpfchen haben (little head) to have sth on the brain jdm. nicht aus dem Kopf wollen (head) 140


to blow up in s’one’s face ins Auge gehen (eye) to button one’s lips den Mund halten (mouth) not to have a leg to stand on nichts in der Hand haben (to have nothing in hand)

German uses two body parts in contrast with one in English

to take to one’s legs die Beine in die Hand nehmen (legs in the hand)

English uses a part of the body unlike German

to give sth the thumbs up für etwas grünes Licht geben (green light) to face the music die Suppe auslöffeln (to eat the soup with the spoon) not to have a hair out of place wie aus dem Ei gepellt (to be like peeled from the egg) to put one‘s hand to the plough sich in die Riemen legen (to lay oneself in the reins) to be an old hand ein alter Hase sein (old hare) to be on one’s last legs auf dem letzten Loch pfeifen (to whistle on the last hole) to put one’s head above the parapet sich in die Schusslinie begeben (to leave for the line of fire)

German is more expressive than English

to bring s’one to his/her knees jdm. in die Knie zwingen (to force)

Apart from using a body part both English and German employ a representative from the animal kingdom but the two idioms differ in this animal

to put a bug in one’s ear jdm einen Floh ins Ohr setzen (flea) to have the brains of a canary ein Spatzenhirn haben (sparrow brain)

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6 Examination of Individual Examples English uses a verb connected with the human body and in German the corresponding verb is not a part of the body, it is a general verb

to thumb one’s nose at s’one jdm. eine lange Nase machen (to make) to breathe down s’one’s neck jdm. im Nacken sitzen (to sit)

English employs an identical concept but by means of a different lexical expression for one part of the idiom

from the bottom of one’s heart aus tiefstem Herzen (deepest) to be knock-kneed X-beinig sein (x-legged) to have a finger in every pie überall die Finger drin haben (everywhere) to be bow-legged O-beinig sein (o-legged)

English idiom is matched by a German idiom based on a different metaphor, not from the domain of the human body

to break the back of the job mit der Arbeit über den Berg sein (to be over the hill with the job)

Other example

to have pins and needles in one’s legs die Beine kribbeln (the legs prickle)

c) Using a different lexical means for one element of the idiom English uses a different body part than German

not to turn a hair nicht mit der Wimper zucken (eyelash) to pat s’one on the back jdm. auf die Schulter klopfen (shoulder)

English uses a part of the body whereas German an expression outside the human body

142


to snatch s’one from the jaws of death jdm. den Klauen des Todes entreißen (claws)

German employs two parts of the body as opposed to one in English

to wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve das Herz auf der Zunge tragen (heart on the tongue)

English positive verb is matched by German negative verb

to keep one‘s head den Kopf nicht verlieren (not to lose)

German uses a different verb than English

to go to s’one‘s head einem in den Kopf steigen (to rise) to set one’s heart on sth sein Herz an etwas hängen (to hang)

German employs a different adjective than English

new blood frisches Blut (fresh)

English uses a different noun than German

to pull the rug / carpet from under s’one’s feet jdm. den Boden unter den Füßen wegziehen (ground)

d) Using hypernyms or hyponyms All English idioms in this section contain parts of the body which are hyponyms. This leads to the assumption that English uses more specific parts of the body than German. According to the division based on parts of the human body which was introduced in the previous sections on hypernyms or hyponyms, three groups are distinguished—head, hand and leg.

hold one’s tongue den Mund halten (mouth) Chin up! Kopf hoch! (head) Hold your jaw! Halt‘s Maul! (mouth)

143


a smack in the eye ein Schlag ins Gesicht (face) to have green fingers eine grüne Hand haben (hand) to fall/land on one’s feet auf die Beine fallen (legs) tread/step on s’one’s toes jdm. auf die Füße treten (feet)

e) Idioms possessing a different number of lexical expressions English employs two parts of the body

to work one’s fingers to the bone sich die Finger abarbeiten (fingers)

German uses two parts of the body

Break a leg! Hals- und Beinbruch! (break a leg and a neck)

English uses more lexical expressions than German

on the tip of one’s tongue auf der Zunge (on the tongue)

German uses more lexical expressions than English

to make eyes at s’one jdm. schöne Augen machen (nice eyes)

f) Grammatically different idioms Verbonominal expression in English is matched by a verbal expression in German

to keep one’s mouth shut den Mund halten (to hold)

The English verb have is opposed to the German full verb

to have one’s eye on sth auf etwas ein Auge geworfen haben (have thrown) to have cold feet kalte Füβe kriegen (to get)

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6 Examination of Individual Examples English idiom contains the verb be which is a full verb in the corresponding German idiom

my heart was in my throat mir schlug das Herz bis zum Hals (beat)

g) The whole idiom is expressed with different lexical means Idioms in this group represent 4% of all English and German body idioms. Although they are mainly individual ways of expressing an identical concept, some of them reveal common characteristics with other idioms in the section. They are introduced on the following lines. English employs a different part of the body than German

to dig in one’s heels sich auf die Hinterbeine stellen (to stand up on hind legs) to pull s’one’s leg jdm. auf den Arm nehmen (to take s’one on the arm) to be fed up to the teeth jdm. zum Hals heraus hängen (to hang out of one’s throat)

English uses a body part where German uses a different lexical expression

to have a foot in both camps mit beiden Seiten zu tun haben (to have sth to do with both sides) to keep s’one on his/her toes jdm. auf Zack halten (to keep s’one on the spike) to get it in the neck eins auf den Deckel kriegen (to get one in the lid) to talk through the back of one’s neck von Hölzchen auf Stöckchen kommen (to come from little wood to little stick) to stick in s’one’s throat jdm. gegen den Strich gehen (to go against the grain)

h) Idiomatic expression using a different part of the body Two distinct groups can be created from the idioms in this section—one is based around human head or its parts. The other group are idioms with various parts of the body which are dissimilar, with the exception of finger and thumb. 145


to bite one’s tongue sich auf die Lippen beißen (lips) to fall flat on one’s face auf die Nase fallen (nose) face to face Auge in Auge (eye in eye) to save one’s neck seinen Kopf retten (head) to do sth under s’one’s nose etwas vor jds. Augen tun (eyes) to be up to one’s eyes in work bis über beide Ohren in der Arbeit stecken (ears) it is straight from the horse’s mouth es ist aus erster Hand (hand) to be on s’one’s neck jdm. auf den Fersen sein (heels) to be at each other’s throats sich gegenseitig in die Haare fahren (hair) to be over head and ears in work bis zum Hals in Arbeit sein (neck) to finish neck and neck Kopf-an-Kopf beenden (head on head) to offer s‘one a shoulder to cry on jdm. anbieten sich an jds. Brust ausweinen (breast) not to lay a finger on s’one jdm. kein Härchen krümmen (little hair) to stick/stand out like a sore thumb das springt einem direkt ins Auge (eye) to shout at the top of one’s lungs schreien aus vollem Halse (throat) to tickle s’one’s ribs jdm. in der Seite kitzeln (side) to feel sth in one’s bones etwas im Urin spüren (urine) to take to one’s heels die Beine in die Hand nehmen (legs in the hand)

i) Abstract expression contrasted with a concrete body part One idiom is abstract in English and one in German.

146


out of sight, out of mind aus den Augen, aus dem Sinn (eyes) to lose one’s tongue die Sprache verlieren (speech)

6.1.5.3 Non Correspondence As explained above, non correspondence is not dealt with in detail. Nevertheless, it has to be remarked that this section of English and German idioms reveals one calque which is introduced here because there were not as many calques in the whole corpus of idioms as it might have been expected. It is therefore believed that the use of calques is more frequent in other areas than idioms.

brainwashing Gehirnwäsche

6.2 Animal Idioms 6.2.1 English and Czech Idioms 6.2.1.1 Total Correspondence b) Overall correspondence Compound All three English compounds are in Czech expressed as two words.

frogman žabí muž mutton-head hlava skopová tigereye tygří oko


Different grammatical case or preposition

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6 Examination of Individual Examples Both idioms in this section use the preposition at in Czech and nonprepositional expression in English. •

to play cat and mouse with s’one hrát si na kočku a na myš (at cat and mouse) to back the wrong horse vsadit si na špatného koně (at the wrong horse)

A diminutive in one language This section heads three idioms and it can be assumed that diminutives in Czech are more frequent than in English because all Czech idioms employ a diminutive.

•

to take the bull by the horns popadnout býčka za rohy (little bull) to be an early bird být ranní ptáče (little bird) to feed the fishes krmit rybičky (little fishes)

A different way of forming the corresponding part of speech English verbonominal expression is matched by a Czech verb

•

to play the ape opičit se (to ape) to be a copycat opičit se, papouškovat (to ape, to parrot)

A different part of speech English adjective is matched by a Czech noun

a lone wolf vlk samotář (loner)


A different structure (accompanied by e.g. a different verb)

repeat sth parrot-fashion opakovat jako papoušek (like a parrot) to have an elephant’s memory mít paměť jako slon (memory like an elephant) 148


a visit from the stork přiletěl k nám čáp (the stork has flown to us) to have a viperish tongue mít jazyk jako zmije (tongue like a viper)

6.2.1.2 Partial Correspondence a) Expressiveness versus neutrality The comparison of all idioms in the present section reveals that Czech language is more expressive than English. Even if the expressiveness lies mostly in other expressions than in animals, as can be seen from the first three examples.

to die like a dog chcípnout jako pes (to snuff it) to work like a horse dřít jako kůň (to slave) to look like a stuffed owl čumět jako vejr (to gape)

The following idiom uses in English a neutral lexeme clothing which is matched in Czech by an expressive noun robe.

a wolf in a sheep’s clothing vlk v rouše beránčím (robe)

Another instance of an idiom with an expressive noun in Czech and a neutral noun in English follows. It is a diminutive noun describing a style of swimming.

dog-paddle čubička (little brach)

b) Using lexically different words but keeping the semantic meaning English idioms contain a different animal than Czech idioms

to kill two birds with one stone zabít dvě mouchy jednou ranou (two flies with one blow) a little bird told me vrabci na střeše mi to vycvrlikali (sparrows on the roof twittered me)

149


I could eat a horse! Mám hlad jako vlk! (I am as hungry as a wolf)

English employs a different adverbial of place than Czech

to feel like a fish out of water být jako ryba na suchu (on dry land) to be happy as a pig in a muck mít se jako prase v žitě (in the rye) to live like pigs in clover mít se jako prase v žitě (in the rye)

Czech idiom lacks the animal

pigsty chlív (sty)

Other examples where Czech does not employ any animal

to separate the sheep from the goats oddělit zrno od plev (grain from chaff) it’s enough to make a cat laugh to by rozesmálo i mrtvého (the dead)

c) Using a different lexical means for one element of the idiom English uses an animal unlike Czech idiom where there is no animal

to handle with kid gloves zacházet v rukavičkách (small gloves) to drink like a fish pít jako duha (rainbow) road-hog pirát silnic (pirate)

English employs a different adjective than Czech

a cash cow dojná kráva (milch) to be a dark horse být černý kůň (black)

English uses a different noun than Czech

goose pimples husí kůže (skin)

150


monkey bars opičí dráha (track)

Other example

rat fink zrádná krysa (treacherous)

d) Using hypernyms or hyponyms As for the occurrence of hyponyms or hypernyms in the English and Czech animal idioms, there exist two distinct groups which are revealed in the analysis. The first group which is more numerous heads birds and the second group contains idioms which use a hyponym in English and the hypernym animal in Czech. A closer view of these animal idioms leads to the assumption that Czech unlike English uses hypernyms more often—out of the six animal idioms in this section, four use either animal or bird in Czech where English employs hyponyms such as pigeon or tiger. Thus the first four idioms presented below illustrate the English hyponyms and the next two idioms the English hypernyms.

night owl noční pták (bird) to be pigeon-chested mít ptačí hruď (bird) a big bug velké zvíře (animal) to arouse the tiger in s’one probudit v kom zvíře (animal) to eat like a bird jíst jako vrabec (sparrow) a rare bird bílá vrána (crow)

e) Idioms possessing a different number of lexical expressions English employs two animals as opposed to one in Czech 151


to fight like cats and dogs rvát se jako psi (dogs)

English possesses more lexical expressions than Czech

a fly in the ointment moucha (fly) a piggy-bank prasátko (piglet) to stink like an old goat smrdět jako kozel (goat) to get on one’s high horse být na koni (horse) swallow dive vlaštovka (swallow)

Czech uses more lexical expressions than English

to curl up like a hedgehog schoulit se do klubíčka jako ježek (to curl into ball) to twist the lion’s tail tahat britského lva za ocas (the British lion’s tail) to cry wolf volat „vlk, vlk“ (to cry wolf, wolf) Watch the birdie! Pozor, vyletí ptáček! (watch out, the birdie is flying out)

f) Grammatically different idioms There are only two animal idioms which show a difference in grammar. The first one uses a verbonominal construction to have a ... look in English and is matched by the Czech verb to look.

to have a hang-dog look vypadat jako zpráskaný pes (look like a hang-dog)

The next idiom demonstrates that English unlike Czech can use a compound to express the notion which is in Czech only possible in the form of a simile or a comparison.

to be dog-tired být unavený jako pes (tired like a dog)

152

6 Examination of Individual Examples g) The whole idiom is expressed with different lexical means English uses a different animal than Czech

at night all cats are grey potmě je každá kráva černá (every cow is black) to put/set the cat among the pigeons pustit štiku do rybníka (pike into the pond) to take to sth like a duck to water cítit se jako ryba ve vodě (to feel like a fish in water) to play leapfrog skákat přes kozu (to jump over the goat) to bleed like a stuck pig je tam krve jako z vola (there’s blood as from an ox)

English employs an animal whereas in Czech there is no animal

it’s raining cats and dogs leje jako z konve (like from cans)

English idiom uses an animal and the corresponding Czech idiom employs an adjective which is based on the sound made by this animal

to be like a bear with a sore head být nabručený (grouchy)

h) Idiomatic expression using a different animal A large number of English and Czech animal idioms (39 instances, i.e. 9.9% of all English and Czech animal idioms) are formed by means of a different animal. They are presented on the following lines, sorted into several groups. The principle of their grouping is based on animals in the English idioms. First come domestic animals or animals one can encounter in a farm. The majority of Czech counterparts to these idioms contain animals situated to a farm, the only exceptions being elephant, wasp, and frogs.

to be like a bull in a china shop být jako slon v porcelánu (elephant) to make an ass of oneself dělat ze sebe vola (ox)

153


to milk the bull mámit z jalové krávy tele (cow) mare’s tail beránky (lambs) to catfoot jít tiše jako myška (little mouse) chicken scratches škrabe jak kocour (tomcat) to let sleeping dogs lie nešťourat do vosího hnízda (wasp) dirty dog krysa (rat) to make ducks and drakes házet žabky (little frogs) fine weather for ducks počasí, že by psa nevyhnal (dog) to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs zabít slepici, která snáší zlatá vejce (hen) dog-eared s oslíma ušima (with dog ears) to frisk like a lamb poskakovat jako kůzle (kid) to buy a pig in a poke kupovat zajíce v pytli (hare) to make s’one a scapegoat udělat z koho obětního beránka (lamb) to have the stomach of an ostrich mít kachní žaludek (duck)

The second area are birds of prey. Czech employs birds of prey but different from those used in the English idioms.

to be eagle-eyed mít zrak jako ostříž (merlin) to be hawk-nosed mít orlí nos (eagle) to watch s’one like a hawk sledovat koho jako ostříž (merlin)

154

6 Examination of Individual Examples Next come animals which are typically kept in zoological gardens. Two of them demonstrate a distance as for the closeness of animals—elephants and mice together with tiger and hinny.

to see pink elephants vidět bílé myšky (small mice) to have a hide like a rhinoceros mít hroší kůži (hippopotamus) to fight like a tiger bít se jako lev (lion) to work like a tiger dřít jako mezek (hinny)

The following group represent insects.

to stir up a hornet’s nest píchnout do vosího hnízda (wasp) to strain at a gnat hledat mouchy (flies) to have a bee in one’s bonnet mít brouka v hlavě (bug)

Other examples which were not categorized into any specific group are introduced on the following lines.

to rise with the lark vstávat se slepicemi (hens) neither fish nor fowl ani ryba, ani rak (crayfish) to act as a guinea pig být pokusný králík (rabbit) a bookworm knihomol (moth) worm’s eye view pohled z žabí perspektivy (frog) to beaver away dřít se jako kůň (horse) an odd fish/bird divný pavouk (spider) to make a mountain out of a molehill dělat z komára velblouda (mosquito) 155


to be drenched like a drowned rat být jako mokrá myš (mouse) flea-bitten všivý (lousy) hare and hounds hra na lišku (fox) mackerel sky obloha pokrytá beránky (lambs)

i) Adult animal contrasted with baby animal This section includes three idioms. Two of them use a baby animal in English. But it is assumed that such a low number of examples prevents us from drawing a general conclusion such as that English employs baby animals and Czech adult animals.

to go to bed with the chickens chodit spát se slepicemi (hens) like a lamb to the slaughter jako ovce na porážku (sheep) cow-lick líznutí telátkem (calf)

6.2.2 English and French Idioms 6.2.2.1 Total Correspondence b) Overall correspondence Compound French employs only one compound as the counterpart to the English animal idiom.

frogman homme grenouille



156

6 Examination of Individual Examples No general statement can be concluded from the two instances of idioms in this group as one of them employs an animal in singular and the other one in plural in English. •

to get on one’s high horse monter sur ses grands chevaux (horses) all one’s geese are swans faire un cygne d’un oison (a swan from a goose)

Different grammatical case or preposition Both examples in this section use the preposition at in French and nonprepositional expression in English

•

to play cat and mouse with s’one jouer au chat et à la souris avec qu’un (at cat and mouse) to cry wolf crier au loup (at wolf)

A different part of speech French idiom is formed by means of a reflexive verb made of the animal, the hedgehog.

to curl up like a hedgehog se hérisser (to hedgehog) English uses an adjective whereas French a noun

•

to have a viperish tongue avoir une langue de vipère (viper)

A different sex English male tiger is complemented by the French female tigress

to fight like a tiger se battre comme une tigresse (tigress)

6.2.2.2 Partial Correspondence a) Expressiveness versus neutrality There is one idiom belonging to this section where the English verb play seems to be more expressive than the neutral French verb make. 157


to play the ape faire le singe (make)

b) Using lexically different words but keeping the semantic meaning The two idioms in this group both contain pig in English. This key noun is kept in French as well although the whole idiom is not identical.

pigsty porcherie (piggery) they were living like pigs ils vivaient dans une vraie porcherie (in a real piggery)

c) Using a different lexical means for one element of the idiom English uses a different animal than French

neither fish nor fowl ni poisson ni grenouille (frog)

English employs a different verb than French

to feel like a fish out of water être comme un poisson hors de l’eau (to be)

English and French idioms differ in the adjective

black sheep of the family brebis galeuse de la famille (mangy)

d) Using hypernyms or hyponyms The four instances of idioms in this section can be divided into two distinct groups; one of them is composed of idioms which have birds as the core part and the other is an idiom with fish in English. To illustrate the presence of hypernyms in English, two idioms are introduced.

to be mute as a fish être muet comme une carpe (carp) a rare bird merle blanc (white blackbird)

The two idioms which follow contain hyponyms in English and hypernyms in French.

158


as the crow flies à vol d’oiseau (bird) night owl oiseau de nuit (bird)

e) Idioms possessing a different number of lexical expressions In this section, there are idioms where French employs more lexical expressions than English. These are listed below.

like a lamb to the slaughter comme un agneau qu’on mène à l’abattoir (lamb taken to the slaughter) to have an eagle nose avoir un nez en bec d’aigle (a nose in a beak of eagle)

At the same time some idioms possess more lexical expressions in English idioms.

to stink like an old goat puer comme un bouc (goat) moth-eaten miteux (moth)

f) Grammatically different idioms

at a snail’s pace comme un escargot (like a snail) to be a pig-headed person avoir une tête de cochon (to have a head of a pig)

g) The whole idiom is expressed with different lexical means

it’s raining cats and dogs il pleut à seaux (from cans)

h) Idiomatic expression using a different animal This section heads a large number of idioms which use a different animal in English than in French. Similarly as with English and Czech idioms, there can be traced a numerous group of idioms where the animal in English belongs to animals living in a farm.

159


to be like a bull in a china shop être comme un éléphant dans un rayon de porcelaine (elephant) to be a copycat faire le singe (monkey) goose pimples chair de poule (hen) to frisk like a lamb bondir comme un chevreau (kid) I could eat a horse! J’ai une faim de loup! (wolf) to bleed like a stuck pig saigner comme un veau (calf) to buy a pig in a poke acheter chat en poche (cat) chicken scratches écriture de chat (cat) to let sleeping dogs lie ne réveillez pas le chat qui dort (cat) fine weather for ducks beau temps pour les grenouilles (frogs) sheepskin peau d’âne (donkey)

Some other examples of idioms possessing a different animal in English than in French. The examples represent a random choice, the whole list is to be found in the appendix.

to be hawk-nosed avoir un nez aquilin (eagle) to watch s’one like a hawk avoir un regard d’aigle (eagle) to play leapfrog jouer à saute-mouton (lamb) to stink like a polecat puer comme un bouc (goat) to have a hide like a rhinoceros avoir une peau d’éléphant (elephant) a white crow le merle blanc (blackbird)

160


to be a fly on the wall être petite souris (little mouse)

i) Adult animal contrasted with baby animal Both idioms in this section employ a baby animal in English and it is an identical animal—a chicken.

to go to bed with the chickens se coucher comme les poules (hens) to get up with the chickens se lever avec les poules (hens)

j) Identical animal but a different structure and lexical elements in the idiom The idioms in this section are characterized by the use of an identical animal in both English and French but the other lexical elements in the idioms differ in the two languages compared. As can be seen from the examples below, there are three idioms with dog and three idioms with pig. Although the latter use an identical idiom in French for the three different English idioms.

to be like a dog in the manger faire comme le chien du jardinier (gardener’s dog) to give a dog a bad name and hang him qui veut noyer son chien l’accuse de la rage (who wants to drown one’s dog accuses it of rage) dog-paddle nage en chien (swim at a dog) to make a pig of oneself être comme un cochon à l’auge (to be like a pig in a manger) to be happy as a pig in a muck être comme un porc à l’auge (to be like a pig in a manger) to live like pigs in clover vivre comme un porc à l’auge (to live like a pig in a manger)

Other examples show some other animals used as individual instances

it’s like water off a duck’s back ça glisse comme de l’eau sur les ailes d’un canard (it slips like water on duck’s wings) 161


to make s’one a scapegoat prendre comme bouc émissaire (to take s’one as an emissary goat) cock-a-hoop fier comme un coq (proud as a cock) to have ants in one’s pants avoir des oeufs de fourmi sous les pieds (ants’ eggs under the feet) a snake in the grass un serpent caché (a hidden snake) spidery handwriting pattes d’araignée (spider paws) Watch the birdie! Le petit oiseau va sortir! (the birdie is going to go out)

6.2.3 Czech and German Idioms 6.2.3.1 Total Correspondence b) Overall correspondence Compound The focus on German idioms in this section reveals that all of them are compounds which proves that German uses compounds more than Czech. Czech can in some cases employ a compound as well, see e.g. žabí muž but it can express the notion of German compound by other means as well, see e.g. the simile být unavený jako pes or a one-word lexeme chlív.

žabí muž Froschmann (frogman) lví podíl der Löwenanteil (lion’s share) chlív Schweinestall (pigsty) hlemýždím tempem im Schneckentempo (at a snail’s pace) labutí píseň Schwanengesang (swan song) z ptačí perspektivy aus der Vogelschau (from a bird’s eye view) 162


být unavený jako pes Hundemüde sein (to be dog-tired) husí kůže Gänsehaut (goose pimples) mít orlí nos Adlernase haben (to be hawk-nosed)


Different grammatical case or preposition, Czech uses the preposition at whereas German employs a nonprepositional phrase with the accusative.

•

hrát si na kočku a na myš (play at cat and mouse) Katz und Maus mit jdm. spielen (to play cat and mouse)

A diminutive in one language Czech unlike German employs a diminutive with the animal in the following idiom.

popadnout býčka za rohy (little bull) den Stier bei den Hörnern fassen (bull)


A different structure

ani mouše by neublížil (he would not harm a fly) er kann keiner Fliege etwas zuleide tun (he could not do any harm to any fly)

6.2.3.2 Partial Correspondence a) Expressiveness versus neutrality The two idioms below both use a verb in Czech which is more expressive than the corresponding German verb which is neutral.

dřít jako kůň/vůl (to slave) arbeiten wie ein Pferd/Ochs (work) držet se jako pijavice (stick to) wie ein Blutegel sein (be)

163

6 Examination of Individual Examples b) Using lexically different words but keeping the semantic meaning German uses an idiom with two animals, its idiom is identical with the English original, the Czech counterpart is an idiom without animals

oddělit zrno od plev (grain from chaff) die Böcke von den Schafen trennen (to separate the sheep from the goats)

c) Using a different lexical means for one element of the idiom The first two idioms in this section differ in the verb and two other idioms demonstrate a difference in the noun. It has to be remarked that only the last idiom in the list below shows a distinction in the animal which is the key lexeme of the idiom.

vypadat jako zpráskaný pes (to look) wie ein geprügelter Hund herumlaufen (to run) být pokusný králík (to be) Versuchskaninchen spielen (to play) zabít dvě mouchy jednou ranou (slap) zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe erschlagen (clack) ani ryba, ani rak (crayfish) weder Fisch noch Fleisch sein (flesh)

d) Using hypernyms or hyponyms No general conclusion as for the use of hypernyms or hyponyms can be drawn upon the two idioms presented below. The first idiom uses a hypernym in Czech and the second one a hyponym in Czech. The corpus of animal idioms in Czech and German manifests no other instances of hyponyms or hypernyms.

noční pták (night bird) Nachteule (night owl) dřít jako mezek (hinny) arbeiten wie ein Tier (animal)

e) Idioms possessing a different number of lexical expressions German is more specific than Czech

jít za někým jako ovce jdm. wie eine Schafherde folgen (flock of sheep) 164


pustit štiku do rybníka (pond) einen Hecht in den Karpfenteich setzen (carp pond) smrdět jako kozel (goat) wie ein alter Ziegenbock stinken (old goat) beránky (lambs) Lämmerwolken (lamb clouds)

There is one idiom where Czech is more specific than German

zrádná krysa (treacherous rat) Ratte (rat)

h) Idiomatic expression using a different animal Animals grouped in this section provide a similar view as English and Czech or English and French animal idioms in the parallel sections. They head mainly animals living in a farm. The reason for this apparently is the fact that humans have been in everyday contact with these animals, observed them and thus naturally used them when creating animal idioms. According to Mrhačová (1999: 159) the long-life experience of humans led to the comparison of human and animal qualities.

potmě je každá kráva černá (cow) bei Nacht sind alle Katzen grau (cats) mít kachní žaludek (duck) einen Straußenmagen haben (ostrich) rvát/hádat se jako psi (dogs) wie Hund und Katze sein (dog and cat) vstávat se slepicemi (hen) mit dem ersten Hahnenschrei aufstehen (cock) je tam krve jako z vola (ox) bluten wie ein abgestochenes Schwein (pig) udělat z koho obětního beránka (lamb) jdm. zum Sündenbock machen (goat) mít se jako prase v žitě (pig in rye) wie die Made im Speck leben (maggot in bacon) být jako mokrá myš (mouse) nass wie eine Katze sein (cat)

165

6 Examination of Individual Examples The next two idioms contain birds of prey whom people associate with perfect eyesight. This probably alludes to the way birds of prey hunt for food.

mít zrak jako ostříž (merlin) Adleraugen haben (eagle) sledovat koho jako ostříž (merlin) jdm. mit Argusaugen beobachten (hawk)

Some other examples of various animals employed include exotic animals (e. g. camel) or animals found in a forest (e.g. wolf) or unpopular animals or insects (e.g. spider, moth).

mít hroší kůži (hippopotamus) eine Elefantenhaut haben (elephant) dělat z komára velblouda (a camel of a mosquito) aus einer Mücke einen Elefanten machen (an elephant of a mosquito) lézt jako želva (turtle) wie eine Schnecke kriechen (snail) mám hlad jako vlk! (wolf) Ich habe einen Bärenhunger! (bear) kupovat zajíce v pytli (hare) die Katze im Sack kaufen (cat) knihomol (moth) Bücherwurm (worm) divný pavouk (spider) komischer Kauz (screech owl)

i) Adult animal contrasted with baby animal The only representative of this section is an animal which is in Czech unlike all three remaining languages compared expressed with the noun sheep as opposed to lamb.

jako ovce na porážku (sheep) wie ein Lamm zur Schlachtbank (lamb)

j) Identical animal but a different structure and lexical elements in the idiom

vsadit si na špatného koně (to bet on a wrong horse) aufs verkehrte Pferd setzen (to seat on an amiss horse) 166


být na koni (to be on a horse) auf dem hohen Roß sitzen (to sit on a high horse)

6.2.4 Czech and French Idioms 6.2.4.1 Total Correspondence b) Overall correspondence Morphological deviation •

Different grammatical case or preposition The only idiom in this section shows a small difference between Czech and French idioms which lies in the usage of a different case—an instrumental in Czech and a nominative in French.

•

chodit spát se slepicemi (with hens) se coucher comme les poules (as hens)

A diminutive in one language All three idioms demonstrate that Czech unlike French uses diminutives in animal idioms.

•

popadnout býčka za rohy (to take the little bull by the horns) prendre le taureau par les cornes (bull) počítat ovečky (to count little sheep) compter les moutons (sheep) krmit rybičky (to feed the little fishes) donner à manger aux poissons (fishes)

A different part of speech Two English idioms—to play the ape and to be a copycat—have only one counterpart in Czech and in French. Czech employs a verb to ape and the French idiom is based on the noun ape and a general verb to make.

opičit se (to ape) faire le singe (to make an ape)

167

6 Examination of Individual Examples The following idiom is formed with the noun robe in Czech corresponding to the adjective disguised in French.

vlk v rouše beránčím un loup déguisé en brebis


A different structure (accompanied by e.g. a different verb) The first two examples demonstrate that Czech unlike French uses a comparison with as or like.

vypadat jako zpráskaný pes (to look like) avoir une mine de chien battu (to have an expression of) lézt jako želva (as a tortoise) avancer à pas de tortue (at a tortoise step) When comparing the next two idioms, it seems that Czech prefers

attributive phrases to condensed structures used in French.

zabít slepici, která snáší zlatá vejce (which lays golden eggs) tuer la poule aux oeufs d’or (with golden eggs) The last difference lies in Czech using a verbonominal expression as

opposed to a simple adjective in French.

obloha pokrytá beránky (covered with lambs) ciel moutonné (lamb’s)

6.2.4.2 Partial Correspondence a) Expressiveness versus neutrality The two French idioms below employ a neutral expression with the dog idiom where Czech in the first case uses an expressive verb snuff it.

chcípnout jako pes (to snuff it) mourir comme un chien (to die like a dog)

Another instance of an idiom with an expressive noun in Czech and a neutral noun in French follows. It is a diminutive noun describing a style of swimming.

168


čubička (little brach) nage en chien (swim at a dog)

b) Using lexically different words but keeping the semantic meaning The French idiom in contrast with the corresponding Czech expression is formed by means of an animal—a pig.

chlív (sty) porcherie (piggery)

c) Using a different lexical means for one element of the idiom The idioms in this section demonstrate differences in other lexemes than the animals which represent the main part of the idioms.

být jako ryba na suchu (on dry land) être comme un poisson hors de l’eau (out of water) černá ovce rodiny (black) brebis galeuse de la famille (mangy) mít se jako prase v žitě (rye) être comme un porc à l’auge (manger)

d) Using hypernyms or hyponyms The corpus of Czech and French animal idioms contains only one example of this category—an idiom where Czech employs a hypernym fish.

být němý jako ryba (fish) être muet comme une carpe (carp)

e) Idioms possessing a different number of lexical expressions French idioms in this section use more lexemes than Czech idioms.

koukat jako vejr (owl) avoir l’air d’un hibou empaillé (stuffed owl) být jako slon v porcelánu (china) être comme un éléphant dans un rayon de porcelaine (china rack) mít orlí nos avoir un nez en bec d’aigle (in a beak)

At the same time, there is one example where Czech employs more lexical expressions than French.

169


pozor, vyletí ptáček! (watch out) le petit oiseau va sortir!

f) Grammatically different idioms The Czech idiom is formed as a simile with hedgehog functioning as a noun. The French expression, on the other hand, is a reflexive verb made of the noun hedgehog.

schoulit se do klubíčka jako ježek (to curl into a ball like a hedgehog) se hérisser (to hedgehog)

h) Idiomatic expression using a different animal The findings discovered in the previous sections comparing English and Czech or English and French or Czech and German idioms is valid for Czech and French idioms as well. The largest number of animal idioms which differ in the animal used are represented by animals living close to humans whether it is the household or a farm.

potmě je každá kráva černá (cow) la nuit tous les chats sont gris (cats) husí kůže (goose) chair de poule (hen) mít kachní žaludek (duck) avoir un estomac d’autruche (ostrich) dělat ze sebe vola (ox) se conduire comme un âne (donkey) vidět bílé myšky (white little mice) voir des éléphants roses (pink elephants) skákat přes kozu (goat) jouer à saute-mouton (lamb) být pokusný králík (rabbit) servir de cobaye (guinea pig) je tam krve jako z vola (ox) saigner comme un veau (calf) udělat z koho obětního beránka (lamb) prendre comme bouc émissaire (goat) beránky (lambs) queue de chat (cat’s tail) 170


být jako zmoklá slepice (hen) être trempé comme un canard (duck) zrádná krysa (treacherous rat) une peau de vache (cow) počasí, že by psa nevyhnal (weather that one would not drive out a dog) beau temps pour les grenouilles (fine weather for frogs) dát vajíčko, aby byla slepička (hen) c’est donner un oeuf pour avoir un boeuf (ox)

Birds are kept in both Czech and French idioms and the two idioms with the birds of prey both employ merlin in Czech and eagle in French.

mít zrak jako ostříž (merlin) aux yeux d’aigle (eagle) sledovat koho jako ostříž (merlin) avoir un regard d’aigle (eagle) bílá vrána (crow) merle blanc (blackbird)

Czech idioms contain animals living in water.

pustit štiku do rybníka (pike) mettre le loup dans la bergerie (wolf) ani ryba, ani rak (crayfish) ni poisson ni grenouille (frog) velká ryba v malém rybníce (a big fish in a small pond) le coq de son village (the cock of one’s village)

The next two idioms employ a domestic animal in French but the Czech counterpart is to be found elsewhere than a farm.

kupovat zajíce v pytli (hare) acheter chat en poche (cat) smrdět jako tchoř (polecat) puer comme un bouc (goat)

The next three idioms contain exotic animals which are kept in both languages compared with the exception of hens corresponding to monkey.

mít hroší kůži (hippopotamus) avoir une peau d’éléphant (elephant)

171


bít se jako lev (lion) se battre comme une tigresse (tigress) opičí dráha (monkey track) cage à poules (hen cage)

The following idioms contain animals which are considered as unpleasant and this unpleasant tone can be felt in the idioms as well.

hledat na něčem hnidy (nits) chercher la petite bête (little animal) knihomol (moth) un rat de bibliothèque (rat) mít roupy (pinworms) avoir des oeufs de fourmi sous les pieds (ants eggs uner feet) všivý (louse) miteux (moth)

Czech employs insects

dělat z komára velblouda (a camel of a mosquito) faire d’une mouche un éléphant (an elephant of a fly) nešťourat do vosího hnízda (not to stir wasp nest) ne réveillez pas le chat qui dort (not to wake a sleeping cat)

Other examples of different animals

stará ochechule (sirenian) une vieille chouette (owl) byla to svinsky těžká práce! (swine) c’était vachement difficile à faire! (cow)

i) Adult animal contrasted with baby animal The Czech idiom employs sheep as opposed to the French lamb.

jako ovce na porážku (sheep) comme un agneau qu’on mène à l’abattoir (lamb)

j) Identical animal but a different structure and lexical elements in the idiom The examples below show two French idioms made by creating similes which is reflected in one of the two Czech counterparts.

172


hlemýždím tempem (at snail’s pace) comme un escargot (as a snail) mít se jako prase v žitě (to thrive as a pig in the rye) vivre comme un porc à l’auge (to live as a pig in manger)

The next idiom contains the verb be in Czech and the full verb mount in French.

být na koni (to be on the horse) monter sur ses grands chevaux (to mount on one’s high horses)

Other idioms

škrabe jak kocour (he scratches as a cat) écriture de chat (cat scratches) volat „vlk, vlk“ (shout wolf, wolf) crier au loup (shout at wolf)

6.2.5 English and German Idioms 6.2.5.1 Total Correspondence b) Overall correspondence Compound The three German idioms are another proof of the German language tendency to form compounds which was commented on in the sections above concerning idioms.

flea market Flohmarkt the lion’s share der Löwenanteil at a snail’s pace im Schneckentempo


The singular in one language against the plural in the other Only one idiom formed with animals in plural in English and in singular in German was discovered in the corpus of English and German

173

6 Examination of Individual Examples idioms. Apart from the difference in number, the two idioms vary in the order of the two animals applied. •

to fight like cats and dogs wie Hund und Katze sein (dog and cat)

Different grammatical case or preposition The German idiom unlike the English one contains a preposition from.

•

a bird’s eye view aus der Vogelschau (from the bird’s view)

A diminutive in one language In the following example, German expresses the notion of the English noun bird by a diminutive birdie.

•

to eat like a bird essen wie ein Vögelchen (birdie)

A different part of speech The German verb ape is contrasted to the English noun ape.

to play the ape jdm. nachäffen (to ape)


A different structure (accompanied by e.g. a different verb) The first two idioms below show that English employs the verb be as opposed to the German have and the parts of the body have in English adjectival form unlike German nouns.

to be eagle-eyed Adleraugen haben (to have eagle eyes) to be hawk-nosed Adlernase haben (to have eagle nose) The full English verb is complemented by the verb be in German.

to stick to s’one like a leech wie ein Blutegel sein (to be like a leech)

174

6 Examination of Individual Examples A different structure is found in the following idiom with the form of a simile in German.

repeat sth parrot-fashion wie ein Papagei wiederholen (to repeat like a parrot) German in comparison with English describes the result of the

process of getting on a horse which is expressed in the English idiom.

to get on one’s high horse auf dem hohen Roß sitzen (to sit on a high horse)

6.2.5.2 Partial Correspondence a) Expressiveness versus neutrality German is more expressive when employing the verb to snuff as the counterpart to the English verb to die.

to die like a dog wie ein Hund verrecken (snuff)

c) Using a different lexical means for one element of the idiom The first three examples use a lexically different expression which is not the animal around which the idiom is based but they contribute to the meaning of the idiom. The key noun indicating the animal is different in the fourth example. All examples in this section demonstrate a difference in the nominal part of the idiom.

to feel like a fish out of water wie ein Fisch auf dem Trockenen sein (on dry land) hare-lip Hasenscharte (nick) Goose pimples Gänsehaut (skin) neither fish nor fowl weder Fisch noch Fleisch sein (flesh)

175

6 Examination of Individual Examples d) Using hypernyms or hyponyms English idiom is more specific by employing a hyponym tiger which corresponds to the German general noun animal.

to work like a tiger arbeiten wie ein Tier

e) Idioms possessing a different number of lexical expressions The first two idioms are composed of more lexical expressions in English than in German. In the first one, it functions as an attribute specifying the key noun owl, in the second instance it has a specifying function as well.

to look like a stuffed owl gucken wie ein Uhu rat fink Ratte

The next idiom employs a compound in German the meaning of which is flock of sheep. The English idiom uses sheep.

to follow s’one like sheep jdm. wie eine Schafherde folgen (flock)

The following German idiom is divided into two phrases, it differs from the English idiom in the second part when stepped on which suggests the possible reason for the activity described in the first phrase.

even a worm will turn auch der Wurm krümmt sich, wenn er getreten wird (when stepped on)

h) Idiomatic expression using a different animal Similarly as in the sections above where other languages were compared, English and German idioms possess a number of idioms with animals living in a farm. These farm animals are not matched in all examples by farm animals in German, there are occurrences where e.g. elephant or ape are used.

to be like a bull in a china shop wie ein Elefant im Porzellanladen sein (elephant)

176


to be a copycat jdm. nachäffen (ape) to frisk like a lamb herumspringen wie ein Zicklein (kid) to put/set the cat among the pigeons einen Hecht in den Karpfenteich setzen (pike, carp) dog-eared mit Eselsohren (donkey) I could eat a horse! Ich habe einen Bärenhunger! (bear) to buy a pig in a poke die Katze im Sack kaufen (cat) to be happy as a pig in a muck wie die Made im Speck leben (maggot in bacon) to live like pigs in clover wie die Made im Speck leben (maggot in bacon) to be drenched like a drowned rat nass wie eine Katze sein (cat) mare’s tail Lämmerwolken (lamb)

The next set of idioms includes exotic animals in English. These are matched by exotic animals in two German idioms, the other two German idioms possess counterparts with small animals of domestic origin.

to have a hide like a rhinoceros eine Elefantenhaut haben (elephant) to fight like a tiger wie ein Löwe kämpfen (lion) to move like a tortoise wie eine Schnecke kriechen (snail) to see pink elephants weiße Mäuse sehen (white mice)

Follow three idioms with birds.

to kill two birds with one stone zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe erschlagen (flies) an odd bird komischer Kauz (screech owl)

177


to rise with the lark mit dem ersten Hahnenschrei aufstehen (cock)

Other examples of different animals used in English and German.

to fawn on s’one katzbuckeln (cat) to play leapfrog Bockspringen machen (goat) to stir up a hornet’s nest in ein Wespennest stechen (wasp) to act as a guinea pig Versuchskaninchen spielen (rabbit) to stink like a polecat stinken wie ein Stinktier (skunk) to eat s’one’s toads Fuchsschwänzeln (fox) worm’s eye view Froschperspektive (frog) to make a mountain out of a molehill aus einer Mücke einen Elefanten machen (an elephant of a mosquito)

j) Identical animal but a different structure and lexical elements in the idiom English employs the structure to have a...look which is expressed in German by a full verb to run around.

to have a hang-dog look wie ein geprügelter Hund herumlaufen (run around)

The German idiom is formed of a different verb than the English idiom, German uses a prepositional expression and a different adjective.

to back the wrong horse aufs verkehrte Pferd setzen (to seat on an amiss horse)

The whole German idiom is a nonverbal phrase which corresponds to the English imperative. The noun horses is modified by the attribute young.

hold your horses immer sachte mit den jungen Pferden (always gently with young horses)

178

6 Examination of Individual Examples The following English idiom employs in the grass which is in the German idiom expressed as false snake, thus the adverbial of place is replaced by an attribute.

a snake in the grass falsche Schlange

6.3 Color Idioms 6.3.1 English and Czech Idioms 6.3.1.1 Total Correspondence b) Overall correspondence Morphological deviation •

Different grammatical case or preposition The only example in this section shows the use of different prepositions in English and Czech.

in black and white černé na bílém (black on white)

6.3.1.2 Partial Correspondence c) Using a different lexical means for one element of the idiom Both English and Czech employ the identical color—white but they differ in the noun which is described by it.

white sale bílý týden (week)

e) Idioms possessing a different number of lexical expressions The first three idioms contain more lexical expressions in English than in Czech. The nouns light and face are used as a specification. The two colors in to be black and blue are contrasted with one color in the Czech idiom to be all blue.

to give s’one the green light dát komu zelenou (green) 179


till one is blue in the face dokud není člověk celý modrý (till one is all blue) to be black and blue být celý modrý (all blue)

The next two idioms are formed by more lexical means in Czech. The adjective made of the noun brain works as an explicit explanation of the grey matter. Similarly the noun numbers indicates financial context of the idiom, thus it works as a specification.

grey matter šedá hmota mozková (brain) to be in the red být v červených číslech (red numbers)

h) Idiomatic expression using a different color

grey area bílé místo (white)

The following idiom used to denote the car used by the police to transport prisoners not only employs a different color in the two languages compared but the proper name applied varies as well.

black Maria zelený Anton (green)

6.3.2 English and French Idioms 6.3.2.1 Total Correspondence b) Overall correspondence Morphological deviation •

Different grammatical case or preposition Two examples of English and French idioms made by means of different prepositions were found in the corpus of color idioms.

in black and white noir sur blanc (black on white) 180


white wedding marriage en blanc (wedding in white)


A different structure (accompanied by e.g. a different verb) The English verb be is complemented by the French verb have in the idiom below.

to be in a blue funk avoir une peur bleue (to have a blue fear)

6.3.2.2 Partial Correspondence c) Using a different lexical means for one element of the idiom The two languages use identical color in the idioms but differ in the nouns employed.

black death peste noire (plague) bluebottle mouche bleue (fly)

e) Idioms possessing a different number of lexical expressions All idioms belonging to this section possess more lexemes in the English idioms. The first two French idioms unlike their English counterparts personify the noun collar to denote the person and therefore do not need to add the English noun worker.

white-collar worker col blanc (white collar) blue-collar worker col bleu (blue collar)

As for the last idiom in this section, English proves to be more explicit than French which uses a condensed form of expression.

to see things through rose-colored spectacles voir la vie en rose (to see the life in pink)

181


6.3.3 Czech and German Idioms 6.3.3.1 Total Correspondence b) Overall correspondence Compound German brings another proof of its tendency to express ideas in the form of compounds.

vidět rudě rotsehen (to see red)

6.3.3.2 Partial Correspondence c) Using a different lexical means for one element of the idiom The two idioms differ in the proper name employed.

zelený Anton grüne Minna

e) Idioms possessing a different number of lexical expressions Czech unlike German uses the idiom without the noun light.

dát komu zelenou jdm. grünes Licht geben (to give s’one the green light)

h) Idiomatic expression using a different color The Czech white is matched in the German idiom by grey which is found in the English original.

bílé místo (white) Grauzone (grey area)

i) Identical color but a different structure and lexical elements in the idiom The brain matter in Czech is equivalent to the German cells which are in both languages described by the grey color.

182


šedá hmota mozková (brain matter) graue Zellen (cells)

6.3.4 Czech and French Idioms 6.3.4.1 Partial Correspondence c) Using a different lexical means for one element of the idiom Czech in contrast with French employs a color when describing a black day. The French equivalent is the adjective sad.

černý den (black day) un jour triste (sad day)

The next idiom retains the color in both languages and the difference lies in the naming of the plague.

černá smrt (death) peste noire (plague)

e) Idioms possessing a different number of lexical expressions The Czech idiom is shorter than the French idiom which employs the noun light.

dát komu zelenou donner le feu vert à qu’un (to give s’one the green light)

The Czech idiom uses more lexical expressions than the French idiom which is a perfect match to the English original.

šedá hmota mozková (brain matter) matière grise (grey matter)

i) Identical color but a different structure and lexical elements in the idiom The Czech idiom employs pink spectacles as opposed to French life in pink.

vidět svět růžovými brýlemi (to see the world with pink spectacles) voir la vie en rose (to see the life in pink)

183

6 Examination of Individual Examples In Czech, to be all blue is matched in French by to be covered in blue where blue indicates bruises.

být celý modrý (to be all blue) être couvert de bleus (to be covered in blue)

French sale of white corresponds to the Czech white week.

bílý týden (white week) vente de blanc (sale of white)

6.3.5 English and German Idioms 6.3.5.1 Total Correspondence b) Overall correspondence Compound German reveals two more compounds in the examples below.

to see red rotsehen (to see red) grey area Grauzone (grey area)


Different grammatical case or preposition The first set of idioms is characterized by the use of a different preposition—English in against German on.

in black and white schwarz auf weiß (black on white) The following idiom is a nonprepositional phrase in English as

opposed to the German idiom with the preposition in.

white wedding Hochzeit in weiß (wedding in white)

184

6 Examination of Individual Examples 6.3.5.2 Partial Correspondence c) Using a different lexical means for one element of the idiom The idiom denoting brain is in English based on the noun matter which corresponds to the noun cells in German.

grey matter graue Zellen (cells)

Unlike the previous idiom which differed in the noun, the next idiom in this section demonstrates a difference in one of the two colors employed—black in English against green in German.

to be black and blue grün und blau sein (green)

e) Idioms possessing a different number of lexical expressions The first two idioms are formed by analogy, they designate the state of account and German uses the nouns figures which are not employed in English.

to be in the red in den roten Zahlen sein (figures) to be in the black in den schwarzen Zahlen sein (figures)

The following idiom possesses more lexemes in English which uses the noun treatment.

red-carpet treatment roter Teppich

h) Idiomatic expression using a different color The following idiom used to denote the car used by the police to transport prisoners not only employs a different color in the two languages compared (black in English against green in German) but the proper name applied varies as well.

black Maria grüne Minna (green) 185

6 Examination of Individual Examples A favorite person is described by means of blue color in English and golden in German.

blue-eyed boy goldjunge (golden)

i) Identical color but a different structure and lexical elements in the idiom The English idiom below keeps the red color in German but the whole expression runs a day marked in red in the calendar. It might be speculated whether this idiom belongs to the one of the non correspondence sections, periphrasis, but it seems that because it is formed by means of an identical color as the English idiom, it should be placed here.

red-letter day im Kalendar rot anzustreichender Tag (a day marked in red in the calendar)

186

7 Conclusion

7 Conclusion The present dissertation has set as its aim the analysis of idioms in four different languages—English, Czech, French and German. The analysis was carried out with respect to the hypothesis outlined in Chapter 2. The basis of the hypothesis lies in the statement that there exist more identical idioms in Czech and German than in Czech and English or Czech and French. General characteristics of languages were presented to provide background information about the four languages which were being dealt with. Apart from that, it was necessary to thoroughly examine the idiom as the basic element of the dissertation. An attempt was carried out to bring a definition of the idiom in view of knowledge and data available. The definition provided was necessary in order to explain what is understood by the term idiom for this dissertation. It was complemented by theoretical background of idiom study. The present dissertation thus attempted to prove or deny the hypothesis by studying idioms from three different lexical fields. The three thematic categories studied were the human body, animals and colors. The topic of the human body idioms was selected because of the fact that idiomatic language is human-centered and a large number of idioms contain some part of the human body. Because a body is an issue which is close to any human, even idioms containing some part of the human body are accessible. Moreover, the human body idioms reveal the way speakers of different languages regard reality. As for animals, the reason for concentrating on them was similar to the human body idioms. Animals, as well as the body, are closely linked to people. Therefore, it was expected that there would be a substantial number of animal

187

7 Conclusion idioms. The connection between people and animals in terms of idioms is tight to the extent that animals are likened to humans and they are attributed human qualities. Thus animal idioms bearing the notion of indirectness, which suggests that the characteristic features are associated with animals instead of being expressed directly to humans, represent the second largest group of idioms in this dissertation. Unlike the two above mentioned thematic categories, a third area which is less numerous includes color idioms. Color idioms were selected for analysis to find out whether identical color is used in different languages with identical meaning. The low number of examples could reveal whether the hypothesis is valid even for such a small group of idioms. The idioms from the three above mentioned lexical fields were gathered to form a corpus for the sole purpose of this dissertation. The principal source of idioms in the corpus were dictionaries. These included general language dictionaries, dictionaries of idioms, monolingual, and bilingual dictionaries. An invaluable source were native speakers of the languages who supplied idioms and above all checked the usage of the idioms. This was necessary because of the fact that any language is subject to a constant change and it takes some time before the change is incorporated into dictionaries. Native speakers (next to the internet which is regarded less reliable, though) can reflect the changes and check any disputed usage. The next source of idioms for the corpus were works presenting lists of idioms, both specialized in some field—e.g. Basuaux (1992) introducing animal idioms or general works on idioms, as for instance Denoeu (1996). Some idioms come from works containing idioms which are aimed at foreign language learners—e.g. Seidl and McMordie (1997).

188

7 Conclusion An attempt was made to create a corpus of idioms with equivalents in all four languages. If the equivalent exists, it is either an idiom or a non-idiomatic expression. Nevertheless, for some English idioms no equivalent was found in the three other languages. This is presented in the appendices which provide all the idioms because in those instances there remained an empty space in the table. The analysis of the corpus of idioms was carried out on the basis of typology explained in Section 4.1. When contrasting idioms and searching for their corresponding equivalents in the other language it is important to preserve the overall meaning of the idiom. Thus the correspondence was based on semantics. Nevertheless, the analysis took into consideration even the formal aspect of the idioms or their corresponding expressions. As far as the typology which was explained and used in the analysis is concerned, a remark has to be made. The distinction among total, partial and non correspondence including the sections introduced in that chapter was maintained. However, the typology was extended during the course of the idiom analysis to include more sections within the three basic categories than originally introduced. The fact that they were extended was based on the analysis of the corpus which revealed some new sections. Yet they served as the extension of the original ones. They did not oppose the original layout, they only made it possible to provide a more detailed study. A graphical representation of idiom analysis was introduced. The figures and especially the percentage demonstrated the occurrences of idioms in the particular sections. All the expressions in the corpus were divided into three basic categories—total, partial and non correspondence. Further division of

189

7 Conclusion them was provided and the results obtained were introduced in the tables organized by pairs of languages. The first summary of the conclusions arrived at in the course of the analysis concerns body idioms. The interpretation can be put to the figures and percentages

introduced

in

both

total

correspondence

and

partial

correspondence in view of Czech and German idioms. This interpretation is that Czech and German body idioms demonstrated themselves to be correspondent in terms of total correspondence as opposed to Czech and English or Czech and French idioms. On the other hand, when partial correspondence was taken into account, Czech and German body idioms did not attain the leading position, on the contrary, they showed the lowest percentage from all the pairs of languages compared. This suggested that Czech and German body idioms agree totally to a considerable degree—27.8%, far less do they agree partially—only in 19.5% and as shown in Table 3, about half of the Czech and German idioms in the corpus display non correspondence. Thus the hypothesis was shown to be valid for total correspondence in body idioms but is invalid for partial correspondence. As regards animal idioms, total correspondence substantiated the hypothesis of more Czech and German corresponding idioms than Czech and English or Czech and French idioms. The situation was different with partially correspondent idioms where Czech and English idioms represented 23.3% whereas in Czech and German there was only 14.6% partial correspondence. Thus, it was slightly higher than Czech and French partial correspondence (13.8%). The figures in the tables describing animal idioms demonstrated that when contrasted to body idioms, animal idioms showed a higher level of non

190

7 Conclusion correspondence. The percentage of all language pairs compared exceeded 60% as opposed to body idioms where the highest score was achieved by Czech and French idioms with 54.3%, followed by 52.6% for Czech and German. The three other language pairs showed scores of non correspondence below 50%. The third lexical field of idioms—color idioms provide in terms of total correspondence analogous results to body and animal idioms, i.e. they confirmed

the

hypothesis.

The

exact

percentage

obtained

for

total

correspondence with color idioms is introduced to support the hypothesis— Czech and German color idioms form 24.4%, Czech and English 22.4% and Czech and French 12.5%. On the other hand, the outcome of the analysis of partial correspondence was dissimilar to total correspondence. Czech and German color idioms showed a lower percentage (9.8%) than both Czech and English (16.3%) and Czech and French (14.6%) color idioms. Therefore, the results of partial correspondence contradict the hypothesis. The study of color idioms also brought the information on non correspondence. When compared to non correspondence with animal expressions, the overall result was very similar, the percentage of non correspondence in colors differed by no more than two per cent in the five pairs of languages compared with the exception of English and German where the difference was about 8%. Thus the category of non correspondence demonstrated comparable results for animal and color idioms, the percentage was around 60%. On the other hand, body idioms manifested more correspondence, therefore the percentage in Table 3 confirmed that non correspondence with them was from around 36% to around 54%. This led to the conclusion that there were more corresponding idioms in the category of the human body than in animals or colors.

191

7 Conclusion To conclude, the analysis of idioms substantiated the hypothesis in total correspondence. There were more Czech and German idioms than Czech and English or Czech and French. As regards partial correspondence, Czech and English idioms proved to demonstrate higher percentage in body, animal, and color idioms than Czech and German idioms. The implication is that the hypothesis was not confirmed in that respect. Even if it is undergirded to a certain extent because the results of partial correspondence for Czech and French animal idioms demonstrated lower percentage than Czech and German idioms, which is in line with the hypothesis. However, the overall view of partial correspondence contradicts the hypothesis.

192

Résumé

Résumé Tématem této dizertační práce je srovnávací analýza idiomů ve čtyřech různých jazycích – angličtině, češtině, francouzštině a němčině. Práce se ovšem nezabývá všemi existujícími idiomy ve všech čtyřech jazycích, jež jsou předmětem srovnání, nicméně se věnuje třem tématicky definovaným oblastem. Zaměřuje se na idiomy, které obsahují části lidského těla, zvířata a barvy. Korpus těchto idiomů byl sestaven specificky pro tuto práci. Cílem práce je ověřit platnost hypotézy formulované ve druhé kapitole, jež předpokládá, že existuje více ekvivalentních idiomů v češtině a němčině než v češtině a angličtině nebo v češtině a francouzštině. Ovšem před přistoupením k samotné

analýze

se

práce

věnuje

teoretickému zázemí. Nejprve se pokouší vnést světlo do problematiky definice idiomu jakožto klíčového aspektu celé práce, která není jednoduchou záležitostí, jak by se mohlo na první pohled zdát. Neexistuje totiž jediná všeobecně platná definice idiomu. Proto jsou v práci představeny různé definice idiomů pocházející jednak z všeobecných zdrojů jako jsou například slovníky či encyklopedie (Crystal 1996). Dále se jedná o definice z děl, jež jsou lingvisticky zaměřena, ať už se jedná o slovníky idiomů či lexikologické práce. Vedle anglických zdrojů jsou okrajově zmíněny i zdroje české. Je tomu tak proto, že výchozím jazykem při psaní práce je angličtina, tudíž i většina použité literatury vychází z angličtiny. V kapitole věnované definici idiomu se objevuje snaha představit vlastní definici idiomu, která by odpovídala jeho pojetí pro tuto práci. Na tomto místě je třeba ještě poznamenat, že vedle anglických zdrojů, které v práci dominují, a českých zdrojů, které dosahují největšího počtu mezi

193

Résumé ostatními jazyky, byly rovněž v menší míře použity zdroje psané ve francouzštině a němčině, dalších jazycích, jejichž idiomy byly předmětem srovnání. Pro úplnost ještě dodejme, že vzhledem k relevantnosti byla zařazena i práce v polském jazyce. Součástí teoretického uvedení do problematiky idiomů je i přehled prací zabývajících se idiomy. Jedná se o významná díla v oblasti anglické a české idiomatiky, která přibližují různé aspekty studia idiomů a jsou jakýmsi průřezem v této oblasti. Přinášejí různá pojetí a náhledy na danou problematiku, jež zahrnují například různé způsoby dělení idiomů. Vlastní analýze idiomů ještě předchází vysvětlení metody, jež byla použita při samotné analýze. Ta je založena na sémantickém hledisku, hlavní roli tudíž hraje význam idiomu. Vedle tohoto sémantického hlediska se přihlíží i k formálnímu, srovnání tedy vychází z obsahu a formy. V práci jsou popsány studie z oblasti kontrastivní frazeologie, jež přispěly spolu s vlastní analytickou činností k vytvoření typologie analýzy idiomů, jež byla použita. Při srovnávání idiomů v různých jazycích mohou nastat dvě základní situace. Idiom buď v jazyce existuje, má tudíž idiomatický ekvivalent, nebo v jednom ze srovnávaných jazyků neexistuje, což znamená, že by měl být nahrazen nějakým jiným způsobem. Ovšem může nastat i situace, že neexistuje a ani není nijak nahrazen, například v případě, že se popisovaná realita v daném jazykovém prostředí nevyskytuje. Idiomy jsou v práci rozděleny do tří základních skupin, které se ještě dále dělí. Toto základní rozdělení je úplná ekvivalence, částečná ekvivalence a žádná ekvivalence. Úplnou ekvivalencí se rozumí případy, kdy si idiomy ve srovnávaných jazycích odpovídají na několika úrovních – sémantické, formální

194

Résumé a funkční.

Tato ekvivalence se dále dělí na 100% ekvivalenci a celkovou

ekvivalenci, která se ještě dále člení. Také částečná ekvivalence má několik podskupin, které se mění i v souvislosti s tématickou oblastí, kterou analyzují. U částí lidského těla a zvířat je větší množství podskupin než u barev, které tvoří nejméně početnou část korpusu. V neposlední řadě má své podskupiny i žádná ekvivalence, která ovšem přímo nesouvisí s potvrzením nebo vyvrácením hypotézy. Na tom se podílejí úplná nebo částečná ekvivalence. Detailní rozbor idiomů ve všech skupinách a podskupinách ze všech třech tématických oblastí přináší další analýzu idiomů, jež jsou číselně a procentuelně zařazeny a setříděny v páté kapitole. Ta také částečně potvrdila výchozí hypotézu, že se v korpusu nachází více ekvivalentních českých a německých idiomů než českých a anglických nebo českých a francouzských. Hypotéza je totiž platná pouze v případě úplné ekvivalence. V oblasti částečné ekvivalence byla tato hypotéza vyvrácena, poněvadž se v korpusu vyskytlo více ekvivalentních idiomů v češtině a angličtině než v češtině a němčině.

195

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A English and Czech Body Idioms

A English and Czech Body Idioms A.1 A.1.1

Total Correspondence 100% Correspondence

Behind s’one’s back To have an eye for sth

Za čími zády Mít oko pro něco

Dans le dos de qu’un Avoir l’oeil pour qch

To make a face To lose face At first hand (Near) at hand

Udělat obličej Ztratit tvář Z první ruky Po ruce

S’one’s right hand

Něčí pravá ruka

Faire une grimace Perdre la face De première main Sous la main/ à portée de la main Un bras droit

To dirty one’s hands with sth

Špinit si ruce čím

Se sailir les mains avec qch

To have one’s hands tied To lose one‘s head To take sth to heart

Mít svázané ruce

Avoir les mains liées

Ztratit hlavu Vzít si co k srdci

Perdre la tête Prendre qch à coeur

To have a heart of gold To have a heart of stone To have the heart to do sth Achilles’ heel To be up to one’s neck in sth To ride at a breakneck pace To be a bundle of nerves To be soaked/ drenched to the skin To be armed to the teeth To have a wasp waist

Mít srdce ze zlata

Avoir un coeur d’or

Mít srdce z kamene

Avoir un coeur de pierre Avoir le coeur de faire qch Talon d’Achille Être dans quelque chose jusqu’au cou Aller au casse-cou

To sweat blood

Potit krev, dřít se

Être un paquet de nerves Être mouillé/trempé jusqu’aux os Être armé jusqu’aux dents Avoir une taille de guêpe Suer sang et eau

Brain drain

Odliv mozků

Exode des cerveaux

Mít srdce něco udělat Achillova pata Být v něčem až po krk Jet krkolomnou rychlostí Být uzlíček nervů Být promoklý až na kůži Být po zuby ozbrojen Mít vosí pas

Hinter jds. Rücken Ein Auge für etwas haben Ein Gesicht machen Das Gesicht verlieren Aus erster Hand Zur Hand Rechte Hand Sich mit etwas die Hände schmutzig machen Gebundene Hände haben Den Kopf verlieren Sich etwas zu Herzen nehmen Ein goldenes Herz haben Ein Herz aus Stein haben Das Herz haben etwas zu tun Achillesferse Bis über den Hals in etwas stecken Mit halsbrecherischer Geswindigkeit fahren Ein Nervenbündel sein Bis auf die Haut nass sein Bis an die Zähne bewaffnet sein Eine Wespentaille haben Blut (und Wasser) schwitzen Braindrain

202


To cry one’s eyes out

Vyplakat si oči

To raise one’s eyebrows at sth To laugh in s‘one’s face To twist s’one round one’s (little) finger

Zvednout obočí (překvapení, pochybnost) Smát se komu do obličeje Omotat si koho kolem prstu

To stand on one’s own (two) feet With a heavy hand

Stát na vlastních nohou Tvrdou rukou

Voler de ses propres ailes Avec poigne

To put heads together

Dát hlavy dohromady Mít srdce na pravém místě Otočit se na podpatku, na patě Dloubnout/rýpnout koho do žeber Mít knedlík v krku /mít sevřené hrdlo Mít ostrý jazyk

Se consulter

To feel sth in one’s bones Face to face

Cítit co v kostech

Sentir qch dans tous ses os Face à face

Etwas im Urin spüren

To put/lay one‘s finger on sth To go/come cap/hat in hand To be chilled/frozen to the marrow New blood

Vložit prst na, poukázat na Přijít s čepicí v ruce

Etwas genau ausmachen Demütig kommen

To be under s’one’s thumb To pat s’one on the back

Být pod čím palcem

Mettre le doigt sur qch Se présenter le à la main Être gelé jusqu’à la moelle des os Un apport de sang frais Être sous la domination de qu‘un Complimenter qu‘un Faire appel aux lumières de qu’un

Jdm. (nach etwas) ausfragen

To have one’s heart in the right place To turn/spin on one’s heel To dig/poke s’one in the ribs To have a lump in one’s throat To have a sharp tongue

To pick s’one‘s brains

Tváří v tvář

Být zmrzlý až do morku kostí Nová krev

Poplácat koho po zádech (pochvalně) Tahat rozumy, využívat čího rozumu

Pleurer toutes les larmes de ses yeux Sourciller

Sich die Augen ausweinen Die Stirn runzeln

Rire au nez de qu’un

Jdm. ins Gesicht lachen Jdm. um den (kleinen) Finger wickeln Auf eigenen Füβen/ Beinen stehen Mit harter/fester/ starker Hand Seine Köpfe zusammenstecken Das Herz auf dem rechten Fleck haben Auf dem Absatz kehrtmachen Jdm. in die Rippen stoßen Einen Kloβ im Hals haben Eine scharfe Zunge haben

Faire de qu’un ce qu’on veut

Avoir le coeur bien placé Tourner les talons Pousser qu’un du coude Avoir la gorge serrée Avoir la dent dure

Auge in Auge

Völlig durchgefroren sein Frisches Blut Unter jds. Fuchtel stehen Jdm. auf die Schulter klopfen

203


To make eyes at s’one

Dělat oči (zamilované)

To have a head for sth

Mít na co hlavu

To have one’s head in the clouds Have one’s head examined

Mít hlavu v oblacích

Faire les yeux doux/de velours à qu’un Avoir des dispositions pour qch Être dans la lune

Nechat si vyšetřit hlavu

Avoir besoin de se faire soigner

To save one’s neck To have nerves of iron/steel To do sth under s’one’s (very) nose To put/lay one’s head on the block To shoot/fire from the hip To have a good nose

Zachránit si krk Mít nervy ze železa

Sauver sa peau Avoir des nerves d’acier Faire qch au nez et à la barbe de qu’un

Udělat něco přímo pod nosem Dát hlavu na špalek Střílet od boku Mít dobrý nos

A.1.2

Overall Correspondence

A.1.2.1

Compound

Brainwashing A.1.2.2

Vymývání mozků

Jdm. schöne Augen machen Etwas gut machen können In den Wolken schweben Sich mal auf seinen Geisteszustand untersuchen lassen sollen Seinen Kopf retten Nerven wie Drahtseile haben Etwas vor jds. Augen tun Kopf und Kragen riskieren Aus der Hüfte schießen

Avoir bon nez

Du lavage de cerveau

Gehirnwäsche

Morphological Deviation

a) The singular in one language against the plural in the other To be nothing but skin and bones To fight tooth and nail To be all ears To run/cast one’s eye over sth To have a finger in every pie To play into s‘one’s hands To have the brains of a canary To turn a blind eye to/on sth

Být kost a kůže Prát se zuby nehty Být jedno ucho Přelétnout očima Mít prsty ve všem

N’avoir que la peau et les os Se battre avec acharnement Être tout oreilles Jeter un coup d’oeil à/sur qch Se mêler de tout

Hrát komu na ruku, nahrávat

Faire le jeu de qu‘un

Mít ptačí mozek

Avoir une cervelle d‘oiseau/ de moineau Fermer les yeux sur qch

Zavírat nad něčím oči

Nur noch Haut und Knochen sein Bis aufs Blut kämpfen Ganz Ohr sein Etwas mit den Augen überfliegen Überall die Finger drin haben Jdm. in die Hände spielen Ein Spatzenhirn haben Bei etwas eine Auge zudrücken

b) Different grammatical case or preposition, using reflexive verb in one language

204


In cold blood

Chladnokrevně

De sang forid

Kaltblütig

To beat one‘s breast



By the sweat of one’s brow To open s’one’s eyes

V potu tváře

To save face To burn one’s fingers

Zachovat si tvář Spálit si prsty

À la sueur de son front Ouvrir les yeux à qu’un Sauver la face Se brûler les doigts

To point the finger at s’one To break s’one’s heart

Ukázat na koho prstem Zlomit komu srdce

To stretch one’s legs

Protáhnout si nohy

To hang on s’one’s lips To loosen s’one’s tongue To bite one’s tongue

Viset komu na rtech

Sich an die Brust schlagen Im Schweiße seines Angesichtes Jdm. Die Augen öffnen Das Gesicht retten Sich die Finger verbrennen Mit dem Finger auf jdm. zeigen Jdm. das Herz brechen Sich die Beine vertreten Jdm. an den Lippen hängen Jds. Zunge lösen

Otevřít komu oči

Rozvázat komu jazyk

To turn one’s back on s’one To wash one’s hands of sth/s’one

Kousat se do rtů/ jazyka Obrátit se ke komu zády Mýt si ruce nad čím/kým

To beat sth into s’one’s head

Vtlouct komu co do hlavy

c)

Montrer qu’un du doigt Briser le coeur à qu’un Se dérouiller les jambes Être suspendu aux lèvres de qu’un Délier la langue à qu’un Se mordre les lèvres Tourner le dos à qu’un S’en laver les mains

Sich auf die Lippen beißen Jdm. im Stich lassen Mit etwas/jdm. nichts mehr zu tun haben wollen

S’enfoncer qch dans le crane

Jdm. etwas eintrichtern

L‘échapper d’un cheveu

Mit knapper Not entkommen

A diminutive in one language

To escape by a hair/ a hair’s breadth

Uniknout o vlásek

d) Change in word order To be nothing but skin and bones

Být kost a kůže



To take one’s eyes off sth

Spustit z čeho oči

Quitter qch des yeux

Die Augen von etwas abwenden

To go into sth with one’s eyes open

Jít do čeho s otevřenýma očima

Faire qch en connaissance de cause

e) A different way of forming the corresponding part of speech

205


To make s’one’s blood boil To elbow one’s way

Zpěnit krev, přivést do varu Razit si lokty cestu

To put/set a foot wrong To put one’s foot in it

Šlápnout vedle

To set/clap one’s eyes on s’one/sth

Spatřit, uvidět koho/co

A.1.2.3

Šlápnout do toho, udělat trapas

Faire bouillir qu’un Se frayer un passage (en jouant des coudes) Mettre un pied de travers Mettre les pieds dans le plat Voir qu’un/ qch

Jdm. das Blut in Wallung bringen Sich mit den Ellenbogen einen Weg bahnen Einen Fehler machen Ins Fettnäpfchen treten Jdm./ etwas zu Gesicht bekommen

Syntactical Deviation

a) A different structure (accompanied by e.g. a different verb) To be in s’one’s blood Your ears must have been burning

Mít něco v krvi (talent) Jistě vám zvonilo v uších

Avoir cela dans le sang Les oreilles ont dû vous tinter

That turns my stomach! That looks really mouth-watering

Z toho se mi zvedá žaludek Sbíhají se mi z toho sliny

Ça soulève le coeur!

My heart was in my mouth/throat One’s head would never save one’s legs

Měl jsem srdce v krku

J’avais le coeur dans la gorge Quand on n’a pas de tête, il faut avoir des jambes

To offer s‘one a shoulder to cry on

Nechat koho vyplakat se na rameni

A.2

Co nemá člověk v hlavě, musí mít v nohách

Ceci met l’eau à la bouche

Etwas im Blut haben Ihnen müssen die Ohren geklungen haben Dabei dreht sich mir der Magen um Da läuft einem ja das Wasser im Mund(e) zusammen Mir schlug das Herz bis zum Hals

Jdm. anbieten sich an jds. Brust ausweinen

Partial Correspondence

a) Expressiveness versus neutrality To do sth with one’s eyes closed/shut

Dokázat se zavřenýma očima

Faire qch les yeux fermés

He has eyes for no one but her/ he has eyes only for her To bring s’one to his/her knees A big mouth

Má oči jen pro ni

Il n’a d’yeux que pour elle

Etwas mit geschlossenen Augen machen Er hat nur Augen für sie

Srazit koho na kolena

Mettre qu’un à genoux Une grande gueule

Jdm. in die Knie zwingen Eine große Klappe

Velká huba

206


To live from hand to mouth To eat out of s’one’s hand To fall flat on one’s face To put one’s foot down

Žít z ruky do huby

Vivre au jour le jour

Zobat komu z ruky

Obéir qu’un comme un chien Tomber face contre terre Faire acte d’autorité/ être catégorique

To shoot one’s mouth off To rush/throw oneself into the lion’s mouth

Pouštět si hubu na špacír Vrhnout se do lví tlamy

Spadnout rovnou na hubu Dupnout si, prosazovat

Révéler un secret

Von der Hand in den Mund leben Jdm. aus der Hand fressen Auf die Nase fallen Energisch werden Das Maul aufreißen

Se jeter dans la gueule du loup

b) Using lexically different words but keeping the semantic meaning To welcome/receive s‘one with open arms To do a belly flop

Přijmout koho s otevřenou náručí Udělat/skočit placáka

Ouvrir/tendre les bras à qu‘un Faire un plat ventre

It goes in one ear and out the other

Jít jedním uchem tam a druhým ven

Entrer par une oreille et sortir par l’autre

Before/under s’one’s very eyes From the bottom of one’s heart To be hot on s’one’s heels To give s‘one a free hand/have a free hand To get out of hand To get sth into one’s head To go to s’one‘s head

Přímo před zraky koho Z celého srdce, z hloubi duše Být těsně v patách

Juste sous les yeux de qu’un Du fond du coeur

Nechat komu volnou ruku

Avoir carte blanche

Vymknout se z ruky Vzít si něco do hlavy

Échapper des mains S’enfoncer qch dans le crâne Monter au cerveau à qu‘un Passer un savon à qu‘un Loin des yeux, loin du coeur

Aus der Hand gleiten Sich etwas in den Kopf setzen Einem in den Kopf steigen Jdm. den Kopf abreißen Aus den Augen, aus dem Sinn

Taper sur les nerfs à qu‘un Faire la petite bouche Fourrer son nez partout

Jdm. auf die Nerven gehen Die Nase rümpfen Seine Nase in etwas stecken

To bite one’s head off

Stoupat/stoupnout komu do hlavy Utrhnout komu hlavu

Out of sight, out of mind

Sejde z očí, sejde z mysli

To get on s’one’s nerves Turn up one’s nose To poke/stick one’s nose into sth

Jít komu na nervy Ohrnovat nos Strkat nos, plést se do čeho

Talloner qu’un

Jdm. mit offenen Armen empfangen Einen Bauchklatscher machen Das geht zum einen Ohr hinein und zum anderen wieder hinaus Direkt vor seinen Augen Aus tiefstem Herzen Dicht auf den Fersen sein Jemandem freie Hand lassen

207


To make s’one’s blood freeze/run cold To get sth off one‘s chest To shout at the top of one’s lungs

Nahánět hrůzu, až tuhne krev v žilách Říct , co má člověk na srdci, ulevit si Křičet z plných plic

Glacer le sang à qu’un Déballer ce qu’on a sur le coeur Crier à pleins poumons

Jdm. eiskalt über den Rücken laufen Sich etwas von der Seele reden Schreien aus vollem Halse

To jump out of one’s skin To elbow s’one aside

Vyletět z kůže

Ne pas tenir dans sa peau Écarter qu’un du coude

To read s’one’s mind

Číst komu myšlenky

To look down one’s nose at s’one Brainchild

Ohrnovat nos nad kým, dívat se na koho svrchu Duchovní dítě

Aus dem Häuschen geraten Jdm. mit den Ellenbogen zur Seite stoβen Jemandes Gedanken lesen Auf jdm. herabblicken

Don’t waste your breath! To be easy on the eye

Nemluv do větru/ šetři s dechem! Lahodit oku

To be dead on one’s feet To know sth like the back of one’s hand In my heart of hearts

Sotva stát na nohou

In hand To learn sth by heart She leads him by the nose To be all eyes To force s’one’s hand I have butterflies in my stomach To have one’s back to the wall To make no bones about sth

Odstrčit stranou

Znát něco jako svoje boty Podle mého nejhlubšího přesvědčení, v hloubi duše Pod kontrolou, pevně v rukou Naučit se něco nazpaměť Tancuje, jak ona píská Mít oči na stopkách Vnutit komu svou vůli Mám strašnou trému Být zahnaný do kouta Nedělat cavyky

Lire dans la pensée de qu’un Regarder qu’un de haut Idée originale/ Invention personnelle Épargne ta salive!

Geistesprodukt

Être un plaisir pour les yeux Être à plat

Verschwende nicht deine Worte! Angenehm anzusehen sein Todmüde sein

Connaître qch comme sa poche Au plus profond de mon coeur

Etwas wie seine Westentasche kennen Im Grunde meines Herzens

En main

Im Griff

Apprendre qch par coeur Elle le mène par le bout du nez Être tout yeux Forcer la main à qu‘un

Etwas auswendig lernen Er tanzt ganz nach ihrer Pfeife Groβe Augen machen Jdm. zwingen zu handeln

J’ai des papillons dans l’estomac Être au pied du mur

Mir wird ganz flau im Magen In die Enge getrieben werden/sein Keine Umstände machen

Ne pas y aller avec le dos de la cuiller

208


Near the bone/ knuckle To keep one‘s eyes skinned/peeled

Na hranici slušnosti

D‘un goût douteux

Mít oči otevřené

Ouvrir l‘oeil

I‘ll have your guts for garters! To keep one‘s head above water It is straight from the horse’s mouth

Roztrhnu tě jako hada! Držet se nad vodou

J’aurai ta peau! Se maintenir

Je to z první ruky

Ça vient de la source

Be a pain in the neck

Jít komu na nervy

Être un casse-pieds

Jdm. auf die Nerven gehen

To put one’s shoulder to the wheel

Přiložit ruku k dílu

Mettre la main à la pâte

Hand ans Werk legen

To have one’s eye on sth

Mít něco vyhlídnuté, dělat si zálusk

Avoir qch en vue

Auf etwas ein Auge geworfen haben

To work one’s fingers to the bone To have/get cold feet

Dřít, pracovat do úpadu Mít strach, mít plné kalhoty Darovanému koni na zuby nehleď

S’user au travail

Sich die Finger abarbeiten Kalte Füβe kriegen

À cheval donné on ne regarde pas la dent

Einem geschenkten Gaul schaut man nicht ins Maul

To be thick-skinned

Mít hroší kůži

Dickfellig sein

To be wet behind the ears To have/keep one’s finger on the pulse of sth

Být zelenáč

Avoir la peau dure/une peau de rhinocéros Être encore bleu

Být v obraze, sledovat vývoj

Se tenir à la page

To have a frog in one’s throat

Mít knedlík v krku, chraptět

Avoir un chat dans la gorge

Einen Frosch im Hals haben

To make s‘one‘s hair stand on end

Nahánět hrůzu (až vstávají vlasy na hlavě)

Faire dresser les cheveux sur la tête à qu‘un

Da stehen einem ja die Haare zu Berge

To have pins and needles in one’s legs

Mít mravenčení, brnění v noze

Avoir les fourmis dans les jambes

Die Beine kribbeln

To be kindhearted/ to give the shirt off one’s back

Mít srdce na dlani

Avoir le coeur sur la main

Gutherzig sein

You shouldn’t look a gift-horse in the mouth

c)

Avoir la frousse

Hart an der Grenze sein Die Augen offen halten Ich mache dich zur Schnecke Sich über Wasser halten Es ist aus erster Hand

Noch feucht hinter den Ohren sein Den Finger am Puls einer Sache haben

Using a different lexical means for one element of the idiom

209


Bone of contention

Jablko sváru


Zankapfel

Not to turn a hair

Nehnout ani brvou

Ne pas broncher

To snatch s’one from the jaws of death

Vyrvat ze spárů (tlamy, chřtánu) smrti

Arracher qu’un des bras/des griffes de la mort

Nicht mit der Wimper zucken Jdm. den Klauen des Todes entreißen

From head to toe/foot

Od hlavy k patě

De la tête aux pieds

Von Kopf bis Fuß

To have a delicate palate To keep a straight face

Mít fajnový jazýček

Avoir le palais fin

Zachovat vážnou/ kamennou tvář

Garder son sérieux

Einen empfindlichen Gaumen haben Ernst bleiben

To put an idea into s’one’s head To stick one’s neck out To have a nose for sth

Nasadit někomu brouka do hlavy Riskovat krk

Mettre la puce à l’oreille de qu’un Risquer sa tête

Jdm. einen Floh ins Ohr setzen Seinen Kopf riskieren

Mít čich na něco

To play (a piece of music) by ear To have feet of clay

Hrát podle sluchu

Avoir du nez pour qch Jouer à l’oreille

Eine Nase für etwas haben Nach (dem) Gehör spielen Auf tönernen Füßen stehen Jdm. kein Härchen krümmen

Stát na hliněných nohou Nezkřivit komu ani vlas, nedotknout se prstem Neztratit hlavu

Avoir des pieds d’argile Ne pas toucher

Kamenná tvář, ledový obličej Dát si pauzu, nohy na stůl

Visage impassible Se rêlacher/ se reposer

Die Beine hochlegen

To get off on the wrong foot

Vykročit levou nohou

Partir du pied gauche

Einen schlechten Start haben

To open one‘s heart

Vylít si srdce, svěřit se Přiložit ruku k dílu

Vider son coeur

Sich etwas von der Seele reden Sich in die Riemen legen

Not to lay a finger on s’one To keep one‘s head Poker face To put one’s feet up

To put one‘s hand to the plough To fall on s’one’s neck

Skočit komu na krk

Garder toute sa tête

Mettre la main à la pâte Se jeter au cou de qu’un

Den Kopf nicht verlieren Pokergesicht

d) Using hypernyms or hyponyms To have a long arm

Mít dlouhé prsty, mít konexe

Avoir le bras long

Einen langen Arm haben

210


To beat one’s brains

Lámat si hlavu



To rack one’s brain(s)

Lámat si hlavu

Se casser la tête

To cherish s’one like the apple of s’one’s eye To keep one‘s fingers crossed/ to cross one’s fingers The bare bones of sth

Střežit koho jako oko v hlavě Držet palce/palec

Garder qu’un comme la prunelle de ses yeux Croiser les doigts

Sich den Kopf zerbrechen Jdm. wie seinen Augapfel hüten

Hrubá kostra

L’essentiel

To put a bug in one’s ear Get/pull your finger out! To have sth at one‘s fingertips To keep s’one at arm’s length

Nasadit brouka do hlavy Vytáhni ruce z kapes, začni něco dělat! Mít něco v malíčku

Mettre la puce à l’oreille de qu’un Grouille-toi!/Magnetoi! Savoir qch sur le bout du doigt Tenir qu’un à distance

Chin up! To be eyeball to eyeball To have a hand in sth

Hlavu vzhůru! Z očí do očí/tváří v tvář Mít prsty v čem

Hold your jaw!

Držet si koho od těla

Den/Die Daumen halten/drücken Die wesentlichen Punkte Jdm einen Floh ins Ohr setzen Nun mach schon! Etwas im kleinen Finger haben Sich jdm. vom Leibe halten

Drž hubu!

Courage! Être face à face/tête à tête Être pour qch dans qch La ferme!

Kopf hoch! Sich Auge in Auge gegenüberstehen Seine Finger im Spiel haben Halt‘s Maul!

To have a mind of one‘s own

Mít svou hlavu

Savoir ce qu’on veut

Seinen eigenen Kopf haben

To keep one’s mouth shut

Držet jazyk za zuby/ ústa

Den Mund/die Klappe halten

To be at s‘one’s elbow

Být po ruce

Tenir sa langue/fermer son caquet Être sous la main

To keep one‘s chin up

Držet hlavu vzhůru, nedat se

Tenir bon/tenir le coup

In Reichweite/bei sich sein Die Ohren steif halten

e) Idioms possessing a different number of lexical expressions To fall/land on one’s feet To have (got) both/ one’s feet (firmly) on the ground

Dopadnout na nohy Stát nohama na zemi

To grit one’s teeth

Zatnout zuby

Retomber sur ses pattes/pieds Avoir bien les pieds sur terre

Auf die Beine fallen

Serrer les dents

Die Zähne zusammenbeißen

Mit beiden Beinen (fest) auf der Erde stehen

211


Not to lift a finger

Ani nehnout prstem

Ne pas remuer le petit doigt Voler de ses propres ailes

Keinen Finger rühren

To stand on one’s own (two) feet

Stát na vlastních nohou

To have one‘s hands full with sth/s’one

Mít plné ruce práce s čím

Avoir fort à faire

Protnout hrudí cílovou pásku Mít oči i vzadu

Franchir la ligne d‘arrivée Avoir les yeux derrière la tête

Mit etwas/jdm. alle Hände voll zu tun haben Durchs Ziel gehen

To breast the tape

On the tip of one’s tongue Hold one’s tongue

Na jazyku

Sur le bout de la langue Tenir sa langue

Auf der Zunge

To have egg on one’s face To bang one’s head against a brick wall By word of mouth

Být za blbce, vypadat hloupě Jít hlavou proti zdi

Avoir l’air plutôt ridicule C’est comme si on chantait/flûtait De bouche à oreille

Dumm dastehen

To thumb one’s nose at s’one To take to one’s legs

Dělat dlouhý nos na koho Vzít nohy na ramena

To have a good head on one’s shoulders

Mít dobrou hlavu/ hlavu na pravém místě Mít srdce na dlani

To have eyes in the back of one‘s head

To wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve To smite s’one under the fifth rib f)

Držet jazyk za zuby

Ústně

Bodnout mezi žebra

Faire un pied de nez à qu’un Prendre ses jambes à son cou Avoir la tête solide/ bien sur les épaules

Auf eigenen Füβen/ Beinen stehen

Auch hinten Augen haben

Den Mund halten

Mit dem Kopf gegen die Wand rennen Durch mündliche Überlieferung Jdm. eine lange Nase machen Die Beine in die Hand nehmen Ein heller/kluger Kopf sein

Avoir le coeur sur les lèvres Poignarder qu‘un

Das Herz auf der Zunge tragen

Grammatically different idioms

That was a real eye opener to me

Otevřelo mi to oči

Ça m‘a ouvert les yeux

Das hat mir die Augen geöffnet

By the handful

Plnýma rukama, štědře Dát čemu zelenou

À pleines mains

Mit vollen Händen



To get one’s teeth into sth

Zakousnout se

S’acharner à faire qch

Sich in etwas festbeißen

To stab s’one in the back

Vrazit komu nůž do zad, dát ránu pod pás

Poignarder qu’un dans le dos

Jdm. einen Dolchstoss von hinten versetzen

To give sth the thumbs up

212


To laugh on the other side of one‘s face

Přejde (tě) smích

Rire jaune

Jdm. wird das Lachen noch vergehen

To have a heart to heart talk with s’one To set/put foot somewhere

Promluvit si s někým od srdce Vkročit, vstoupit

Parler à coeur ouvert avec qu’un Mettre les pieds quelque part

Sich mit jdm. ganz offen aussprechen

g) The whole idiom is expressed with different lexical means A man/woman after my own heart

Člověk mé krevní skupiny/podle mého gusta

Un homme selon mon coeur

Ein Mann/eine Frau ganz nach meinem Herzen

To twiddle one’s thumbs Have a foot in both camps

Sedět s rukama v klíně Nechávat si otevřená dvířka na obě strany

Se tourner les pouces

Däumchen drehen

Avoir un pied dans chaque camp

Mit beiden Seiten zu tun haben

To cut off one’s nose to spite one’s face

Nadělat si do vlastního hnízda

S’arracher le nez pour faire dépit à son visage

Sich ins eigene Fleisch schneiden

To show/reveal one’s hand To be a weight/load off one‘s mind My lips are sealed

Vyložit karty na stůl

Jouer cartes sur table

Spadnout kámen ze srdce Jsem jako hrob

Soulager l’esprit

Like getting blood from/out of a stone

Jako když mluví do dubu, spíš kámen by se ustrnul

Die Karten auf den Tisch legen Jdm. fällt ein Stein vom Herzen Meine Lippen sind versiegelt Das ist verlorene Liebesmüh

Je suis un vrai tombeau Tondre un diable s’il n’a pas de cheveux / tirer de l’huile d’un mur

h) Idiomatic expression using a different part of the body To be up to one’s eyes in work

Být zavalený prací/po uši v práci

Avoir du travail pardessus la tête

Bis über beide Ohren in der Arbeit stecken

To have one’s fingers all thumbs

Mít obě ruce levé

Être maladroit de ses mains

Zwei linke Hände haben

To fall head over heels in love with s‘one To cry/sob one’s heart out

Zamilovat se až po uši

Devenir follement amoureux de qu’un

Moci si oči vyplakat/ srdceryvně plakat

Pleurer à chaudes larmes

To be on s’one’s neck

Být komu v patách

Être sur le dos de qu‘un

Sich bis über beide Ohren in jdn verlieben Herzzerreißend weinen /sich die Augen ausweinen Jdm. auf den Fersen sein

213


To be at each other’s throats To stick/stand out like a sore thumb

Vjet si do vlasů

Se manger le nez

Být jako pěst na oko/ bít do očí

To one’s heart’s content To breathe down s’one’s neck

Co hrdlo ráčí

Cela va ensemble comme un tablier à une vache À bouche que veux-tu

Být komu za zády

Talonner qu‘un

Jdm. im Nacken sitzen

To rub s’one’s nose in sth

Omlátit o hubu

Mettre le nez dedans à qu’un

Jdm. etwas dauernd unter die Nase reiben

Cheek by jowl

Bok po boku, těsně vedle sebe Mít přímo na očích/ mít před nosem Potit krev/ makat jako barevnej

Côte à côte, tout près de Être devant le nez de qu’un Bosser comme un nègre

Dicht nebeneinander

(To fight) hand to hand

(Bojovat) tělo na tělo

(Kämpfen) Mann gegen Mann

To be over head and ears in work / up to one’s ears in work Break a leg!

Mít práce nad hlavu

(Combattre) corps à corps/homme à homme Avoir du travail pardessus la tête

Zlom vaz!

Casse le cou!

Hals- und Beinbruch!

To escape by the skin of one‘s teeth To be after s‘one’s blood To laugh one’s head off To take to one’s heels

Uniknout jen o vlásek/chlup Jít komu po krku

Échapper d’un cheveu/ poil Vouloir la peau de qu’un Se fendre la gueule

Mit Ach und Krach Es auf jdm. abgesehen haben Sich fast totlachen

Shake a leg!

Hejbni kostrou!

Prendre ses jambes à son cou Magne-toi!

Die Beine in die Hand nehmen Mach Dampf !

To button one’s lips

Zamknout pusu na zámek

La mettre en veilleuse

Den Mund halten

To get up s‘one’s nose

Lézt krkem

Faire monter la moutarde au nez

Jdm. auf den Geist gehen

It is no skin off my nose By rule of thumb/by guess To lie through one‘s teeth

To mi žíly netrhá

Ça m’est égal

Das juckt mich nicht

Od oka/zkusmo

À vue de nez

Faustregel

Lhát až se od pusy práší

Mentir comme un arracheur de dents

Das Blaue vom Himmel herunterlügen

To be staring s’one in the face To slog/work/sweat one’s guts out

Popadat se smíchy za břicho Vzít nohy na ramena

Sich gegenseitig in die Haare fahren Das springt einem direkt ins Auge Nach Herzenslust

Klar auf der Hand liegen Wie blöd schuften

Bis zum Hals in Arbeit sein

214


To be beaten hip and thigh

Být zbit hlava nehlava

Être battu à plate couture

To cough one’s lungs up To stick in s’one’s throat

Vykašlávat krev

Cracher ses poumons

i)

Ležet komu v žaludku

Jdm. gegen den Strich gehen

Abstract expression contrasted with a concrete body part

To lose one’s tongue

A.3

Die Sprache verlieren

Ztratit řeč

Non Correspondence

a) Periphrasis To make/get s’one’s blood up To catch s’one’s eye

Rozčílit koho

Mettre qu’un en colère Attirer l’attention de qu’un Prendre quelque chose pour argent comptant

Aufregen jdm.

To take sth at face value

Upoutat něčí pozornost Brát co za bernou minci

Pudding-face

Obličej jako měsíček

Une face de lune

Mondgesicht

Foot the bill

Zaplatit účet

Payer la note

To be open-handed

Být štědrý

To lose heart

Ztratit odvahu

Avoir le coeur sur la main/être généreux Perdre courage

Die Rechnung bezahlen Freigebig sein

At heart

V jádru, v podstatě

Au fond

Im Grunde

To tear s’one limb from limb To be in two minds about sth

Roztrhnout jak hada/ na kusy Být bez vyhraněného názoru, nemít jasno

Jdm. in die Stücke reißen Sich über etwas nicht im Klaren sein

To make up one’s mind To put/set s’one’s mind at rest To rib s’one To keep s’one on his/ her toes To have elbow room

Rozhodnout se

Démembrer/Mettre qu’un en pièces Être indécis/irrésolu en ce qui concerne qch Se décider

Ujistit, uklidnit koho

Tranquilliser qu‘un

Jdm. beruhigen

Škádlit, popichovat Udržovat ve střehu

Taquiner qu’un Forcer qu’un à être vigilant Avoir les coudées franches

Necken Jdm. auf Zack halten

Mít dostatečný prostor, volné pole

Jds. Aufmerksamkeit erregen Etwas für bare Münze nehmen

Den Mut verlieren

Sich entschließen

Ellbogenfreiheit haben

215


To be glad to see the back of s’one

Těšit se až vypadne

To have green fingers

Mít talent pro zahrádkaření Být přístupný jiným názorům Nechtít slyšet, ignorovat

To have/keep an open mind To turn a deaf ear to sth To put on a brave/ good face

Être content de voir partir qu’un/d’être débarrassé de qu’un Avoir le pouce vert/ la main verte Avoir l’esprit ouvert Faire la sourde oreille à qch Faire bon visage

To see eye to eye with s‘one

Předstírat klid, nasadit klidnou masku Přiznejme si to, smiřme se s tím Vyznít na prázdno, zůstat nevyslyšen Rozumět si, mít stejný názor

To be a butterfingers

Být nešika/nemehlo

Off hand

Z hlavy, z placu, bez přípravy Snadno zvítězit

Let’s face it To fall on deaf ears

To win/beat s‘one hands down To drag one’s heels To laugh on the wrong side of one’s mouth To have a chip on one’s shoulders To have a sweet tooth To set one’s heart on sth To get/have one‘s foot in the door To lose one’s heart To be born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth

Froh sein, jdm. nicht mehr sehen zu müssen Eine grüne Hand haben Aufgeschlossen gegenüberstehen Sich einer Sache gegenüber taub stellen Gute Miene zum bösen Spiel machen

Regardons les choses en face Rester vain

Machen wir uns doch nichts vor Kein Gehör finden



Être qu‘un à qui tout glisse des doigts Sans préparation

Tollpatsch sein

Gagner haut la main

Aus dem Stand Mühelos/spielend gewinnen Sich Zeit lassen

Dávat si na čas, přešlapovat na místě Přejít koho smích

Se faire tirer l’oreille Rire jaune

Das Lachen wird vergehen

Mít komplex, mindrák Rád mlsat, mít rád sladkosti (Za)toužit po něčem

En vouloir au monde entier Avoir la bouche sucrée Vouloir absolument qch Faire le premier pas

Einen Komplex haben

Pootevřít si dveře (někam) Zahořet láskou Narodit se v bohatství

Donner son coeur à qu’un Être né sous une bonne étoile

Gern Süßes mögen Sein Herz an etwas hängen Einen Fuß in der Tür haben Sein Herz verlieren Mit einem silbernen Löffel im Mund geboren sein

216


To break one’s neck to do sth

Moci se strhat (aby člověk něco udělal)

To break the back of the job To have brains To have sth on the brain Brainwave

Zdolat nejobtížnější část práce Být chytrý, inteligentní Mít v hlavě, neustále myslet Náhlý nápad

With an eye to On the face of it

Se mettre en quatre pour faire quelque chose Faire le gros d‘un travail Être intelligent

Sich den Hals brechen

Une idée géniale

Mit der Arbeit über den Berg sein Grips/Köpfchen haben Jdm. nicht aus dem Kopf wollen/gehen Geistesblitz

S ohledem na Na první pohled

En vue de À première vue

In der Absicht So, wie es aussieht

To let one’s hair down To finish neck and neck To keep one’s nose clean To cost an arm and a leg

Chovat se přirozeně, uvolnit se Skončit stejně, na stejné úrovni Nenamočit se

Se mettre à son aise

Aus sich herausgehen

Arriver à égalité

Kopf-an-Kopf beenden Sauber bleiben

Stát majlant, přijít pěkně draho

To have a bone to pick with s’one

Chtít si s kým ještě něco vyřídit

Coûter la peau des fesses/ les yeux de la tête Avoir un compte à régler avec qu’un

To be bone idle/lazy

Být líný jako veš

To take sth on the chin

Postavit se k čemu čelem, přijmout co s hlavou vztyčenou

To be out on one‘s ear

Být vyhozen, být na dlažbě Mám toulavé boty

Se faire vider

Auf der Straße stehen

J’ai la bougeotte

The boot/shoe is on the other foot

Karta se obrátila

Les rôles sont inversés

Mich hält es nirgends lange Es ist genau umgekehrt

To be run/rushed off one’s feet

Mít práce nad hlavu/ nevědět kde komu hlava stojí Mít takové tušení/ pocit/instinkt

Ne plus savoir où donner de la tête

In Trab gehalten werden

Sentir au fond de soimême/ instinctivement Être tiré à quatre épingles

So aus dem Bauch heraus sagen würden

I’ve got itchy feet

To have a gut feeling

Not to have a hair out of place

Být jako ze škatulky

Avoir qch en tête

Ne pas se mouiller

Être paresseux comme une couleuvre Encaisser les coups

Jdm. teuer zu stehen kommen/ein Heidengeld kosten Mit jdm. ein Hühnchen zu rupfen haben Stinkfaul sein Es mit Fassung tragen

Wie aus dem Ei gepellt

217


To be hand in glove with s‘one

Být jedna ruka s kým

Être comme les doigts de la main

Mit jdm. unter einer Decke stecken

To keep one’s hand in

Nevyjít ze cviku

In Übung bleiben

To wait on s’one hand and foot

Dělat komu první poslední

To be (quite) a handful To catch s’one redhanded To be an old hand

Být pěkné kvítko/číslo Přistihnout při činu

Garder un pied dans qch Être aux petits soins pour qu’un/ lui faire ses quatre volontés Être un enfant terrible

Být starý kozák

Prendre qu‘un la main dans le sac Connaître la musique

To scream one‘s head off To be above/over s’one’s head To be off one’s head

Řvát na celé kolo

Crier à tout rompre

Být nad čí chápání

Être trop complexe pour qu‘un Ne plus avoir sa tête

To have a head start To be head and shoulders above s’one

Být blázen, zcvoknout se Mít výhodu na začátku Vysoce převyšovat koho

Avoir une longueur d‘avance Dépasser les autres d‘une tête

Jdm. von vorne und hinten bedienen Einen ganz schön in Trab halten können Jdm. auf frischer Tat ertappen Ein alter Hase sein Aus vollem Halse schreien Über jds. Horizont gehen Den Verstand verloren haben Vorsprung haben Jdm. haushoch überlegen sein

To give s’one his/her head

Nechat koho jednat podle vlastního rozumu

Lâcher la bride à qu’un

Jdm. machen lassen

Have a heart!

Měj(te) slitování!

To have one‘s heart in one’s boots To pull s’one’s leg

Být celý nervózní a zkroušený Utahovat si z koho

Ne parle pas de malheur! Avoir une peur bleue

To be at the back of one’s mind To give s‘one the cold shoulder To ram sth down s’one’s throat To have a green thumb To have no backbone

Být stále v podvědomí Chovat se chladně

Une idée derrière la tête Battre froid à qu‘un

Gib deinem Herzen einem Stoß! Jdm. ist das Herz in die Hosen gerutscht Jdm. auf den Arm nehmen Eine Überlegung im Hinterkopf haben Jdm. schneiden

Krmit koho čím, vtloukat co do hlavy Být rozený zahradník

Rebattre les oreilles à qu’un Avoir la main verte

Nemít odhodlání, odvahu

Manquer de fermeté, d’énergie

Faire marcher qu’un

Jdm. seine eigenen Ideen aufzwingen Eine Hand für Pflänzen haben

b) Calque c)

One-word expression

218


Yellow-belly

Strašpytel, zbabělec

Froussard, trouillard

To bone up on sth

Šprtat, drtit

Potasser

Angsthase, Waschlappen Pauken

Tongue in cheek

Ironicky

Ironiquement

Ironisch

To play it by ear

Improvizovat

Improvisieren

To elbow s’one out

Vystrnadit, vytlačit

To pull the wool over s’one’s eyes

Klamat, balamutit

Improviser le moment venu Déloger qu’un/mettre sur le côté Laisser accroire à qu’un

In the face of sth

Navzdory

Malgré

Trotz

To show one‘s face

Ukázat se

Se montrer

Sich zeigen

To take s’one/sth in hand Tread/step on s’one’s toes To give/lend s’one a hand

Ujmout se/chopit se

Prendre qu’un/qch en main Marcher sur les pieds de qu’un Donner un coup de main à qu’un

Jdm./ etwas in die Hand nehmen Jdm. auf die Füße treten Jdm. helfen

A slip of one’s tongue

Přeřeknutí

Un lapsus linguae

Ein Versprecher

Elbow grease

Dřina

De l’huile de coude

Muskelkraft

A shot in the arm

Vzpruha, pobídka

Aufschwung

To get/put s‘one’s back up

Rozčílit, naštvat, podráždit koho

To give s’one a big/ good hand To kick/cool one’s heels To grease s’one’s palm

Zatleskat (velmi), aplaudovat Přešlapovat, čekat

Un coup de fouet/un remontant Prendre qu’un à rebrousse-poil/ taper sur les nerfs à qu’un Applaudir qu’un des deux mains Faire le pied de grue

Podmáznout, podplatit

Graisser la patte à qu’un

Jdm. schmieren

To go out on a limb

Riskovat

Prendre des risques

Sich exponieren

To twist s’one’s arm

Přesvědčovat, přemlouvat

Faire la main à qu’un

To have a monkey on s’one’s back Not to be able to make head or tail of it Big head

Fetovat

Être drogué

Jdm. Daumenschrauben anlegen An der Nadel hängen

Nechápat, nerozumět

N’y comprendre goutte Crâneur

Aus etwas/jdm. nicht klug werden Fatzke

Dotknout se koho Pomoci někomu

Náfuka, vševěd

Jdm. hinausdrängeln Jdm. etwas vormachen

Jdm. gegen sich aufbringen Jdm. großen Applaus geben Warten

d) Free combination of language elements

219


Get off my back!

Přestaň mě kritizovat, přestaň se po mně vozit!, dej mi pokoj

Fiche-moi la paix!

Lass mich endlich in Ruhe!

To put one’s back into sth To make a clean breast of sth

Opřít se do čeho (s vervou) Upřímně přiznat

S’y mettre, travailler énergiquement Faire des aveux complets

Sich bei etwas anstrengen Offen bekennen

To put one’s best foot forward To put one’s best foot forward To be a dab hand

Ukázat se z nejlepší stránky Pospíchat

Faire de son mieux

Sein bestes tun

Se dépêcher

Sich beeilen

Být eso

Être un as

Ein As im etwas sein

To take heart

Dodat si odvahy

(Re)prendre courage

Mut fassen

To be knock-kneed

Mít nohy do X

Avoir les jambes en X

X-beinig sein

To learn sth at one’s mother’s knee To do sth without moving a muscle To keep one’s nose to the grindstone To get under s’one’s skin

Mít co v krvi od narození Nehnout ani brvou

Avoir qch dans le sang Faire quleque chose sans sourciller Travailler d’arrachepied/sans rêlache Taper sur les nerfs à qu’un

Etwas im Blut haben

To toe the line

Poslouchat, podřídit se Nebýt už nejmladší

Obéir, se conformer

Sich einfügen

Ne plus être tout jeune

Nicht mehr der/die Jüngste sein

In the teeth of all opposition To keep one‘s ear to the ground

I přes odpor

En dépit de tout opposition Être aux écoutes

In the twinkling of an eye To set tongues wagging To be bow-legged

V mžiku

En un clin d’oeil

Ungeachtet allen Widerstands Die Ohren aufsperren/ offen halten Im Nu

Rozpoutat diskuzi Mít nohy do O

Faire marcher les langues Avoir les jambes en parenthèses

Dann geht das Gerede los O-beinig sein

To gain/get the upper hand

Získat nadvládu, kontrolu

Prendre le dessus

Die Oberhand behalten

To walk arm-in-arm

Jít zavěšeni do sebe

Marcher bras dessus bras dessous

Arm in Arm

To be long in the tooth

Dřít do úpadu Lézt na nervy, dožírat

Pozorně sledovat, co se děje

Nicht mit der Wimper zucken Hart arbeiten Jdm. auf die Nerven gehen

220


To split hairs In my mind’s eye

Hledat hnidy, být puntičkářský V představách

Couper les cheveux en quatre En imagination

A smack in the eye

Morální facka

Une gifle

Vor meinem inneren Auge Ein Schlag ins Gesicht

To come to a head To bring s’one to heel

Stát se naléhavým Přimět koho k poslušnosti Vybouchnout, nezdařit se

Devenir critique Rappeler qu’un à l’ordre Foirer

Sich zuspitzen Jdm. an die Kandare nehmen Ins Auge gehen

Sníst si, co si nadrobil/ nést si následky Pohrdat / naprosto odporovat

Tenir tête à l‘orage

Die Suppe auslöffeln

Battre qch en brèche

Sich über etwas hinwegsetzen

To hate s’one’s guts

Mít plné zuby, nesnášet koho

Ne pas pouvoir voir qu’un en peinture

To keep one’s hair on

Nerozčilovat se/ nechat na hlavě

Se calmer

Jdm. auf den Tod nicht ausstehen können Nicht gleich an die Decke gehen

To bite the hand that feeds one

Plivat do studánky, ze které se pije

Montrer une grande ingratitude

To talk one’s head off

Mluvit a mluvit

Rompre les oreilles à qu’un/étourdir qu‘un

To use one’s head

Vzít rozum do hrsti

Cross my heart

Na mou duši

To dig in one’s heels

To be on one’s last legs

Zapřít se, zašprajcovat se Pomoci komu v nesnázích Mlít z posledního, být u konce se silami

None of your lip!

Už žádné drzosti!

To be dead from the neck up

Být blbej jako tágo

To get it in the neck

Schytat to naplno

To blow up in s’one’s face To face the music

To fly in the face of sth

To give s’one a leg up

Croix de bois croix de fer Se braquer, se buter Donner un coup de main à qu’un Avoir du plomb dans l’aile En voilà assez!/Pas sur ce ton! N’avoir rien dans la tête/être con comme un balais En avoir pour son compte

Haare spalten

Sich (seinem Gönner gegenüber) undankbar zeigen Reden wie ein Wasserfall/ein Buch Seinen Verstand gebrauchen Hand aufs Herz Sich auf die Hinterbeine stellen Jdm. hochhelfen Auf dem letzten Loch pfeifen Sei nicht so frech! Nur Stroh im Kopf haben Eins auf den Deckel kriegen

221


To talk through the back of one’s neck To pay through the nose

Mlít páté přes deváté

Dire des conneries

Vypláznout balík

Payer quelque chose les yeux de la tête

Parson’s nose

Biskup (u drůbeže)

Croupion

Bürzel/Sterz

To rub shoulders with s’one Straight from the shoulder Out at the elbows

Kamarádit se, stýkat se Bez servítků

Côtoyer qu’un

Mit jdm. in Berührung kommen Unverblümt

Na mizině, chudý

More power to your elbow! To hit s’one in the eye My foot!

Jen tak dál!/ Zlom vaz! Vyrazit dech, šokovat Nesmysl!

Dans la dèche/dans la gêne Vas-y! / Bonne chance! Sauter aux yeux Mon oeil!

To find one’s feet

S‘adapter

To put one’s foot in one’s mouth

Zorientovat se, rozkoukat se Udělat hloupost, dopustit se faux pas

To have guts

Mít odvahu, kuráž

To get s‘one by the short hairs

Mít koho v hrsti

Avoir de l’estomac/du coeur au ventre Tenir le couteau sur la gorge à qu‘un

To curl one’s hair

Děsit koho

To make money hand over fist To strengthen s‘one’s hand To talk through the back of one’s head To put one’s head above the parapet To have old head on young shoulders

Vydělávat peníze velmi rychle Posílit pozici

To have rocks in one’s head To have a change of heart One’s heart is not in it

Carrément

Mettre les pieds dans le plat

À te faire dresser les cheveux sur la tête Ramasser l’argent à la pelle Jds. Position stärken

Říkat nesmysly, blábolit Jít s kůží na trh, nést kůži na trh Být na svůj věk až moc chytrý Být praštěný Změnit názor, postoj Nedělat naplno, dělat bez nadšení

Von Hölzchen auf Stöckchen kommen Viel blechen

Sich in die Schusslinie begeben Sehr reif für sein Alter sein Être cinglé Seine Meinung ändern Nicht mit dem Herzen bei der Sache/dabei sein

222


To eat one’s heart out

Užírat se, trápit se

Avoir la mort dans l’âme

Not to have a leg to stand on To blow one’s mind

Nemít žádnou oporu Nadchnout, ohromit

Époustoufler

To boggle one’s mind

Rozum zůstává stát

Époustoufler

To get off s’one’s neck Blow/wipe your nose!

Vlézt na záda Starej se o svý!

Ficher la paix à qu‘un Mêle-toi de tes oignons!/occupe-toi de tes affaires!

To have an itching palm To cut one’s teeth on sth

Být chamtivec Otrkat se, udělat první krůčky

Se faire les dents sur qch

To cast/fling sth in s’one’s teeth

Vmést komu do tváře

Reprocher qch à qu’un

Nichts in der Hand haben

223

B English and French Body Idioms

B B.1 B.1.1

English and French Body Idioms Total Correspondence 100% Correspondence




Sich an die Brust schlagen Im Schweiße seines Angesichtes Das geht zum einen Ohr hinein und zum anderen wieder hinaus Ein Auge für etwas haben

By the sweat of one’s brow It goes in one ear and out the other

V potu tváře Jít jedním uchem tam a druhým ven

À la sueur de son front Entrer par une oreille et sortir par l’autre

To have an eye for sth

Mít oko pro něco

Avoir l’oeil pour qch

He has eyes for no one but her/ he has eyes only for her To make a face

Má oči jen pro ni


Er hat nur Augen für sie

Udělat obličej

Faire une grimace

Ein Gesicht machen

To lose face To save face

Ztratit tvář Zachovat si tvář

Perdre la face Sauver la face

Das Gesicht verlieren Das Gesicht retten

To keep one‘s fingers crossed/ to cross one’s fingers To burn one’s fingers

Držet palce/palec

Croiser les doigts

Den/Die Daumen halten/drücken

Spálit si prsty

Se brûler les doigts

To have (got) both/ one’s feet (firmly) on the ground

Stát nohama na zemi

Avoir bien les pieds sur terre

Sich die Finger verbrennen Mit beiden Beinen (fest) auf der Erde stehen

At first hand (Near) at hand

Z první ruky Po ruce

Aus erster Hand Zur Hand



De première main Sous la main/ à portée de la main Se sailir les mains avec qch

To have one’s hands tied To lose one‘s head

Mít svázané ruce


Ztratit hlavu

Perdre la tête

Gebundene Hände haben Den Kopf verlieren

To take sth to heart

Vzít si co k srdci

Prendre qch à coeur

To have a heart of gold

Mít srdce ze zlata


Sich mit etwas die Hände schmutzig machen

Sich etwas zu Herzen nehmen Ein goldenes Herz haben

224


To have a heart of stone To have the heart to do sth From the bottom of one’s heart Achilles’ heel

Mít srdce z kamene


Protáhnout si nohy

To hang on s’one’s lips A big mouth

Viset komu na rtech

To be up to one’s neck in sth To be a bundle of nerves To grit one’s teeth

Být v něčem až po krk Být uzlíček nervů

To be armed to the teeth To have a wasp waist

Být po zuby ozbrojen

To turn one’s back on s’one To stab s’one in the back

Mít srdce něco udělat Z celého srdce, z hloubi duše Achillova pata

Velká huba

Zatnout zuby

Avoir un coeur de pierre Avoir le coeur de faire qch Du fond du coeur

Ein Herz aus Stein haben Das Herz haben etwas zu tun Aus tiefstem Herzen

Talon d’Achille

Achillesferse

Se dérouiller les jambes Être suspendu aux lèvres de qu’un Une grande gueule

Sich die Beine vertreten Jdm. an den Lippen hängen Eine große Klappe

Être dans quelque chose jusqu’au cou Être un paquet de nerves Serrer les dents

Bis über den Hals in etwas stecken Ein Nervenbündel sein Die Zähne zusammenbeißen Bis an die Zähne bewaffnet sein Eine Wespentaille haben Jdm. im Stich lassen

Obrátit se ke komu zády Vrazit komu nůž do zad, dát ránu pod pás

Être armé jusqu’aux dents Avoir une taille de guêpe Tourner le dos à qu’un Poignarder qu’un dans le dos


Face to face

Tváří v tvář

Face à face

Auge in Auge

To put/lay one‘s finger on sth To put/set a foot wrong To escape by a hair/ a hair’s breadth

Vložit prst na, poukázat na Šlápnout vedle

Mettre le doigt sur qch Mettre un pied de travers L‘échapper d’un cheveu

Etwas genau ausmachen Einen Fehler machen

To wash one’s hands of sth/s’one

Mýt si ruce nad čím/kým

S’en laver les mains

Mit etwas/jdm. nichts mehr zu tun haben wollen

To be chilled/frozen to the marrow To have a long arm

Být zmrzlý až do morku kostí Mít dlouhé prsty, mít konexe Střežit koho jako oko v hlavě

Être gelé jusqu’à la moelle des os Avoir le bras long

Völlig durchgefroren sein Einen langen Arm haben Jdm. wie seinen Augapfel hüten

To cherish s’one like the apple of s’one’s eye

Mít vosí pas

Uniknout o vlásek

Garder qu’un comme la prunelle de ses yeux


225


To take s’one/sth in hand A man/woman after my own heart

Ujmout se/chopit se

To have a nose for sth

Mít čich na něco

To have a delicate palate To twiddle one’s thumbs To have nerves of iron/steel To play (a piece of music) by ear To be all ears



Sedět s rukama v klíně Mít nervy ze železa

Prendre qu’un/qch en main Un homme selon mon coeur

Jdm./ etwas in die Hand nehmen Ein Mann/eine Frau ganz nach meinem Herzen

Avoir du nez pour qch Avoir le palais fin

Eine Nase für etwas haben Einen empfindlichen Gaumen haben Däumchen drehen


Hrát podle sluchu

Avoir des nerves d’acier Jouer à l’oreille

Být jedno ucho

Être tout oreilles

Nerven wie Drahtseile haben Nach (dem) Gehör spielen Ganz Ohr sein

In the twinkling of an eye To have eyes in the back of one‘s head

V mžiku

En un clin d’oeil

Im Nu

Mít oči i vzadu

Avoir les yeux derrière la tête


To have feet of clay

Stát na hliněných nohou Pod kontrolou, pevně v rukou Naučit se něco nazpaměť Být přístupný jiným názorům Na jazyku

Avoir des pieds d’argile En main

Auf tönernen Füßen stehen Im Griff

Apprendre qch par coeur Avoir l’esprit ouvert

Etwas auswendig lernen Aufgeschlossen gegenüberstehen Auf der Zunge

In hand To learn sth by heart To have/keep an open mind On the tip of one’s tongue A slip of one’s tongue

Přeřeknutí

Sur le bout de la langue Un lapsus linguae

To turn a deaf ear to sth

Nechtít slyšet, ignorovat

Faire la sourde oreille à qch

Elbow grease

Dřina


Sich einer Sache gegenüber taub stellen Muskelkraft

To be all eyes

Mít oči na stopkách

Être tout yeux

Groβe Augen machen

To force s’one’s hand

Vnutit komu svou vůli

Forcer la main à qu‘un

Jdm. zwingen zu handeln





Ein Versprecher

226


I have butterflies in my stomach

Mám strašnou trému

J’ai des papillons dans l’estomac

Mir wird ganz flau im Magen

Hold one’s tongue


Tenir sa langue

Den Mund halten

To set tongues wagging To cough one’s lungs up To rush/throw oneself into the lion’s mouth To fall on s’one’s neck

Rozpoutat diskuzi

Faire marcher les langues Cracher ses poumons

Dann geht das Gerede los

Vrhnout se do lví tlamy Skočit komu na krk

Se jeter dans la gueule du loup Se jeter au cou de qu’un

To have a good nose

Mít dobrý nos

Avoir bon nez

Vykašlávat krev

To tickle s’one’s ribs

B.1.2


B.1.2.1

Compound

Brainwashing B.1.2.2

Vymývání mozků

Chatouiller les côtes à qu’un

Jdm. in der Seite kitzeln


Gehirnwäsche


a) The singular in one language against the plural in the other To beat one’s brains

Lámat si hlavu

To get out of hand

Vymknout se z ruky

To turn/spin on one’s heel From head to toe/foot

Se creuser/casser le cerveau/ la tête Échapper des mains

Sich den Kopf zerbrechen Aus der Hand gleiten

Otočit se na podpatku, na patě Od hlavy k patě

Tourner les talons

Auf dem Absatz kehrtmachen Von Kopf bis Fuß

To be easy on the eye

Lahodit oku

To set/put foot somewhere

Vkročit, vstoupit

Être un plaisir pour les yeux Mettre les pieds quelque part

De la tête aux pieds

Angenehm anzusehen sein

b) Different grammatical case or preposition, using reflexive verb in one language Behind s’one’s back

Za čími zády

Dans le dos de qu’un

Hinter jds. Rücken

In cold blood

Chladnokrevně

De sang forid

Kaltblütig

To do sth with one’s eyes closed/shut



To open s’one’s eyes

Otevřít komu oči

Ouvrir les yeux à qu’un

Etwas mit geschlossenen Augen machen Jdm. die Augen öffnen

227


To break s’one’s heart

Zlomit komu srdce

To loosen s’one’s tongue To have one’s heart in the right place To read s’one’s mind


c)

Mít srdce na pravém místě Číst komu myšlenky

Briser le coeur à qu’un Délier la langue à qu’un Avoir le coeur bien placé Lire dans la pensée de qu’un

Jdm. das Herz brechen Jds. Zunge lösen Das Herz auf dem rechten Fleck haben Jemandes Gedanken lesen

Avoir la tête solide/ bien sur les épaules

Ein heller/kluger Kopf sein


d) Change in word order To have a good head on one’s shoulders

Mít dobrou hlavu/ hlavu na pravém místě

e) A different way of forming the corresponding part of speech To make s’one’s blood freeze/run cold

Nahánět hrůzu, až tuhne krev v žilách

Glacer le sang à qu’un

Jdm. eiskalt über den Rücken laufen

To elbow s’one aside

Odstrčit stranou

Écarter qu’un du coude

Jdm. mit den Ellenbogen zur Seite stoβen

Let’s face it

Přiznejme si to, smiřme se s tím

Regardons les choses en face

Machen wir uns doch nichts vor

B.1.2.3


a) A different structure (accompanied by e.g. a different verb) Mít něco v krvi (talent) Být kost a kůže

Avoir cela dans le sang N’avoir que la peau et les os

Etwas im Blut haben

Your ears must have been burning

Jistě vám zvonilo v uších

Les oreilles ont dû vous tinter

Ihnen müssen die Ohren geklungen haben





To point the finger at s’one To have sth at one‘s fingertips To be thick-skinned

Ukázat na koho prstem Mít něco v malíčku

Montrer qu’un du doigt Savoir qch sur le bout du doigt Avoir la peau dure/une peau de rhinocéros

Mit dem Finger auf jdm. zeigen Etwas im kleinen Finger haben Dickfellig sein

To be in s’one’s blood To be nothing but skin and bone(s)

Mít hroší kůži


228



Omlátit o hubu




Vylít si srdce, svěřit se Měl jsem srdce v krku

Vider son coeur

Sich etwas von der Seele reden Mir schlug das Herz bis zum Hals

My heart was in my mouth/throat To hit s’one in the eye One’s head would never save one’s legs

B.2

Vyrazit dech, šokovat Co nemá člověk v hlavě, musí mít v nohách

J’avais le coeur dans la gorge Sauter aux yeux Quand on n’a pas de tête, il faut avoir des jambes


a) Expressiveness versus neutrality To fall/land on one’s feet Brain drain To cry one’s eyes out

Dopadnout na nohy

To grease s’one’s palm


Odliv mozků Vyplakat si oči

Retomber sur ses pattes/pieds Exode des cerveaux Pleurer toutes les larmes de ses yeux Graisser la patte à qu’un

Auf die Beine fallen Braindrain Sich die Augen ausweinen Jdm. schmieren




To elbow one’s way

Razit si lokty cestu

Before/under s’one’s very eyes To be open-handed

Přímo před zraky koho Být štědrý

To get under s’one’s skin

Lézt na nervy, dožírat

Se frayer un passage (en jouant des coudes) Juste sous les yeux de qu’un Avoir le coeur sur la main/être généreux Taper sur les nerfs à qu’un

To give sth the thumbs up To live from hand to mouth To have one‘s hands full with sth/s’one

Dát čemu zelenou Žít z ruky do úst Mít plné ruce práce s čím

Donner le feu vert à qch Vivre au jour le jour Avoir fort à faire

Jdm. mit offenen Armen empfangen Einen Bauchklatscher machen Sich mit den Ellenbogen einen Weg bahnen Direkt vor seinen Augen Freigebig sein Jdm. auf die Nerven gehen Für etwas grünes Licht geben Von der Hand in den Mund leben Mit etwas/jdm. alle Hände voll zu tun haben

229


Out of sight, out of mind To get on s’one’s nerves To have a lump in one’s throat

Sejde z očí, sejde z mysli Jít komu na nervy

Loin des yeux, loin du coeur Taper sur les nerfs à qu‘un Avoir la gorge serrée

Aus den Augen, aus dem Sinn Jdm. auf die Nerven gehen Einen Kloβ im Hals haben

To get sth off one‘s chest

Říct , co má člověk na srdci, ulevit si

Déballer ce qu’on a sur le coeur

Sich etwas von der Seele reden

To fall flat on one’s face To shout at the top of one’s lungs

Spadnout rovnou na hubu Křičet z plných plic

Tomber face contre terre Crier à pleins poumons

Auf die Nase fallen

To have elbow room


Avoir les coudées franches


To put one’s heart into it




That looks really mouth-watering

Sbíhají se mi z toho sliny


Da läuft einem ja das Wasser im Mund(e) zusammen

To look down one’s nose at s’one

Ohrnovat nos nad kým, dívat se na koho svrchu Být pod čím palcem

Regarder qu’un de haut

Auf jdm. herabblicken

Être sous la domination de qu‘un Connaître qch comme sa poche

Unter jds. Fuchtel stehen Etwas wie seine Westentasche kennen

Nasadit někomu brouka do hlavy Podle mého nejhlubšího přesvědčení, v hloubi duše Být zahnaný do kouta

Mettre la puce à l’oreille de qu’un Au plus profond de mon coeur

Jdm. einen Floh ins Ohr setzen Im Grunde meines Herzens

Être au pied du mur


Prendre qu’un à rebrousse-poil/ taper sur les nerfs à qu’un Ne pas y aller avec le dos de la cuiller

In die Enge getrieben werden/sein Jdm. gegen sich aufbringen

To be under s’one’s thumb To know sth like the back of one’s hand To put an idea into s’one’s head In my heart of hearts

To have one’s back to the wall To get/put s‘one’s back up

Mít knedlík v krku /mít sevřené hrdlo

Znát něco jako svoje boty

To make no bones about sth

Nedělat cavyky

To see eye to eye with s‘one To keep one‘s eyes skinned/peeled

Rozumět si, mít stejný názor Mít oči otevřené

Voir les choses du même oeil que qu’un Ouvrir l‘oeil

Schreien aus vollem Halse

Keine Umstände machen Mit jdm. einer Meinung sein Die Augen offen halten

230


To have a hand in sth

Mít prsty v čem

Être pour qch dans qch

Seine Finger im Spiel haben

To show/reveal one’s hand To cry/sob one’s heart out

Vyložit karty na stůl




To kick/cool one’s heels By word of mouth

Přešlapovat, čekat

Faire le pied de grue

Die Karten auf den Tisch legen Herzzerreißend weinen /sich die Augen ausweinen Warten

Ústně

De bouche à oreille

To thumb one’s nose at s’one

Dělat dlouhý nos na koho

Faire un pied de nez à qu’un

To put one’s shoulder to the wheel To get/have one‘s foot in the door


Mettre la main à la pâte Faire le premier pas

Hand ans Werk legen

To lose one’s heart

Zahořet láskou

Donner son coeur à qu’un

Sein Herz verlieren

To be born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth

Narodit se v bohatství

Être né sous une bonne étoile

Mit einem silbernen Löffel im Mund geboren sein

To breathe down s’one’s neck

Být komu za zády

Talonner qu‘un


To turn a blind eye to/on sth To be staring s’one in the face

Zavírat nad něčím oči Mít přímo na očích/ mít před nosem

Fermer les yeux sur qch Être devant le nez de qu’un

Bei etwas eine Auge zudrücken Klar auf der Hand liegen

To slog/work/sweat one’s guts out

Potit krev/ makat jako barevnej

Bosser comme un nègre

Wie blöd schuften








Die Beine kribbeln





Mít srdce na dlani


Jdm. Daumenschrauben anlegen Gutherzig sein

To be after s‘one’s blood

Jít komu po krku

Vouloir la peau de qu’un

Pootevřít si dveře (někam)

Durch mündliche Überlieferung Jdm. eine lange Nase machen

Einen Fuß in der Tür haben

Es auf jdm. abgesehen haben

231






To catch s’one redhanded To be off one’s head

Přistihnout při činu

Prendre qu‘un la main dans le sac Ne plus avoir sa tête

Jdm. auf frischer Tat ertappen Den Verstand verloren haben

To lie through one‘s teeth



Das Blaue vom Himmel herunterlügen Jdm. den Boden unter den Füßen wegziehen

Být blázen, zcvoknout se

To pull the rug / carpet from under s’one’s feet To make money hand over fist c)

Couper l’herbe sous les pieds de qu‘un Vydělávat peníze velmi rychle

Ramasser l’argent à la pelle


Bone of contention

Jablko sváru


Zankapfel




Jdm. den Klauen des Todes entreißen

To poke/stick one’s nose into sth

Strkat nos, plést se do čeho

Fourrer son nez partout

Seine Nase in etwas stecken

To go/come cap/hat in hand To jump out of one’s skin

Přijít s čepicí v ruce

Se présenter le bonnet à la main Ne pas tenir dans sa peau

Demütig kommen

To put one’s foot in it



Ins Fettnäpfchen treten

To put a bug in one’s ear To give/lend s’one a hand To put on a brave/ good face

Nasadit brouka do hlavy Pomoci někomu

Mettre la puce à l’oreille de qu’un Donner un coup de main à qu’un Faire bon visage

Jdm einen Floh ins Ohr setzen Jdm. helfen



Snadno zvítězit

Gagner haut la main



Mühelos/spielend gewinnen Arm in Arm

Have a foot in both camps To win/beat s‘one hands down To walk arm-in-arm

Vyletět z kůže

Předstírat klid, nasadit klidnou masku Nechávat si otevřená dvířka na obě strany

Aus dem Häuschen geraten

Gute Miene zum bösen Spiel machen

232






To have the brains of a canary To get off on the wrong foot

Mít ptačí mozek

Avoir une cervelle d‘oiseau/ de moineau Partir du pied gauche

Ein Spatzenhirn haben Einen schlechten Start haben

To put one‘s hand to the plough To wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve


Mettre la main à la pâte Avoir le coeur sur les lèvres

Sich in die Riemen legen Das Herz auf der Zunge tragen


Udělat hloupost, dopustit se faux pas


To cut one’s teeth on sth

Otrkat se, udělat první krůčky



Mít srdce na dlani

d) Using hypernyms or hyponyms To rack one’s brain(s)

Lámat si hlavu

Se casser la tête


You shouldn’t look a gift-horse in the mouth

Darovanému koni na zuby nehleď



To laugh in s‘one’s face Not to lift a finger

Smát se komu do obličeje Ani nehnout prstem


Jdm. ins Gesicht lachen Keinen Finger rühren

To get sth into one’s head To go to s’one‘s head

Vzít si něco do hlavy

To beat sth into s’one’s head To tread/step on s’one’s toes To have green fingers

Stoupat/stoupnout komu do hlavy Vtlouct komu co do hlavy Dotknout se koho

To be eyeball to eyeball To be up to one’s eyes in work

Mít talent pro zahrádkaření Z očí do očí/tváří v tvář Být zavalený prací/po uši v práci



Ne pas remuer le petit doigt S’enfoncer qch dans le crâne Monter au cerveau à qu‘un S’enfoncer qch dans le crâne

Sich etwas in den Kopf setzen Einem in den Kopf steigen Jdm. etwas eintrichtern

Marcher sur les pieds de qu’un Avoir le pouce vert/ la main verte Être face à face/tête à tête Avoir du travail pardessus la tête

Jdm. auf die Füße treten Eine grüne Hand haben Sich Auge in Auge gegenüberstehen Bis über beide Ohren in der Arbeit stecken

Tenir sa langue/fermer son caquet


233


To have a sweet tooth

Rád mlsat, mít rád sladkosti Mít v hlavě, neustále myslet

Avoir la bouche sucrée Avoir qch en tête



To have a green thumb

Být rozený zahradník

(Combattre) corps à corps/homme à homme Avoir la main verte

To have sth on the brain

Gern Süßes mögen Jdm. nicht aus dem Kopf wollen/gehen (Kämpfen) Mann gegen Mann Eine Hand für Pflänzen haben

e) Idioms possessing a different number of lexical expressions To make s’one’s blood boil S’one’s right hand

Zpěnit krev, přivést do varu Něčí pravá ruka

Faire bouillir qu’un

To bring s’one to his/her knees To ride at a breakneck pace To sweat blood

Srazit koho na kolena Jet krkolomnou rychlostí Potit krev, dřít se

Mettre qu’un à genoux Aller au casse-cou

With a heavy hand

Tvrdou rukou

Avec poigne

To feel sth in one’s bones New blood

Cítit co v kostech

To keep a straight face


Sentir qch dans tous ses os Un apport de sang frais Garder son sérieux



To do sth under s’one’s (very) nose To run/cast one’s eye over sth She leads him by the nose

Udělat něco přímo pod nosem Přelétnout očima

To keep one‘s head To split hairs

Nová krev

Un bras droit

Suer sang et eau

Jdm. das Blut in Wallung bringen Rechte Hand Jdm. in die Knie zwingen Mit halsbrecherischer Geswindigkeit fahren Blut (und Wasser) schwitzen Mit harter/fester/ starker Hand Etwas im Urin spüren Frisches Blut Ernst bleiben

Faire les yeux doux/de velours à qu’un Faire qch au nez et à la barbe de qu’un Jeter un coup d’oeil à/sur qch Elle le mène par le bout du nez

Jdm. schöne Augen machen

Neztratit hlavu


Hledat hnidy, být puntičkářský

Couper les cheveux en quatre

Den Kopf nicht verlieren Haare spalten

Tancuje, jak ona píská

Etwas vor jds. Augen tun Etwas mit den Augen überfliegen Er tanzt ganz nach ihrer Pfeife

234


To be over head and ears in work / up to one’s ears in work To take to one’s legs




Vzít nohy na ramena


Lézt krkem

Prendre ses jambes à son cou Faire monter la moutarde au nez

Die Beine in die Hand nehmen Jdm. auf den Geist gehen


Děsit koho

f)

À te faire dresser les cheveux sur la tête






To be hot on s’one’s heels By the handful

Být těsně v patách

Talloner qu’un

Plnýma rukama, štědře Roztrhnout jak hada/ na kusy Zvednout obočí (překvapení, pochybnost)

À pleines mains

Dicht auf den Fersen sein Mit vollen Händen

Démembrer/Mettre qu’un en pièces Sourciller

Jdm. in die Stücke reißen Die Stirn runzeln

To tear s’one limb from limb To raise one’s eyebrows at sth

g) The whole idiom is expressed with different lexical means To stand on one’s own (two) feet


Voler de ses propres ailes


To give s‘one a free hand/have a free hand To eat out of s’one’s hand To bite one’s head off


Avoir carte blanche

Jemandem freie Hand lassen

Zobat komu z ruky

Turn up one’s nose

Ohrnovat nos

Obéir qu’un comme un chien Passer un savon à qu‘un Faire la petite bouche

Jdm. aus der Hand fressen Jdm. den Kopf abreißen Die Nase rümpfen

To dig/poke s’one in the ribs To pick s’one‘s brains

Dloubnout/rýpnout koho do žeber Tahat rozumy, využívat čího rozumu Mít hlavu v oblacích

Pousser qu’un du coude Faire appel aux lumières de qu’un Être dans la lune

Jsem jako hrob


Jdm. in die Rippen stoßen Jdm. (nach etwas) ausfragen In den Wolken schweben Meine Lippen sind versiegelt

To have one’s head in the clouds My lips are sealed

Utrhnout komu hlavu

235


To be wet behind the ears To play into s‘one’s hands To one’s heart’s content To break one’s neck to do sth

Být zelenáč

Être encore bleu

Hrát komu na ruku, nahrávat Co hrdlo ráčí



Se mettre en quatre pour faire quelque chose


To face the music

Sníst si, co si nadrobil/ nést si následky Mít práce nad hlavu/ nevědět kde komu hlava stojí Mít plné zuby, nesnášet koho








To be an old hand

Být starý kozák

Être aux petits soins pour qu’un/ lui faire ses quatre volontés Connaître la musique

Jdm. auf den Tod nicht ausstehen können Jdm. von vorne und hinten bedienen

To laugh one’s head off To give s’one his/her head

Popadat se smíchy za břicho Nechat koho jednat podle vlastního rozumu

Se fendre la gueule

Sich fast totlachen


Jdm. machen lassen


Mlít z posledního, být u konce se silami

Avoir du plomb dans l’aile

Auf dem letzten Loch pfeifen

To ram sth down s’one’s throat To get off s’one’s neck To be fed up to the (back) teeth To be dressed up to the teeth

Krmit koho čím, vtloukat co do hlavy Vlézt na záda

Rebattre les oreilles à qu’un Ficher la paix à qu‘un En avoir marre/ras le bol Être sur son trente et un

Jdm. seine eigenen Ideen aufzwingen

To be run/rushed off one’s feet To hate s’one’s guts

À bouche que veux-tu

Noch feucht hinter den Ohren sein Jdm. in die Hände spielen Nach Herzenslust

Ein alter Hase sein

Jdm. zum Hals heraus hängen

h) Idiomatic expression using a different part of the body To be soaked/ drenched to the skin

Být promoklý až na kůži

Être mouillé/trempé jusqu’aux os

Bis auf die Haut nass sein

To bite one’s tongue

Kousat se do rtů/ jazyka

Se mordre les lèvres

Sich auf die Lippen beißen

236


That turns my stomach! To have a sharp tongue

Z toho se mi zvedá žaludek Mít ostrý jazyk


Don’t waste your breath! To save one’s neck

Nemluv do větru/ šetři s dechem! Zachránit si krk

Épargne ta salive! Sauver sa peau

Verschwende nicht deine Worte! Seinen Kopf retten

To stick one’s neck out I‘ll have your guts for garters! To drag one’s heels

Riskovat krk

Risquer sa tête

Seinen Kopf riskieren

Roztrhnu tě jako hada! Dávat si na čas, přešlapovat na místě

J’aurai ta peau!

Ich mache dich zur Schnecke Sich Zeit lassen


Jít komu na nervy




Být komu v patách

To be at each other’s throats Cheek by jowl

Vjet si do vlasů

Être sur le dos de qu‘un Se manger le nez


Bok po boku, těsně vedle sebe Být po ruce

Côte à côte, tout près de Être sous la main

Jdm. auf den Fersen sein Sich gegenseitig in die Haare fahren Dicht nebeneinander

Break a leg!

Zlom vaz!

Casse le cou!

To escape by the skin of one‘s teeth To cost an arm and a leg

Uniknout jen o vlásek/chlup Stát majlant, přijít pěkně draho


Nevyjít ze cviku


Mluvit a mluvit

To take to one’s heels



Pomoci komu v nesnázích Vypláznout balík

Échapper d’un cheveu/ poil Coûter la peau des fesses/ les yeux de la tête Garder un pied dans qch Rompre les oreilles à qu’un/étourdir qu‘un Prendre ses jambes à son cou Donner un coup de main à qu’un Payer quelque chose les yeux de la tête

To pay through the nose My foot! To have guts

Nesmysl! Mít odvahu, kuráž

Avoir la dent dure

Se faire tirer l’oreille

Dabei dreht sich mir der Magen um Eine scharfe Zunge haben

In Reichweite/bei sich sein Hals- und Beinbruch! Mit Ach und Krach Jdm. teuer zu stehen kommen/ein Heidengeld kosten In Übung bleiben Reden wie ein Wasserfall/ein Buch Die Beine in die Hand nehmen Jdm. hochhelfen Viel blechen

Mon oeil! Avoir de l’estomac/du coeur au ventre

237


To get s‘one by the short hairs

Mít koho v hrsti

To be out for s’one’s neck i)

Tenir le couteau sur la gorge à qu‘un Vouloir la peau de de qu‘un


B.3

Non Correspondence

a) Periphrasis To put one’s back into sth To make/get s’one’s blood up To make a clean breast of sth

Opřít se do čeho (s vervou) Rozčílit koho

S’y mettre, travailler énergiquement Mettre qu’un en colère Faire des aveux complets

Sich bei etwas anstrengen Aufregen jdm.

To catch s’one’s eye Pudding-face

Upoutat něčí pozornost Obličej jako měsíček

Attirer l’attention de qu’un Une face de lune

Jds. Aufmerksamkeit erregen Mondgesicht

Foot the bill

Zaplatit účet

Payer la note

To lose heart

Ztratit odvahu

Perdre courage

Die Rechnung bezahlen Den Mut verlieren

At heart


Au fond

Im Grunde

To be in two minds about sth

Být bez vyhraněného názoru, nemít jasno

Sich über etwas nicht im Klaren sein

To keep s’one on his/ her toes To be long in the tooth

Udržovat ve střehu

Être indécis/irrésolu en ce qui concerne qch Forcer qu’un à être vigilant Ne plus être tout jeune

To twist s’one round one’s (little) finger

Omotat si koho kolem prstu

Faire de qu’un ce qu’on veut

Brainchild

Duchovní dítě

To breast the tape

Protnout hrudí cílovou pásku Dupnout si, prosazovat

Idée originale/ Invention personnelle Franchir la ligne d‘arrivée Faire acte d’autorité/ être catégorique

Jdm. um den (kleinen) Finger wickeln Geistesprodukt


Être à plat

To put one’s foot down To be dead on one’s feet

Upřímně přiznat

Nebýt už nejmladší

Offen bekennen

Jdm. auf Zack halten Nicht mehr der/die Jüngste sein

Durchs Ziel gehen Energisch werden Todmüde sein

238



Mít na co hlavu

Avoir des dispositions pour qch

Etwas gut machen können

Have one’s head examined



To fight tooth and nail To be glad to see the back of s’one

Prát se zuby nehty

Se battre avec acharnement Être content de voir partir qu’un/d’être débarrassé de qu’un

Sich mal auf seinen Geisteszustand untersuchen lassen sollen Bis aufs Blut kämpfen

To keep one‘s ear to the ground


Être aux écoutes

To keep s’one at arm’s length


Tenir qu’un à distance

A shot in the arm

Vzpruha, pobídka

Near the bone/ knuckle To fall on deaf ears


Un coup de fouet/un remontant D‘un goût douteux


Froh sein, jdm. nicht mehr sehen zu müssen Die Ohren aufsperren/ offen halten Sich jdm. vom Leibe halten Aufschwung Hart an der Grenze sein Kein Gehör finden

Vyznít na prázdno, zůstat nevyslyšen Být za blbce, vypadat hloupě Nezkřivit komu ani vlas, nedotknout se prstem Mít obě ruce levé

Rester vain





Tollpatsch sein

To have a finger in every pie

Mít prsty ve všem

Être qu‘un à qui tout glisse des doigts Se mêler de tout

To give s’one a big/ good hand Off hand

Zatleskat (velmi), aplaudovat Z hlavy, z placu, bez přípravy Zamilovat se až po uši

Applaudir qu’un des deux mains Sans préparation

Jdm. großen Applaus geben Aus dem Stand


Držet se nad vodou

Se maintenir

Je to z první ruky


Sich bis über beide Ohren in jdn verlieben Sich über Wasser halten Es ist aus erster Hand

To have egg on one’s face Not to lay a finger on s’one To have one’s fingers all thumbs

To fall head over heels in love with s‘one To keep one‘s head above water It is straight from the horse’s mouth

Avoir l’air plutôt ridicule Ne pas toucher

Dumm dastehen Jdm. kein Härchen krümmen

Überall die Finger drin haben

239


To have a chip on one’s shoulders To have one’s eye on sth

Mít komplex, mindrák Mít něco vyhlídnuté, dělat si zálusk

En vouloir au monde entier Avoir qch en vue

Einen Komplex haben

To work one’s fingers to the bone To set one’s heart on sth

Dřít, pracovat do úpadu (Za)toužit po něčem

S’user au travail Vouloir absolument qch

Sich die Finger abarbeiten Sein Herz an etwas hängen

Poker face

Kamenná tvář, ledový obličej Dát si pauzu, nohy na stůl

Visage impassible

Pokergesicht

Se rêlacher/ se reposer

Die Beine hochlegen

Faire le gros d‘un travail Être intelligent

Brainwave

Zdolat nejobtížnější část práce Být chytrý, inteligentní Náhlý nápad

Mit der Arbeit über den Berg sein Grips/Köpfchen haben Geistesblitz

In my mind’s eye

V představách

En imagination

With an eye to

S ohledem na

En vue de

Vor meinem inneren Auge In der Absicht

To let one’s hair down To come to a head

Chovat se přirozeně, uvolnit se Stát se naléhavým



Devenir critique

Sich zuspitzen

To go out on a limb

Riskovat

Prendre des risques

Sich exponieren

To finish neck and neck To give one’s right arm To have a bone to pick with s’one

Skončit stejně, na stejné úrovni Dát nevímco


Kopf-an-Kopf beenden Was drum geben




Držet hlavu vzhůru, nedat se Karta se obrátila

To put one’s feet up To break the back of the job To have brains

The boot/shoe is on the other foot To have a gut feeling


Mít takové tušení/ pocit/instinkt

Une idée géniale

Donner n’importe quoi Avoir un compte à régler avec qu’un


Mit jdm. ein Hühnchen zu rupfen haben

Être paresseux comme une couleuvre Tenir bon/tenir le coup Les rôles sont inversés

Stinkfaul sein

Sentir au fond de soimême/ instinctivement


Die Ohren steif halten Es ist genau umgekehrt

240




Se calmer

Nicht gleich an die Decke gehen

To be (quite) a handful To bite the hand that feeds one

Být pěkné kvítko/číslo Plivat do studánky, ze které se pije

Être un enfant terrible

To scream one‘s head off Not to be able to make head or tail of it To be above/over s’one’s head To have a head start




N’y comprendre goutte Être trop complexe pour qu‘un Avoir une longueur d‘avance Dépasser les autres d‘une tête

Einen ganz schön in Trab halten können Sich (seinem Gönner gegenüber) undankbar zeigen Aus vollem Halse schreien Aus etwas/jdm. nicht klug werden Über jds. Horizont gehen Vorsprung haben

Být nad čí chápání

To be head and shoulders above s’one

Mít výhodu na začátku Vysoce převyšovat koho

Have a heart!



Zapřít se, zašprajcovat se Už žádné drzosti!

None of your lip!


Ne parle pas de malheur! Se braquer, se buter En voilà assez!/Pas sur ce ton! Une idée derrière la tête Révéler un secret

To be at the back of one’s mind To shoot one’s mouth off To talk through the back of one’s neck

Být stále v podvědomí Pouštět si hubu na špacír Mlít páté přes deváté

To have no backbone

Nemít odhodlání, odvahu Jít do čeho s otevřenýma očima

Manquer de fermeté, d’énergie Faire qch en connaissance de cause

Zorientovat se, rozkoukat se Bodnout mezi žebra

S‘adapter



To go into sth with one’s eyes open To find one’s feet To smite s’one under the fifth rib To cast/fling sth in s’one’s teeth

Dire des conneries

Jdm. haushoch überlegen sein Gib deinem Herzen einem Stoß! Sich auf die Hinterbeine stellen Sei nicht so frech! Eine Überlegung im Hinterkopf haben Das Maul aufreißen Von Hölzchen auf Stöckchen kommen

Poignarder qu‘un

b) Calque c)

One-word expression

241


Yellow-belly



To bone up on sth

Šprtat, drtit

Potasser

Angsthase, Waschlappen Pauken

Tongue in cheek

Ironicky

Ironiquement

Ironisch

In the face of sth

Navzdory

Malgré

Trotz


Ukázat se

Se montrer

Sich zeigen

To rib s’one To pat s’one on the back

Škádlit, popichovat Poplácat koho po zádech (pochvalně)

Taquiner qu’un Complimenter qu‘un

Necken Jdm. auf die Schulter klopfen

The bare bones of sth

Hrubá kostra

L’essentiel

Chin up! A smack in the eye

Hlavu vzhůru! Morální facka

Courage! Une gifle

Die wesentlichen Punkte Kopf hoch! Ein Schlag ins Gesicht


Spatřit, uvidět koho/ co

Voir qu’un/ qch

Jdm./ etwas zu Gesicht bekommen

To blow up in s’one’s face Big head

Vybouchnout, nezdařit se Náfuka, vševěd

Foirer

Ins Auge gehen

Crâneur

Fatzke

Parson’s nose


Croupion

Bürzel/Sterz

Straight from the shoulder

Bez servítků

Carrément

Unverblümt

To blow one’s mind

Nadchnout, ohromit

Époustoufler



Époustoufler

d) Free combination of language elements Get off my back!


Fiche-moi la paix!


To play it by ear

Improvizovat

Improvisieren



Improviser le moment venu Déloger qu’un/mettre sur le côté


Klamat, balamutit

Laisser accroire à qu’un

Jdm. Etwas vormachen


Brát co za bernou minci

Prendre quelque chose pour argent comptant

Etwas für bare Münze nehmen

To put one’s best foot forward

Ukázat se z nejlepší stránky

Faire de son mieux

Sein bestes tun

Jdm. Hinausdrängeln

242


To put one’s best foot forward Not to turn a hair

Pospíchat

Se dépêcher

Sich beeilen

Nehnout ani brvou

Ne pas broncher

To be a dab hand

Být eso

Être un as

Nicht mit der Wimper zucken Ein As im etwas sein

To take heart

Dodat si odvahy

(Re)prendre courage

Mut fassen

To be knock-kneed

Mít nohy do X


X-beinig sein

To learn sth at one’s mother’s knee To make up one’s mind To put/set s’one’s mind at rest To do sth without moving a muscle To keep one’s nose to the grindstone To toe the line

Mít co v krvi od narození Rozhodnout se

Avoir qch dans le sang Se décider

Etwas im Blut haben



Jdm. beruhigen

Nehnout ani brvou

Faire quleque chose sans sourciller Travailler d’arrachepied/sans rêlache Obéir, se conformer

Nicht mit der Wimper zucken Hart arbeiten

En dépit de tout opposition Se rétablir

Ungeachtet allen Widerstands Wieder auf die Beine kommen Seine Köpfe zusammenstecken Sich in etwas festbeißen

In the teeth of all opposition To get (back) on one’s feet To put heads together

Dřít do úpadu Poslouchat, podřídit se I přes odpor Být znovu na nohou

Sich entschließen

Sich einfügen

Dát hlavy dohromady Zakousnout se

Se consulter

Get/pull your finger out!

Vytáhni ruce z kapes, začni něco dělat!

Grouille-toi!/Magnetoi!

Nun mach schon!



Rire jaune


To bang one’s head against a brick wall Hold your jaw!

Jít hlavou proti zdi Drž hubu!

C’est comme si on chantait/flûtait La ferme!

Mit dem Kopf gegen die Wand rennen Halt‘s Maul!

To be bow-legged

Mít nohy do O

Avoir les jambes en parenthèses

O-beinig sein

To be a weight/load off one‘s mind To have a mind of one‘s own

Spadnout kámen ze srdce Mít svou hlavu

Soulager l’esprit

Jdm. fällt ein Stein vom Herzen Seinen eigenen Kopf haben




243


To laugh on the wrong side of one’s mouth To stick/stand out like a sore thumb

Přejít koho smích

Rire jaune

Das Lachen wird vergehen


Das springt einem direkt ins Auge

To have/get cold feet

Mít strach, mít plné kalhoty Získat nadvládu, kontrolu

Cela va ensemble comme un tablier à une vache Avoir la frousse Prendre le dessus



Kalte Füβe kriegen

To have/keep one’s finger on the pulse of sth


Se tenir à la page

Den Finger am Puls einer Sache haben

On the face of it

Na první pohled

À première vue

So, wie es aussieht

To bring s’one to heel

Přimět koho k poslušnosti Nenamočit se

Rappeler qu’un à l’ordre Ne pas se mouiller

Jdm. an die Kandare nehmen Sauber bleiben

Fetovat

Être drogué

An der Nadel hängen



Das ist verlorene Liebesmüh

To take sth on the chin


Tondre un diable s’il n’a pas de cheveux / tirer de l’huile d’un mur Encaisser les coups


Se faire vider



Být vyhozen, být na dlažbě Pohrdat / naprosto odporovat




Mám toulavé boty

J’ai la bougeotte



Être tiré à quatre épingles

Mich hält es nirgends lange Wie aus dem Ei gepellt

To have a heart to heart talk with s’one To have one‘s heart in one’s boots

Promluvit si s někým od srdce Být celý nervózní a zkroušený

Parler à coeur ouvert avec qu’un Avoir une peur bleue

Sich mit jdm. ganz offen aussprechen Jdm. ist das Herz in die Hosen gerutscht

Cross my heart

Na mou duši

Hand aufs Herz

To pull s’one’s leg

Utahovat si z koho

Croix de bois croix de fer Faire marcher qu’un

To keep one’s nose clean To have a monkey on s’one’s back

Es mit Fassung tragen

Jdm. auf den Arm nehmen

244


Shake a leg!

Hejbni kostrou!

Magne-toi!

Mach Dampf !




Den Mund halten

To be dead from the neck up

Být blbej jako tágo

Nur Stroh im Kopf haben


Schytat to naplno

To give s‘one the cold shoulder To rub shoulders with s’one It is no skin off my nose By rule of thumb/by guess Out at the elbows

Chovat se chladně

N’avoir rien dans la tête/être con comme un balais En avoir pour son compte Battre froid à qu‘un

Kamarádit se, stýkat se To mi žíly netrhá

Côtoyer qu’un Ça m’est égal

Mit jdm. in Berührung kommen Das juckt mich nicht

Od oka/zkusmo

À vue de nez

Faustregel

Na mizině, chudý

More power to your elbow!

Jen tak dál!/ Zlom vaz!

Dans la dèche/dans la gêne Vas-y! / Bonne chance!

To have rocks in one’s head To eat one’s heart out

Být praštěný

Être cinglé




Avoir la mort dans l’âme Être battu à plate couture

Blow/wipe your nose!

Starej se o svý!

Eins auf den Deckel kriegen Jdm. schneiden

Mêle-toi de tes oignons!/occupe-toi de tes affaires!

245

C Czech and German Body Idioms

C C.1 C.1.1

Czech and German Body Idioms Total Correspondence 100% Correspondence

Behind s’one’s back

Za čími zády


Hinter jds. Rücken

In cold blood

Chladnokrevně

De sang forid

Kaltblütig

To be in s’one’s blood

Avoir cela dans le sang Se casser la tête

Etwas im Blut haben

To rack one’s brain(s)

Mít něco v krvi (talent) Lámat si hlavu

Brainwashing

Vymývání mozků





By the sweat of one’s brow Your ears must have been burning

V potu tváře Jistě vám zvonilo v uších

À la sueur de son front Les oreilles ont dû vous tinter






Sich den Kopf zerbrechen Gehirnwäsche Sich an die Brust schlagen Im Schweiße seines Angesichtes Ihnen müssen die Ohren geklungen haben

Se frayer un passage (en jouant des coudes) Ça m‘a ouvert les yeux

Sich mit den Ellenbogen einen Weg bahnen Das hat mir die Augen geöffnet

Mít oko pro něco


Ein Auge für etwas haben





He has eyes for no one but her/ he has eyes only for her To open s’one’s eyes

Má oči jen pro ni



Otevřít komu oči

To make a face

Udělat obličej

Ouvrir les yeux à qu’un Faire une grimace

Jdm. die Augen öffnen Ein Gesicht machen

To lose face To save face

Ztratit tvář Zachovat si tvář

Perdre la face Sauver la face

Das Gesicht verlieren Das Gesicht retten

To keep one‘s fingers crossed/ to cross one’s fingers To burn one’s fingers

Držet palce/palec

Croiser les doigts


Spálit si prsty

Se brûler les doigts

Sich die Finger verbrennen

246


To point the finger at s’one To fall/land on one’s feet At first hand (Near) at hand

Ukázat na koho prstem Dopadnout na nohy

Mit dem Finger auf jdm. zeigen Auf die Beine fallen

Něčí pravá ruka

Montrer qu’un du doigt Retomber sur ses pattes/pieds De première main Sous la main/ à portée de la main Un bras droit

S’one’s right hand To have one’s hands tied To lose one‘s head

Mít svázané ruce


Ztratit hlavu

Perdre la tête



Zlomit komu srdce


Vzít si co k srdci

Briser le coeur à qu’un Prendre qch à coeur

To have a heart of stone To have the heart to do sth Achilles’ heel

Mít srdce z kamene

Achillova pata

Avoir un coeur de pierre Avoir le coeur de faire qch Talon d’Achille

To be hot on s’one’s heels To hang on s’one’s lips A big mouth


Talloner qu’un

Viset komu na rtech

Être suspendu aux lèvres de qu’un Une grande gueule

To ride at a breakneck pace To loosen s’one’s tongue To grit one’s teeth

Jet krkolomnou rychlostí Rozvázat komu jazyk

To be armed to the teeth Bone of contention



Lámat si hlavu



To make a clean breast of sth

Upřímně přiznat

Faire des aveux complets

Offen bekennen

To catch s’one’s eye

Upoutat něčí pozornost

Attirer l’attention de qu’un

Jds. Aufmerksamkeit erregen

Z první ruky Po ruce

Mít srdce něco udělat

Velká huba

Zatnout zuby

Jablko sváru

Aller au casse-cou Délier la langue à qu’un Serrer les dents Être armé jusqu’aux dents Une pomme de discorde

Aus erster Hand Zur Hand Rechte Hand

Jdm. das Herz brechen Sich etwas zu Herzen nehmen Ein Herz aus Stein haben Das Herz haben etwas zu tun Achillesferse Dicht auf den Fersen sein Jdm. an den Lippen hängen Eine große Klappe Mit halsbrecherischer Geswindigkeit fahren Jds. Zunge lösen Die Zähne zusammenbeißen Bis an die Zähne bewaffnet sein Zankapfel

247






Not to turn a hair

Nehnout ani brvou

Ne pas broncher

To be a dab hand

Být eso

Être un as

Nicht mit der Wimper zucken Ein As im etwas sein

By the handful

Plnýma rukama, štědře Ztratit odvahu

À pleines mains

Mit vollen Händen

Perdre courage

Den Mut verlieren

To do sth without moving a muscle To bite one’s tongue

Nehnout ani brvou

Faire quleque chose sans sourciller Se mordre les lèvres

Nicht mit der Wimper zucken Sich auf die Lippen beißen

To sweat blood


Suer sang et eau


Vyplakat si oči

To laugh in s‘one’s face Not to lift a finger


Pleurer toutes les larmes de ses yeux Rire au nez de qu’un

Blut (und Wasser) schwitzen Sich die Augen ausweinen Jdm. ins Gesicht lachen Keinen Finger rühren



To stand on one’s own (two) feet To give s‘one a free hand/have a free hand To get out of hand

Stát na vlastních nohou Nechat komu volnou ruku

Voler de ses propres ailes Avoir carte blanche

Auf eigenen Füβen/ Beinen stehen Jemandem freie Hand lassen

Vymknout se z ruky

Échapper des mains

Aus der Hand gleiten

To live from hand to mouth

Žít z ruky do úst


Von der Hand in den Mund leben

With a heavy hand

Tvrdou rukou

Avec poigne

To go to s’one‘s head To bite one’s head off

Stoupat/stoupnout komu do hlavy Utrhnout komu hlavu

To have one’s heart in the right place To turn/spin on one’s heel

Mít srdce na pravém místě Otočit se na podpatku, na patě

Monter au cerveau à qu‘un Passer un savon à qu‘un Avoir le coeur bien placé Tourner les talons

Mit harter/fester/ starker Hand Einem in den Kopf steigen Jdm. den Kopf abreißen Das Herz auf dem rechten Fleck haben Auf dem Absatz kehrtmachen

To lose heart


Ne pas remuer le petit doigt Faire de qu’un ce qu’on veut

Jdm. um den (kleinen) Finger wickeln

248


To get on s’one’s nerves Turn up one’s nose

Ohrnovat nos

Taper sur les nerfs à qu‘un Faire la petite bouche

Jdm. auf die Nerven gehen Die Nase rümpfen





To dig/poke s’one in the ribs To have a lump in one’s throat

Dloubnout/rýpnout koho do žeber Mít knedlík v krku /mít sevřené hrdlo

Pousser qu’un du coude Avoir la gorge serrée

Jdm. in die Rippen stoßen Einen Kloβ im Hals haben

To have a sharp tongue

Mít ostrý jazyk

Avoir la dent dure

Eine scharfe Zunge haben


Zakousnout se


Sich in etwas festbeißen



To be all ears

Být jedno ucho

Lire dans la pensée de qu’un Être tout oreilles

Jemandes Gedanken lesen Ganz Ohr sein

To run/cast one’s eye over sth To have eyes in the back of one‘s head

Přelétnout očima

Jeter un coup d’oeil à/sur qch Avoir les yeux derrière la tête

Etwas mit den Augen überfliegen Auch hinten Augen haben

To have sth at one‘s fingertips

Mít něco v malíčku

Savoir qch sur le bout du doigt

Etwas im kleinen Finger haben


Stát na hliněných nohou Na jazyku

Avoir des pieds d’argile Sur le bout de la langue Tenir qu’un à distance

Auf tönernen Füßen stehen Auf der Zunge

On the tip of one’s tongue To keep s’one at arm’s length

Jít komu na nervy

Mít oči i vzadu


Sich jdm. vom Leibe halten

Chin up! To be eyeball to eyeball To be up to one’s eyes in work

Hlavu vzhůru! Z očí do očí/tváří v tvář Být zavalený prací/po uši v práci

Courage! Être face à face/tête à tête Avoir du travail pardessus la tête

Kopf hoch! Sich Auge in Auge gegenüberstehen Bis über beide Ohren in der Arbeit stecken

To keep one‘s eyes skinned/peeled

Mít oči otevřené

Ouvrir l‘oeil

Die Augen offen halten

Not to lay a finger on s’one

Nezkřivit komu ani vlas, nedotknout se prstem

Ne pas toucher

Jdm. kein Härchen krümmen

249







Mít prsty ve všem

Se mêler de tout


To keep one‘s head

Neztratit hlavu


To fall head over heels in love with s‘one To cry/sob one’s heart out





Hold your jaw!

Drž hubu!

La ferme!

Den Kopf nicht verlieren Sich bis über beide Ohren in jdn verlieben Herzzerreißend weinen /sich die Augen ausweinen Halt‘s Maul!



Soulager l’esprit




It is straight from the horse’s mouth

Je to z první ruky

Tenir sa langue/fermer son caquet Ça vient de la source


Jít komu na nervy




Být komu v patách



Être sur le dos de qu‘un Faire un pied de nez à qu’un

Jdm. auf den Fersen sein Jdm. eine lange Nase machen




Hand ans Werk legen

To be at each other’s throats To shoot/fire from the hip

Vjet si do vlasů

Se manger le nez

Sich gegenseitig in die Haare fahren Aus der Hüfte schießen


Střílet od boku

C.1.2


C.1.2.1

Compound


Es ist aus erster Hand

To be a bundle of nerves




To have a wasp waist

Mít vosí pas

Avoir une taille de guêpe

Eine Wespentaille haben

250


C.1.2.2


a) The singular in one language against the plural in the other To play into s‘one’s hands To turn a blind eye to/on sth

Hrát komu na ruku, nahrávat Zavírat nad něčím oči

Faire le jeu de qu‘un Fermer les yeux sur qch

Jdm. in die Hände spielen Bei etwas eine Auge zudrücken

b) Different grammatical case or preposition, using reflexive verb in one language c)


Pudding-face


Une face de lune

Mondgesicht



d) Change in word order To be nothing but skin and bone(s)

Být kost a kůže

e) A different way of forming the corresponding part of speech To dirty one’s hands with sth C.1.2.3





a) A different structure (accompanied by e.g. a different verb) To be knock-kneed

Mít nohy do X


X-beinig sein

To get (back) on one’s feet Out of sight, out of mind

Být znovu na nohou

Se rétablir


Loin des yeux, loin du coeur

Wieder auf die Beine kommen Aus den Augen, aus dem Sinn

To be bow-legged

Mít nohy do O


O-beinig sein

My heart was in my mouth/throat

Měl jsem srdce v krku

J’avais le coeur dans la gorge

Mir schlug das Herz bis zum Hals

Etwas mit geschlossenen Augen machen Bis über den Hals in etwas stecken

C.2





To be up to one’s neck in sth

Být v něčem až po krk

Être dans quelque chose jusqu’au cou

251


To be soaked/ drenched to the skin




To eat out of s’one’s hand To put heads together

Zobat komu z ruky

Obéir qu’un comme un chien Se consulter

Jdm. aus der Hand fressen Seine Köpfe zusammenstecken Mit dem Kopf gegen die Wand rennen

To bang one’s head against a brick wall

Dát hlavy dohromady Jít hlavou proti zdi

C’est comme si on chantait/flûtait







From the bottom of one’s heart To bring s’one to his/her knees To stretch one’s legs

Z celého srdce, z hloubi duše Srazit koho na kolena

Du fond du coeur

Jdm. mit offenen Armen empfangen Einen Bauchklatscher machen Das geht zum einen Ohr hinein und zum anderen wieder hinaus Aus tiefstem Herzen


Dát čemu zelenou

Mettre qu’un à genoux Se dérouiller les jambes Donner le feu vert à qch

Jdm. in die Knie zwingen Sich die Beine vertreten Für etwas grünes Licht geben



Avoir fort à faire

To get sth into one’s head That turns my stomach!


S’enfoncer qch dans le crâne Ça soulève le coeur!

Mit etwas/jdm. alle Hände voll zu tun haben Sich etwas in den Kopf setzen Dabei dreht sich mir der Magen um

To turn one’s back on s’one To make s’one’s blood freeze/run cold

Obrátit se ke komu zády Nahánět hrůzu, až tuhne krev v žilách

Tourner le dos à qu’un Glacer le sang à qu’un


To beat sth into s’one’s head


S’enfoncer qch dans le crane

Jdm. etwas eintrichtern





Protáhnout si nohy

Z toho se mi zvedá žaludek

Jdm. im Stich lassen

252


To twiddle one’s thumbs To put a bug in one’s ear To put an idea into s’one’s head I‘ll have your guts for garters! To stick/stand out like a sore thumb

Sedět s rukama v klíně Nasadit brouka do hlavy Nasadit někomu brouka do hlavy Roztrhnu tě jako hada! Být jako pěst na oko/ bít do očí



My lips are sealed

Jsem jako hrob

To be thick-skinned

Mít hroší kůži

To wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve

Mít srdce na dlani

To shoot one’s mouth off

Pouštět si hubu na špacír

c)


Däumchen drehen

Mettre la puce à l’oreille de qu’un Mettre la puce à l’oreille de qu’un J’aurai ta peau!

Jdm einen Floh ins Ohr setzen Jdm. einen Floh ins Ohr setzen Ich mache dich zur Schnecke Das springt einem direkt ins Auge

Cela va ensemble comme un tablier à une vache Avoir qch en vue


Je suis un vrai tombeau Avoir la peau dure/une peau de rhinocéros Avoir le coeur sur les lèvres

Meine Lippen sind versiegelt Dickfellig sein

Révéler un secret

Das Maul aufreißen

Das Herz auf der Zunge tragen


New blood

Nová krev




Mít prsty v čem



Un apport de sang frais Faire les yeux doux/de velours à qu’un

Frisches Blut Jdm. schöne Augen machen

Être pour qch dans qch Avoir un chat dans la gorge

Seine Finger im Spiel haben Einen Frosch im Hals haben

d) Using hypernyms or hyponyms Face to face

Tváří v tvář

Face à face

Auge in Auge

To have a long arm

Mít dlouhé prsty, mít konexe Střežit koho jako oko v hlavě

Avoir le bras long

Einen langen Arm haben Jdm. wie seinen Augapfel hüten

To cherish s’one like the apple of s’one’s eye From head to toe/foot

Od hlavy k patě

Garder qu’un comme la prunelle de ses yeux De la tête aux pieds

Von Kopf bis Fuß

253


To have the brains of a canary

Mít ptačí mozek

Avoir une cervelle d‘oiseau/ de moineau

Ein Spatzenhirn haben

e) Idioms possessing a different number of lexical expressions To make s’one’s blood boil To have (got) both/ one’s feet (firmly) on the ground

Zpěnit krev, přivést do varu Stát nohama na zemi


To learn sth at one’s mother’s knee To stab s’one in the back

Mít co v krvi od narození Vrazit komu nůž do zad, dát ránu pod pás

Avoir qch dans le sang Poignarder qu’un dans le dos


Odstrčit stranou


Break a leg!

Zlom vaz!

Casse le cou!

f)


Jdm. das Blut in Wallung bringen Mit beiden Beinen (fest) auf der Erde stehen Etwas im Blut haben Jdm. einen Dolchstoss von hinten versetzen Jdm. mit den Ellenbogen zur Seite stoβen Hals- und Beinbruch!



Mít srdce ze zlata


Ein goldenes Herz haben


Mít v hlavě, neustále myslet

Avoir qch en tête

Jdm. nicht aus dem Kopf wollen/gehen




Die Beine kribbeln


Mít dobrou hlavu/ hlavu na pravém místě



g) The whole idiom is expressed with different lexical means To jump out of one’s skin

Vyletět z kůže

Ne pas tenir dans sa peau

Aus dem Häuschen geraten


Ujmout se/chopit se



To be all eyes


Être tout yeux

Groβe Augen machen


Držet hlavu vzhůru, nedat se Zamknout pusu na zámek

Tenir bon/tenir le coup La mettre en veilleuse

Die Ohren steif halten



Den Mund halten

254


h) Idiomatic expression using a different part of the body You shouldn’t look a gift-horse in the mouth




To raise one’s eyebrows at sth

Zvednout obočí (překvapení, pochybnost) Cítit co v kostech

Sourciller

Die Stirn runzeln

Sentir qch dans tous ses os Tomber face contre terre


To feel sth in one’s bones To fall flat on one’s face

Spadnout rovnou na hubu

Auf die Nase fallen

To shout at the top of one’s lungs

Křičet z plných plic

Crier à pleins poumons


To have a delicate palate To pat s’one on the back


Avoir le palais fin

Poplácat koho po zádech (pochvalně)

Complimenter qu‘un

Einen empfindlichen Gaumen haben Jdm. auf die Schulter klopfen

To fight tooth and nail To save one’s neck

Prát se zuby nehty

Bis aufs Blut kämpfen

Zachránit si krk

Se battre avec acharnement Sauver sa peau

To do sth under s’one’s (very) nose To stick one’s neck out Hold one’s tongue

Udělat něco přímo pod nosem Riskovat krk

Faire qch au nez et à la barbe de qu’un Risquer sa tête

Etwas vor jds. Augen tun Seinen Kopf riskieren


Tenir sa langue

Den Mund halten

To one’s heart’s content To breathe down s’one’s neck

Co hrdlo ráčí


Nach Herzenslust

Být komu za zády

Talonner qu‘un



Omlátit o hubu



To be staring s’one in the face To be over head and ears in work / up to one’s ears in work To take to one’s legs

Mít přímo na očích/ mít před nosem Mít práce nad hlavu

Être devant le nez de qu’un Avoir du travail pardessus la tête

Klar auf der Hand liegen Bis zum Hals in Arbeit sein




Prendre ses jambes à son cou Prendre ses jambes à son cou

Die Beine in die Hand nehmen Die Beine in die Hand nehmen

Seinen Kopf retten

255


To offer s‘one a shoulder to cry on i)


Jdm. anbieten sich an jds. Brust ausweinen


Before/under s’one’s very eyes To get sth off one‘s chest

Přímo před zraky koho Říct , co má člověk na srdci, ulevit si

Juste sous les yeux de qu’un Déballer ce qu’on a sur le coeur

Direkt vor seinen Augen Sich etwas von der Seele reden


Mít čich na něco

Avoir du nez pour qch

Eine Nase für etwas haben



C.3

Non Correspondence

a) Periphrasis To put/lay one‘s finger on sth To put/set a foot wrong To escape by a hair/ a hair’s breadth






To go/come cap/hat in hand To be chilled/frozen to the marrow To put one’s heart into it


Se présenter le bonnet à la main Être gelé jusqu’à la moelle des os Y aller de tout son coeur

Demütig kommen

Tread/step on s’one’s toes To keep a straight face

Dotknout se koho

Marcher sur les pieds de qu’un Garder son sérieux

Jdm. auf die Füße treten Ernst bleiben





Être sous la domination de qu‘un L’essentiel

Unter jds. Fuchtel stehen Die wesentlichen Punkte Durchs Ziel gehen

To be under s’one’s thumb The bare bones of sth To breast the tape To be easy on the eye

Uniknout o vlásek

Být zmrzlý až do morku kostí Dát do toho všechno


Hrubá kostra Protnout hrudí cílovou pásku Lahodit oku

Franchir la ligne d‘arrivée Être un plaisir pour les yeux


Völlig durchgefroren sein Mit ganzem Herzen bei etwas sein

Angenehm anzusehen sein

256





Ins Fettnäpfchen treten

To put one’s foot down

Dupnout si, prosazovat

Faire acte d’autorité/ être catégorique

Energisch werden

To be dead on one’s feet To have a head for sth


Être à plat

Todmüde sein

Mít na co hlavu



Avoir des dispositions pour qch Être dans la lune



To have nerves of iron/steel To keep one‘s ear to the ground

Mít nervy ze železa

Avoir des nerves d’acier Être aux écoutes

To have green fingers

Mít talent pro zahrádkaření Podle mého nejhlubšího přesvědčení, v hloubi duše Pod kontrolou, pevně v rukou Dřina

Avoir le pouce vert/ la main verte Au plus profond de mon coeur

Etwas gut machen können In den Wolken schweben Sich mal auf seinen Geisteszustand untersuchen lassen sollen Nerven wie Drahtseile haben Die Ohren aufsperren/ offen halten Eine grüne Hand haben Im Grunde meines Herzens

En main

Im Griff


Muskelkraft

Dřít, pracovat do úpadu Mít strach, mít plné kalhoty Získat nadvládu, kontrolu

S’user au travail

Sich die Finger abarbeiten Kalte Füβe kriegen

Prendre le dessus


To set one’s heart on sth

(Za)toužit po něčem

Vouloir absolument qch

Sein Herz an etwas hängen

To walk arm-in-arm



Arm in Arm

To be wet behind the ears Poker face

Být zelenáč

Être encore bleu

Kamenná tvář, ledový obličej

Visage impassible

Noch feucht hinter den Ohren sein Pokergesicht

In my heart of hearts

In hand Elbow grease To work one’s fingers to the bone To have/get cold feet To gain/get the upper hand


Avoir la frousse

257




Se tenir à la page


To get/have one‘s foot in the door


Faire le premier pas


To put one’s feet up

Dát si pauzu, nohy na stůl


Die Beine hochlegen

To split hairs



Haare spalten

To lose one’s heart

Zahořet láskou


Sein Herz verlieren









To have brains

Être intelligent

Grips/Köpfchen haben Dicht nebeneinander


Být chytrý, inteligentní Bok po boku, těsně vedle sebe Být po ruce

In my mind’s eye

V představách

En imagination

A smack in the eye

Morální facka

Une gifle



Voir qu’un/ qch














Vylít si srdce, svěřit se Skončit stejně, na stejné úrovni

(Combattre) corps à corps/homme à homme Vider son coeur

Cheek by jowl

To finish neck and neck

Côte à côte, tout près de Être sous la main


In Reichweite/bei sich sein Vor meinem inneren Auge Ein Schlag ins Gesicht

Sich etwas von der Seele reden Kopf-an-Kopf beenden

258






Mít srdce na dlani


To be after s‘one’s blood To take sth on the chin

Jít komu po krku

Vouloir la peau de qu’un Encaisser les coups

Es auf jdm. abgesehen haben Es mit Fassung tragen

Vybouchnout, nezdařit se Mít práce nad hlavu/ nevědět kde komu hlava stojí Mít plné zuby, nesnášet koho

Foirer

Ins Auge gehen








Sentir au fond de soimême/ instinctivement Se calmer

Jdm. auf den Tod nicht ausstehen können So aus dem Bauch heraus sagen würden





To put one‘s hand to the plough To laugh one’s head off To scream one‘s head off To use one’s head


Mettre la main à la pâte Se fendre la gueule

Sich in die Riemen legen Sich fast totlachen


To have a heart to heart talk with s’one Have a heart!

Promluvit si s někým od srdce Měj(te) slitování!

To have one‘s heart in one’s boots

Být celý nervózní a zkroušený

Aus vollem Halse schreien Seinen Verstand gebrauchen Sich mit jdm. ganz offen aussprechen Gib deinem Herzen einem Stoß! Jdm. ist das Herz in die Hosen gerutscht

Cross my heart

Na mou duši


Zapřít se, zašprajcovat se

To blow up in s’one’s face To be run/rushed off one’s feet To hate s’one’s guts


Popadat se smíchy za břicho Řvát na celé kolo Vzít rozum do hrsti

Parler à coeur ouvert avec qu’un Ne parle pas de malheur! Avoir une peur bleue

Croix de bois croix de fer Se braquer, se buter

Jdm. Daumenschrauben anlegen Gutherzig sein


Hand aufs Herz Sich auf die Hinterbeine stellen

259



Utahovat si z koho


Jdm. auf den Arm nehmen Mach Dampf !

Shake a leg!

Hejbni kostrou!

Magne-toi!

To be at the back of one’s mind To be dead from the neck up

Být stále v podvědomí Být blbej jako tágo


Lézt krkem

Une idée derrière la tête N’avoir rien dans la tête/être con comme un balais Faire monter la moutarde au nez


It is no skin off my nose To ram sth down s’one’s throat By rule of thumb/by guess To have a green thumb


Ça m’est égal


Krmit koho čím, vtloukat co do hlavy Od oka/zkusmo

Rebattre les oreilles à qu’un À vue de nez

Jdm. seine eigenen Ideen aufzwingen Faustregel


Avoir la main verte

Eine Hand für Pflänzen haben

To put one’s head above the parapet One’s heart is not in it

Jít s kůží na trh, nést kůži na trh Nedělat naplno, dělat bez nadšení

Not to have a leg to stand on To stick in s’one’s throat

Nemít žádnou oporu

Eine Überlegung im Hinterkopf haben Nur Stroh im Kopf haben

Sich in die Schusslinie begeben Nicht mit dem Herzen bei der Sache/dabei sein Nichts in der Hand haben Jdm. gegen den Strich gehen


b) Calque Brain drain c)

Odliv mozků

Exode des cerveaux

Braindrain

Faire de son mieux

Sein bestes tun

Être indécis/irrésolu en ce qui concerne qch Travailler d’arrachepied/sans rêlache Forcer qu’un à être vigilant

Sich über etwas nicht im Klaren sein

One-word expression

d) Free combination of language elements To put one’s best foot forward To be in two minds about sth

Ukázat se z nejlepší stránky Být bez vyhraněného názoru, nemít jasno

To keep one’s nose to the grindstone To keep s’one on his/ her toes

Dřít do úpadu Udržovat ve střehu

Hart arbeiten Jdm. auf Zack halten

260


To have elbow room




To pick s’one‘s brains Brainchild

Tahat rozumy, využívat čího rozumu Duchovní dítě

Jdm. (nach etwas) ausfragen Geistesprodukt

Don’t waste your breath! Have a foot in both camps

Nemluv do větru/ šetři s dechem! Nechávat si otevřená dvířka na obě strany

Faire appel aux lumières de qu’un Idée originale/ Invention personnelle Épargne ta salive!





To escape by the skin of one‘s teeth To lie through one‘s teeth

Uniknout jen o vlásek/chlup Lhát až se od pusy práší

Échapper d’un cheveu/ poil Mentir comme un arracheur de dents

Mit Ach und Krach

To put/lay one’s head on the block

Dát hlavu na špalek

C.3.1


Verschwende nicht deine Worte! Mit beiden Seiten zu tun haben

Das Blaue vom Himmel herunterlügen Kopf und Kragen riskieren

Non Idiomatic Expressions

Get off my back!


Fiche-moi la paix!


To put one’s back into sth Yellow-belly

Opřít se do čeho (s vervou) Strašpytel, zbabělec

S’y mettre, travailler énergiquement Froussard, trouillard

Sich bei etwas anstrengen Angsthase, Waschlappen

To make/get s’one’s blood up To bone up on sth

Rozčílit koho

Aufregen jdm.

Šprtat, drtit

Mettre qu’un en colère Potasser

Tongue in cheek

Ironicky

Ironiquement

Ironisch

To play it by ear

Improvizovat

Improvisieren





Klamat, balamutit


Jdm. etwas vormachen

In the face of sth

Navzdory

Malgré

Trotz

Pauken

Jdm. hinausdrängeln

261



Ukázat se

Se montrer

Sich zeigen

Foot the bill

Zaplatit účet

Payer la note

To put one’s best foot forward To be open-handed

Pospíchat

Se dépêcher

Die Rechnung bezahlen Sich beeilen

Být štědrý

Freigebig sein

At heart


Avoir le coeur sur la main/être généreux Au fond

To take heart To snatch s’one from the jaws of death

Dodat si odvahy Vyrvat ze spárů (tlamy, chřtánu) smrti

(Re)prendre courage Arracher qu’un des bras/des griffes de la mort

Mut fassen Jdm. den Klauen des Todes entreißen

To tear s’one limb from limb To make up one’s mind To put/set s’one’s mind at rest To rib s’one To get under s’one’s skin

Roztrhnout jak hada/ na kusy Rozhodnout se

Démembrer/Mettre qu’un en pièces Se décider

Jdm. in die Stücke reißen Sich entschließen



Jdm. beruhigen

Škádlit, popichovat Lézt na nervy, dožírat

Taquiner qu’un Taper sur les nerfs à qu’un

Necken Jdm. auf die Nerven gehen

To toe the line



Sich einfügen



In the teeth of all opposition To be glad to see the back of s’one

I přes odpor Těšit se až vypadne

En dépit de tout opposition Être content de voir partir qu’un/d’être débarrassé de qu’un

Ungeachtet allen Widerstands Froh sein, jdm. nicht mehr sehen zu müssen

Get/pull your finger out! To know sth like the back of one’s hand

Vytáhni ruce z kapes, začni něco dělat! Znát něco jako svoje boty

Grouille-toi!/Magnetoi! Connaître qch comme sa poche

Nun mach schon!

To play (a piece of music) by ear In the twinkling of an eye To give/lend s’one a hand

Hrát podle sluchu

Jouer à l’oreille

V mžiku

En un clin d’oeil

Nach (dem) Gehör spielen Im Nu

Pomoci někomu

Donner un coup de main à qu’un

Jdm. helfen

To learn sth by heart

Naučit se něco nazpaměť

Apprendre qch par coeur

Etwas auswendig lernen


Im Grunde

Etwas wie seine Westentasche kennen

262


To have/keep an open mind She leads him by the nose

Být přístupný jiným názorům Tancuje, jak ona píská

Avoir l’esprit ouvert Elle le mène par le bout du nez

Aufgeschlossen gegenüberstehen Er tanzt ganz nach ihrer Pfeife


Přeřeknutí

Un lapsus linguae

Ein Versprecher




To put on a brave/ good face

Předstírat klid, nasadit klidnou masku Přiznejme si to, smiřme se s tím

Faire bon visage

Sich einer Sache gegenüber taub stellen Gute Miene zum bösen Spiel machen











To set tongues wagging A shot in the arm

Rozpoutat diskuzi

Faire marcher les langues Un coup de fouet/un remontant

Dann geht das Gerede los Aufschwung


Být zahnaný do kouta

Être au pied du mur


To make no bones about sth Near the bone/ knuckle To fall on deaf ears

Nedělat cavyky

Prendre qu’un à rebrousse-poil/ taper sur les nerfs à qu’un Ne pas y aller avec le dos de la cuiller D‘un goût douteux


Let’s face it

Vzpruha, pobídka

Rester vain


Vyznít na prázdno, zůstat nevyslyšen Rozumět si, mít stejný názor

Keine Umstände machen Hart an der Grenze sein Kein Gehör finden



To have egg on one’s face

Být za blbce, vypadat hloupě

Avoir l’air plutôt ridicule

Dumm dastehen



Rire jaune




Être qu‘un à qui tout glisse des doigts

Tollpatsch sein


263


To give s’one a big/ good hand Off hand

Zatleskat (velmi), aplaudovat Z hlavy, z placu, bez přípravy Vyložit karty na stůl


Jdm. großen Applaus geben Aus dem Stand


Snadno zvítězit

Gagner haut la main

Držet se nad vodou

Se maintenir

Dávat si na čas, přešlapovat na místě


Die Karten auf den Tisch legen Mühelos/spielend gewinnen Sich über Wasser halten Sich Zeit lassen

To kick/cool one’s heels By word of mouth



Warten

Ústně


To laugh on the wrong side of one’s mouth To grease s’one’s palm


Rire jaune

Durch mündliche Überlieferung Das Lachen wird vergehen



Jdm. schmieren

To have a chip on one’s shoulders To have a sweet tooth

En vouloir au monde entier Avoir la bouche sucrée Faire le gros d‘un travail Une idée géniale

Einen Komplex haben

To break the back of the job Brainwave

Mít komplex, mindrák Rád mlsat, mít rád sladkosti Zdolat nejobtížnější část práce Náhlý nápad

With an eye to

S ohledem na

En vue de

In der Absicht

On the face of it

Na první pohled

À première vue

So, wie es aussieht




Wie blöd schuften





Devenir critique

Sich zuspitzen


Přimět koho k poslušnosti Riskovat

Rappeler qu’un à l’ordre Prendre des risques

Jdm. an die Kandare nehmen Sich exponieren

Nenamočit se

Ne pas se mouiller

Sauber bleiben

To show/reveal one’s hand To win/beat s‘one hands down To keep one‘s head above water To drag one’s heels

To go out on a limb To keep one’s nose clean

Gern Süßes mögen Mit der Arbeit über den Berg sein Geistesblitz

264


To give one’s right arm To cost an arm and a leg

Dát nevímco

To have a monkey on s’one’s back

Fetovat









Být vyhozen, být na dlažbě Sníst si, co si nadrobil/ nést si následky Pohrdat / naprosto odporovat



Donner n’importe quoi Coûter la peau des fesses/ les yeux de la tête Être drogué

Was drum geben Jdm. teuer zu stehen kommen/ein Heidengeld kosten An der Nadel hängen

Tondre un diable s’il n’a pas de cheveux / tirer de l’huile d’un mur Avoir un compte à régler avec qu’un


Être paresseux comme une couleuvre Se faire vider

Stinkfaul sein





Mám toulavé boty

J’ai la bougeotte


Karta se obrátila








Nevyjít ze cviku

In Übung bleiben



To be (quite) a handful To catch s’one redhanded To be an old hand

Být pěkné kvítko/číslo Přistihnout při činu

Garder un pied dans qch Être aux petits soins pour qu’un/ lui faire ses quatre volontés Être un enfant terrible

Být starý kozák

Prendre qu‘un la main dans le sac Connaître la musique




To face the music



Jdm. von vorne und hinten bedienen Einen ganz schön in Trab halten können Jdm. auf frischer Tat ertappen Ein alter Hase sein Sich (seinem Gönner gegenüber) undankbar zeigen

265


Not to be able to make head or tail of it To be above/over s’one’s head To be off one’s head


N’y comprendre goutte Être trop complexe pour qu‘un Ne plus avoir sa tête

Aus etwas/jdm. nicht klug werden Über jds. Horizont gehen Den Verstand verloren haben

To have a head start

Avoir une longueur d‘avance Dépasser les autres d‘une tête

Vorsprung haben


Mít výhodu na začátku Vysoce převyšovat koho


Mluvit a mluvit


Nechat koho jednat podle vlastního rozumu Náfuka, vševěd

Rompre les oreilles à qu’un/étourdir qu‘un Lâcher la bride à qu’un

Reden wie ein Wasserfall/ein Buch Jdm. machen lassen

Crâneur

Fatzke

Donner un coup de main à qu’un Avoir du plomb dans l’aile

Jdm. hochhelfen


Pomoci komu v nesnázích Mlít z posledního, být u konce se silami

None of your lip!


Sei nicht so frech!


Schytat to naplno

To talk through the back of one’s neck


En voilà assez!/Pas sur ce ton! En avoir pour son compte Dire des conneries

To pay through the nose Parson’s nose

Vypláznout balík

Viel blechen


Payer quelque chose les yeux de la tête Croupion

To give s‘one the cold shoulder To rub shoulders with s’one Straight from the shoulder To strengthen s‘one’s hand To have old head on young shoulders To have a change of heart To lose one’s tongue

Chovat se chladně

Battre froid à qu‘un

Jdm. schneiden

Kamarádit se, stýkat se Bez servítků

Côtoyer qu’un

Mit jdm. in Berührung kommen Unverblümt

Big head To give s’one a leg up

Být nad čí chápání Být blázen, zcvoknout se

Carrément

Jdm. haushoch überlegen sein


Eins auf den Deckel kriegen Von Hölzchen auf Stöckchen kommen

Bürzel/Sterz

Posílit pozici

Jds. Position stärken

Být na svůj věk až moc chytrý Změnit názor, postoj

Sehr reif für sein Alter sein Seine Meinung ändern Die Sprache verlieren

Ztratit řeč

266

D Czech and French Body Idioms

D Czech and French Body Idioms D.1 D.1.1


Behind s’one’s back

Za čími zády


Hinter jds. Rücken

To make s’one’s blood boil In cold blood

Zpěnit krev, přivést do varu Chladnokrevně


Jdm. das Blut in Wallung bringen Kaltblütig

To be in s’one’s blood To rack one’s brain(s)

Mít něco v krvi (talent) Lámat si hlavu

Avoir cela dans le sang Se casser la tête

Brainwashing

Vymývání mozků












Se frayer un passage (en jouant des coudes) Ça m‘a ouvert les yeux


Mít oko pro něco


Ein Auge für etwas haben


Otevřít komu oči

To make a face

Udělat obličej

Ouvrir les yeux à qu’un Faire une grimace

Jdm. die Augen öffnen Ein Gesicht machen

To lose face To save face To burn one’s fingers

Ztratit tvář Zachovat si tvář Spálit si prsty

Perdre la face Sauver la face Se brûler les doigts

At first hand S’one’s right hand

Z první ruky Něčí pravá ruka

De première main Un bras droit

Das Gesicht verlieren Das Gesicht retten Sich die Finger verbrennen Aus erster Hand Rechte Hand






Mít svázané ruce


Ztratit hlavu

Perdre la tête


De sang forid

Etwas im Blut haben Sich den Kopf zerbrechen Gehirnwäsche Sich an die Brust schlagen Das geht zum einen Ohr hinein und zum anderen wieder hinaus Sich mit den Ellenbogen einen Weg bahnen Das hat mir die Augen geöffnet

267



Zlomit komu srdce


Vzít si co k srdci

Briser le coeur à qu’un Prendre qch à coeur


Mít srdce ze zlata


To have a heart of stone To have the heart to do sth Achilles’ heel

Mít srdce z kamene

Avoir un coeur de pierre Avoir le coeur de faire qch Talon d’Achille

Ein Herz aus Stein haben Das Herz haben etwas zu tun Achillesferse


Protáhnout si nohy

To hang on s’one’s lips A big mouth

Viset komu na rtech Velká huba

Se dérouiller les jambes Être suspendu aux lèvres de qu’un Une grande gueule

Sich die Beine vertreten Jdm. an den Lippen hängen Eine große Klappe




Bis über den Hals in etwas stecken





To loosen s’one’s tongue To grit one’s teeth


Délier la langue à qu’un Serrer les dents

Jds. Zunge lösen

To be armed to the teeth To have a wasp waist



Lámat si hlavu

By the handful

Mít srdce něco udělat Achillova pata

Zatnout zuby

Jdm. das Herz brechen Sich etwas zu Herzen nehmen Ein goldenes Herz haben

Être armé jusqu’aux dents Avoir une taille de guêpe Se creuser/casser le cerveau/ la tête

Die Zähne zusammenbeißen Bis an die Zähne bewaffnet sein Eine Wespentaille haben Sich den Kopf zerbrechen

À pleines mains

Mit vollen Händen

To be knock-kneed

Plnýma rukama, štědře Mít nohy do X


X-beinig sein

Brain drain

Odliv mozků

Exode des cerveaux

Braindrain

To have a lump in one’s throat

Mít knedlík v krku /mít sevřené hrdlo

Avoir la gorge serrée

Einen Kloβ im Hals haben

To turn one’s back on s’one To stab s’one in the back

Obrátit se ke komu zády Vrazit komu nůž do zad, dát ránu pod pás

Tourner le dos à qu’un Poignarder qu’un dans le dos

Jdm. im Stich lassen

Mít vosí pas


268


Face to face

Tváří v tvář

Face à face

Auge in Auge

To put/lay one‘s finger on sth To wash one’s hands of sth/s’one

Vložit prst na, poukázat na Mýt si ruce nad čím/kým

Mettre le doigt sur qch S’en laver les mains

Etwas genau ausmachen Mit etwas/jdm. nichts mehr zu tun haben wollen

To go/come cap/hat in hand To shout at the top of one’s lungs


Se présenter le bonnet à la main Crier à pleins poumons

Demütig kommen

To be chilled/frozen to the marrow To be eyeball to eyeball To be thick-skinned

Být zmrzlý až do morku kostí Z očí do očí/tváří v tvář Mít hroší kůži

Völlig durchgefroren sein Sich Auge in Auge gegenüberstehen Dickfellig sein


Mít v hlavě, neustále myslet

Être gelé jusqu’à la moelle des os Être face à face/tête à tête Avoir la peau dure/une peau de rhinocéros Avoir qch en tête

To have the brains of a canary Cheek by jowl

Mít ptačí mozek



Bok po boku, těsně vedle sebe Být po ruce

To turn a blind eye to/on sth To get off on the wrong foot




To be over head and ears in work / up to one’s ears in work To open one‘s heart



Avoir une cervelle d‘oiseau/ de moineau Côte à côte, tout près de Être sous la main Fermer les yeux sur qch Partir du pied gauche


Jdm. nicht aus dem Kopf wollen/gehen Ein Spatzenhirn haben Dicht nebeneinander In Reichweite/bei sich sein Bei etwas eine Auge zudrücken Einen schlechten Start haben

(Combattre) corps à corps/homme à homme Avoir du travail pardessus la tête


Vylít si srdce, svěřit se Měl jsem srdce v krku

Vider son coeur J’avais le coeur dans la gorge

Sich etwas von der Seele reden Mir schlug das Herz bis zum Hals

Break a leg!

Zlom vaz!

Casse le cou!





Die Beine kribbeln

My heart was in my mouth/throat


269


To rush/throw oneself into the lion’s mouth To fall on s’one’s neck

Vrhnout se do lví tlamy Skočit komu na krk

Se jeter dans la gueule du loup Se jeter au cou de qu’un

To have a good nose

Mít dobrý nos

Avoir bon nez

D.1.2


D.1.2.1

Compound

D.1.2.2


a) The singular in one language against the plural in the other You shouldn’t look a gift-horse in the mouth




To get out of hand To turn/spin on one’s heel To be easy on the eye

Vymknout se z ruky Otočit se na podpatku, na patě Lahodit oku

Échapper des mains Tourner les talons

To be all ears

Být jedno ucho

Aus der Hand gleiten Auf dem Absatz kehrtmachen Angenehm anzusehen sein Ganz Ohr sein

To run/cast one’s eye over sth To keep one‘s eyes skinned/peeled

Přelétnout očima Mít oči otevřené

Être un plaisir pour les yeux Être tout oreilles Jeter un coup d’oeil à/sur qch Ouvrir l‘oeil

Etwas mit den Augen überfliegen Die Augen offen halten

b) Different grammatical case or preposition, using reflexive verb in one language To take one’s eyes off sth




To point the finger at s’one (Near) at hand

Ukázat na koho prstem Po ruce

Mit dem Finger auf jdm. zeigen Zur Hand

To bite one’s tongue


Montrer qu’un du doigt Sous la main/ à portée de la main Se mordre les lèvres

c)



Pudding-face


Une face de lune

Mondgesicht

To escape by a hair/ a hair’s breadth

Uniknout o vlásek

L‘échapper d’un cheveu


To escape by the skin of one‘s teeth

Uniknout jen o vlásek/chlup

Échapper d’un cheveu/ poil

Mit Ach und Krach

d) Change in word order

270


To be nothing but skin and bone(s)

Být kost a kůže



e) A different way of forming the corresponding part of speech To have one’s heart in the right place To put/set a foot wrong D.1.2.3

Mít srdce na pravém místě Šlápnout vedle

Avoir le coeur bien placé Mettre un pied de travers

Das Herz auf dem rechten Fleck haben Einen Fehler machen


a) A different structure (accompanied by e.g. a different verb) Your ears must have been burning



Ihnen müssen die Ohren geklungen haben

He has eyes for no one but her/ he has eyes only for her To have (got) both/ one’s feet (firmly) on the ground

Má oči jen pro ni







Stát na hliněných nohou Co nemá člověk v hlavě, musí mít v nohách

Avoir des pieds d’argile Quand on n’a pas de tête, il faut avoir des jambes

Auf tönernen Füßen stehen

One’s head would never save one’s legs

D.2





Etwas mit geschlossenen Augen machen

To bring s’one to his/her knees To get sth off one‘s chest

Srazit koho na kolena Říct , co má člověk na srdci, ulevit si

Mettre qu’un à genoux Déballer ce qu’on a sur le coeur

Jdm. in die Knie zwingen Sich etwas von der Seele reden

To fall flat on one’s face


Tomber face contre terre

Auf die Nase fallen




Jdm. mit offenen Armen empfangen Einen Bauchklatscher machen

271


Before/under s’one’s very eyes To do sth without moving a muscle To give sth the thumbs up

Přímo před zraky koho Nehnout ani brvou

Juste sous les yeux de qu’un Faire quleque chose sans sourciller Donner le feu vert à qch

Direkt vor seinen Augen Nicht mit der Wimper zucken Für etwas grünes Licht geben

To stand on one’s own (two) feet To give s‘one a free hand/have a free hand To live from hand to mouth

Stát na vlastních nohou Nechat komu volnou ruku

Voler de ses propres ailes Avoir carte blanche

Auf eigenen Füβen/ Beinen stehen Jemandem freie Hand lassen



Von der Hand in den Mund leben

To eat out of s’one’s hand Out of sight, out of mind Turn up one’s nose

Zobat komu z ruky Sejde z očí, sejde z mysli Ohrnovat nos

Obéir qu’un comme un chien Loin des yeux, loin du coeur Faire la petite bouche

Jdm. aus der Hand fressen Aus den Augen, aus dem Sinn Die Nase rümpfen





To twiddle one’s thumbs New blood

Sedět s rukama v klíně Nová krev


Däumchen drehen Frisches Blut

To have one’s head in the clouds To put a bug in one’s ear To put an idea into s’one’s head To have sth at one‘s fingertips


Un apport de sang frais Être dans la lune

Nasadit brouka do hlavy Nasadit někomu brouka do hlavy Mít něco v malíčku

Mettre la puce à l’oreille de qu’un Mettre la puce à l’oreille de qu’un Savoir qch sur le bout du doigt

In den Wolken schweben Jdm einen Floh ins Ohr setzen Jdm. einen Floh ins Ohr setzen Etwas im kleinen Finger haben

To be all eyes


Être tout yeux

Groβe Augen machen

To be up to one’s eyes in work

Být zavalený prací/po uši v práci


Bis über beide Ohren in der Arbeit stecken






Neztratit hlavu


To be at each other’s throats

Vjet si do vlasů

Se manger le nez

Den Kopf nicht verlieren Sich gegenseitig in die Haare fahren

Dát čemu zelenou

272



Být komu za zády

Talonner qu‘un



Omlátit o hubu












Mít dobrou hlavu/ hlavu na pravém místě Lézt krkem





To get up s‘one’s nose c)


From the bottom of one’s heart To get under s’one’s skin

Z celého srdce, z hloubi duše Lézt na nervy, dožírat

To get on s’one’s nerves To jump out of one’s skin

Jít komu na nervy Vyletět z kůže

Du fond du coeur

Aus tiefstem Herzen

Taper sur les nerfs à qu’un


Taper sur les nerfs à qu‘un Ne pas tenir dans sa peau

Jdm. auf die Nerven gehen Aus dem Häuschen geraten

Faire les yeux doux/de velours à qu’un Avoir des nerves d’acier Avoir les yeux derrière la tête

Jdm. schöne Augen machen



To have nerves of iron/steel To have eyes in the back of one‘s head

Mít nervy ze železa

To be bow-legged

Mít nohy do O


O-beinig sein




Jdm. eine lange Nase machen




Hand ans Werk legen





To take to one’s legs


Prendre ses jambes à son cou

Die Beine in die Hand nehmen

Mít oči i vzadu

Nerven wie Drahtseile haben Auch hinten Augen haben

273


To put one‘s hand to the plough To wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve




Mít srdce na dlani

Mettre la main à la pâte Avoir le coeur sur les lèvres

Sich in die Riemen legen Das Herz auf der Zunge tragen

Prendre ses jambes à son cou

Die Beine in die Hand nehmen

d) Using hypernyms or hyponyms To keep one‘s fingers crossed/ to cross one’s fingers To fall/land on one’s feet To laugh in s‘one’s face Not to lift a finger

Držet palce/palec

Croiser les doigts


Dopadnout na nohy

Retomber sur ses pattes/pieds Rire au nez de qu’un


To get sth into one’s head To go to s’one‘s head


To beat sth into s’one’s head To have a long arm To cherish s’one like the apple of s’one’s eye From head to toe/foot To be kindhearted/ to give the shirt off one’s back


Stoupat/stoupnout komu do hlavy Vtlouct komu co do hlavy Mít dlouhé prsty, mít konexe Střežit koho jako oko v hlavě Od hlavy k patě Mít srdce na dlani

Ne pas remuer le petit doigt S’enfoncer qch dans le crâne Monter au cerveau à qu‘un S’enfoncer qch dans le crâne Avoir le bras long Garder qu’un comme la prunelle de ses yeux De la tête aux pieds Avoir le coeur sur la main

Jdm. ins Gesicht lachen Keinen Finger rühren Sich etwas in den Kopf setzen Einem in den Kopf steigen Jdm. etwas eintrichtern Einen langen Arm haben Jdm. wie seinen Augapfel hüten Von Kopf bis Fuß Gutherzig sein

e) Idioms possessing a different number of lexical expressions To ride at a breakneck pace To learn sth at one’s mother’s knee To sweat blood

Jet krkolomnou rychlostí Mít co v krvi od narození Potit krev, dřít se


Vyplakat si oči



Aller au casse-cou Avoir qch dans le sang Suer sang et eau Pleurer toutes les larmes de ses yeux Fourrer son nez partout

Mit halsbrecherischer Geswindigkeit fahren Etwas im Blut haben Blut (und Wasser) schwitzen Sich die Augen ausweinen Seine Nase in etwas stecken

274


To make s’one’s blood freeze/run cold




To feel sth in one’s bones To do sth under s’one’s (very) nose In hand

Cítit co v kostech

Sentir qch dans tous ses os Faire qch au nez et à la barbe de qu’un En main


Sur le bout de la langue Tenir sa langue

Auf der Zunge

Tenir sa langue/fermer son caquet Parler à coeur ouvert avec qu’un


On the tip of one’s tongue Hold one’s tongue

Udělat něco přímo pod nosem Pod kontrolou, pevně v rukou Na jazyku Držet jazyk za zuby



To have a heart to heart talk with s’one

Promluvit si s někým od srdce

f)

Etwas vor jds. Augen tun Im Griff

Den Mund halten



To be hot on s’one’s heels Not to turn a hair


Talloner qu’un

Nehnout ani brvou

Ne pas broncher

To raise one’s eyebrows at sth

Zvednout obočí (překvapení, pochybnost) Mít přímo na očích/ mít před nosem

Sourciller

Dicht auf den Fersen sein Nicht mit der Wimper zucken Die Stirn runzeln

Être devant le nez de qu’un

Klar auf der Hand liegen

To be staring s’one in the face

g) The whole idiom is expressed with different lexical means To have one‘s hands full with sth/s’one


Avoir fort à faire


Utrhnout komu hlavu

To dig/poke s’one in the ribs To stick/stand out like a sore thumb

Dloubnout/rýpnout koho do žeber Být jako pěst na oko/ bít do očí

To be after s‘one’s blood To be run/rushed off one’s feet

Jít komu po krku

Passer un savon à qu‘un Pousser qu’un du coude Cela va ensemble comme un tablier à une vache Vouloir la peau de qu’un Ne plus savoir où donner de la tête

Mít práce nad hlavu/ nevědět kde komu hlava stojí

Mit etwas/jdm. alle Hände voll zu tun haben Jdm. den Kopf abreißen Jdm. in die Rippen stoßen Das springt einem direkt ins Auge Es auf jdm. abgesehen haben In Trab gehalten werden

275


To laugh one’s head off To ram sth down s’one’s throat By rule of thumb/by guess To get s‘one by the short hairs

Popadat se smíchy za břicho Krmit koho čím, vtloukat co do hlavy Od oka/zkusmo Mít koho v hrsti

Se fendre la gueule

Sich fast totlachen

Rebattre les oreilles à qu’un À vue de nez

Jdm. seine eigenen Ideen aufzwingen Faustregel

Tenir le couteau sur la gorge à qu‘un

h) Idiomatic expression using a different part of the body By the sweat of one’s brow To be soaked/ drenched to the skin

V potu tváře

À la sueur de son front Être mouillé/trempé jusqu’aux os

Im Schweiße seines Angesichtes Bis auf die Haut nass sein




Jdm. den Klauen des Todes entreißen

With a heavy hand

Tvrdou rukou

Avec poigne

That turns my stomach!



Mit harter/fester/ starker Hand Dabei dreht sich mir der Magen um


Mít ostrý jazyk

Avoir la dent dure


To have a delicate palate Don’t waste your breath! To save one’s neck


Avoir le palais fin

Nemluv do větru/ šetři s dechem! Zachránit si krk

Épargne ta salive! Sauver sa peau

Einen empfindlichen Gaumen haben Verschwende nicht deine Worte! Seinen Kopf retten

To stick one’s neck out To be on s’one’s neck

Riskovat krk

Risquer sa tête


Být komu v patách

To one’s heart’s content To cough one’s lungs up

Co hrdlo ráčí

Être sur le dos de qu‘un À bouche que veux-tu

Jdm. auf den Fersen sein Nach Herzenslust

Vykašlávat krev

Cracher ses poumons

i)




Mít čich na něco

To play (a piece of music) by ear

Hrát podle sluchu

D.3

Avoir du nez pour qch Jouer à l’oreille

Eine Nase für etwas haben Nach (dem) Gehör spielen

Non Correspondence 276


a) Periphrasis To be open-handed

Být štědrý

To keep one’s nose to the grindstone To twist s’one round one’s (little) finger

Dřít do úpadu Omotat si koho kolem prstu

Avoir le coeur sur la main/être généreux Travailler d’arrachepied/sans rêlache Faire de qu’un ce qu’on veut

To get (back) on one’s feet To put heads together

Být znovu na nohou

Se rétablir

Dát hlavy dohromady Zakousnout se

Se consulter

To have elbow room





Ujmout se/chopit se







Tread/step on s’one’s toes To keep a straight face

Dotknout se koho

Marcher sur les pieds de qu’un Garder son sérieux

Jdm. auf die Füße treten Ernst bleiben





Être sous la domination de qu‘un Complimenter qu‘un

Unter jds. Fuchtel stehen Jdm. auf die Schulter klopfen Die wesentlichen Punkte Durchs Ziel gehen


To be under s’one’s thumb To pat s’one on the back






Hrubá kostra

L’essentiel

To breast the tape

Protnout hrudí cílovou pásku Šlápnout do toho, udělat trapas

Franchir la ligne d‘arrivée Mettre les pieds dans le plat


Être à plat


To be dead on one’s feet

Freigebig sein Hart arbeiten Jdm. um den (kleinen) Finger wickeln Wieder auf die Beine kommen Seine Köpfe zusammenstecken Sich in etwas festbeißen

Ins Fettnäpfchen treten Todmüde sein

277



Mít na co hlavu



Have one’s head examined



To fight tooth and nail To have green fingers

Prát se zuby nehty

Se battre avec acharnement Avoir le pouce vert/ la main verte Grouille-toi!/Magnetoi! Au plus profond de mon coeur

Sich mal auf seinen Geisteszustand untersuchen lassen sollen Bis aufs Blut kämpfen

Get/pull your finger out! In my heart of hearts

In the twinkling of an eye To give/lend s’one a hand

Mít talent pro zahrádkaření Vytáhni ruce z kapes, začni něco dělat! Podle mého nejhlubšího přesvědčení, v hloubi duše V mžiku

Eine grüne Hand haben Nun mach schon! Im Grunde meines Herzens

En un clin d’oeil

Im Nu

Pomoci někomu


Jdm. helfen

Naučit se něco nazpaměť Tancuje, jak ona píská

Apprendre qch par coeur Elle le mène par le bout du nez

Etwas auswendig lernen Er tanzt ganz nach ihrer Pfeife




Elbow grease

Dřina


Sich einer Sache gegenüber taub stellen Muskelkraft

To put on a brave/ good face


Faire bon visage




Have a foot in both camps

Nechávat si otevřená dvířka na obě strany











To learn sth by heart She leads him by the nose

Let’s face it

278






To set tongues wagging To keep s’one at arm’s length To have one’s back to the wall Chin up! To see eye to eye with s‘one

Rozpoutat diskuzi


Faire marcher les langues Tenir qu’un à distance Être au pied du mur

Hlavu vzhůru! Rozumět si, mít stejný názor

Courage! Voir les choses du même oeil que qu’un

Dann geht das Gerede los Sich jdm. vom Leibe halten In die Enge getrieben werden/sein Kopf hoch! Mit jdm. einer Meinung sein


Nezkřivit komu ani vlas, nedotknout se prstem Mít prsty ve všem

Ne pas toucher


Se mêler de tout


To give s’one a big/ good hand To have a hand in sth

Zatleskat (velmi), aplaudovat Mít prsty v čem

To fall head over heels in love with s‘one To drag one’s heels


Applaudir qu’un des deux mains Être pour qch dans qch Devenir follement amoureux de qu’un



Jdm. großen Applaus geben Seine Finger im Spiel haben Sich bis über beide Ohren in jdn verlieben Sich Zeit lassen

To kick/cool one’s heels To be a weight/load off one‘s mind To have a mind of one‘s own



Warten


Soulager l’esprit


By word of mouth

Ústně


It is straight from the horse’s mouth

Je to z první ruky



Jít komu na nervy






Jdm. schmieren


Rád mlsat, mít rád sladkosti

Avoir la bouche sucrée

Gern Süßes mögen




Durch mündliche Überlieferung Es ist aus erster Hand

279




Avoir qch en vue


To walk arm-in-arm



Arm in Arm




Die Beine hochlegen

To split hairs



Haare spalten

To play into s‘one’s hands To lose one’s heart

Hrát komu na ruku, nahrávat Zahořet láskou


Jdm. in die Hände spielen Sein Herz verlieren




Wie blöd schuften




To cost an arm and a leg



Držet hlavu vzhůru, nedat se Postavit se k čemu čelem, přijmout co s hlavou vztyčenou

Coûter la peau des fesses/ les yeux de la tête Tenir bon/tenir le coup Encaisser les coups

Jdm. Daumenschrauben anlegen Jdm. teuer zu stehen kommen/ein Heidengeld kosten Die Ohren steif halten

To take sth on the chin To face the music


Es mit Fassung tragen

Sníst si, co si nadrobil/ nést si následky Mít plné zuby, nesnášet koho





Nevyjít ze cviku

To catch s’one redhanded To be off one’s head


Garder un pied dans qch Prendre qu‘un la main dans le sac Ne plus avoir sa tête

Jdm. auf den Tod nicht ausstehen können In Übung bleiben


Vysoce převyšovat koho

Dépasser les autres d‘une tête



Mluvit a mluvit


Reden wie ein Wasserfall/ein Buch


Být blázen, zcvoknout se

Jdm. auf frischer Tat ertappen Den Verstand verloren haben

280



Pomoci komu v nesnázích Hejbni kostrou!

Donner un coup de main à qu’un Magne-toi!

Mach Dampf !




Den Mund halten

To be at the back of one’s mind To shoot one’s mouth off To be dead from the neck up

Být stále v podvědomí Pouštět si hubu na špacír Být blbej jako tágo

Une idée derrière la tête Révéler un secret

Eine Überlegung im Hinterkopf haben Das Maul aufreißen Nur Stroh im Kopf haben

To pay through the nose

Vypláznout balík

N’avoir rien dans la tête/être con comme un balais Payer quelque chose les yeux de la tête

It is no skin off my nose To have a green thumb


Ça m’est égal



Avoir la main verte

Eine Hand für Pflänzen haben




Das Blaue vom Himmel herunterlügen

To go into sth with one’s eyes open

Jít do čeho s otevřenýma očima

Faire qch en connaissance de cause

To hit s’one in the eye My foot! To set/put foot somewhere

Vyrazit dech, šokovat Nesmysl! Vkročit, vstoupit

Sauter aux yeux Mon oeil! Mettre les pieds quelque part


Udělat hloupost, dopustit se faux pas


To have guts

Mít odvahu, kuráž


Děsit koho



Avoir de l’estomac/du coeur au ventre À te faire dresser les cheveux sur la tête Être battu à plate couture

To get off s’one’s neck

Vlézt na záda

Ficher la paix à qu‘un

To smite s’one under the fifth rib

Bodnout mezi žebra

Poignarder qu‘un

Shake a leg!

Jdm. hochhelfen

Viel blechen

281


To cut one’s teeth on sth

Otrkat se, udělat první krůčky


To cast/fling sth in s’one’s teeth



b) Calque c)

One-word expression


Přeřeknutí

Un lapsus linguae

Ein Versprecher

Big head

Náfuka, vševěd

Crâneur

Fatzke

d) Free combination of language elements To elbow s’one aside

Odstrčit stranou


To know sth like the back of one’s hand

Znát něco jako svoje boty

Connaître qch comme sa poche

Jdm. mit den Ellenbogen zur Seite stoβen Etwas wie seine Westentasche kennen


Nedělat cavyky


Keine Umstände machen



Tollpatsch sein

To bang one’s head against a brick wall To cry/sob one’s heart out

Jít hlavou proti zdi Moci si oči vyplakat/ srdceryvně plakat

Être qu‘un à qui tout glisse des doigts C’est comme si on chantait/flûtait Pleurer à chaudes larmes

Hold your jaw!

Drž hubu!

La ferme!

D.3.1

Mit dem Kopf gegen die Wand rennen Herzzerreißend weinen /sich die Augen ausweinen Halt‘s Maul!

Non Idiomatic Expressions

Get off my back!


Fiche-moi la paix!


To put one’s back into sth Yellow-belly

Opřít se do čeho (s vervou) Strašpytel, zbabělec

S’y mettre, travailler énergiquement Froussard, trouillard

Sich bei etwas anstrengen Angsthase, Waschlappen

To make/get s’one’s blood up Bone of contention

Rozčílit koho

Mettre qu’un en colère Une pomme de discorde

Aufregen jdm.

To bone up on sth

Šprtat, drtit

Potasser

Pauken

Jablko sváru

Zankapfel

282


To make a clean breast of sth

Upřímně přiznat

Faire des aveux complets

Offen bekennen

Tongue in cheek

Ironicky

Ironiquement

Ironisch

To play it by ear

Improvizovat

Improvisieren





Klamat, balamutit



To catch s’one’s eye To take sth at face value

Upoutat něčí pozornost Brát co za bernou minci

Attirer l’attention de qu’un Prendre quelque chose pour argent comptant

Jds. Aufmerksamkeit erregen Etwas für bare Münze nehmen

In the face of sth

Navzdory

Malgré

Trotz


Ukázat se

Se montrer

Sich zeigen

Foot the bill

Zaplatit účet

Payer la note



Faire de son mieux

Die Rechnung bezahlen Sein bestes tun

Se dépêcher

Sich beeilen

Být eso

Être un as


To lose heart

Ztratit odvahu

Perdre courage

Den Mut verlieren

At heart


Au fond

Im Grunde

To take heart

Dodat si odvahy

(Re)prendre courage

Mut fassen

To tear s’one limb from limb To be in two minds about sth

Roztrhnout jak hada/ na kusy Být bez vyhraněného názoru, nemít jasno

Jdm. in die Stücke reißen Sich über etwas nicht im Klaren sein

To make up one’s mind To put/set s’one’s mind at rest To rib s’one To keep s’one on his/ her toes To toe the line

Rozhodnout se

Démembrer/Mettre qu’un en pièces Être indécis/irrésolu en ce qui concerne qch Se décider



Jdm. beruhigen

Škádlit, popichovat Udržovat ve střehu

Taquiner qu’un Forcer qu’un à être vigilant Obéir, se conformer

Necken Jdm. auf Zack halten

Poslouchat, podřídit se


Sich entschließen

Sich einfügen

283






In the teeth of all opposition To read s’one’s mind

I přes odpor

To pick s’one‘s brains Brainchild


Ungeachtet allen Widerstands Jemandes Gedanken lesen Jdm. (nach etwas) ausfragen Geistesprodukt



En dépit de tout opposition Lire dans la pensée de qu’un Faire appel aux lumières de qu’un Idée originale/ Invention personnelle Faire acte d’autorité/ être catégorique

To be glad to see the back of s’one


Être content de voir partir qu’un/d’être débarrassé de qu’un

Froh sein, jdm. nicht mehr sehen zu müssen



Être aux écoutes

To have/keep an open mind

Být přístupný jiným názorům

Avoir l’esprit ouvert

Die Ohren aufsperren/ offen halten Aufgeschlossen gegenüberstehen

A shot in the arm

Vzpruha, pobídka

To get/put s‘one’s back up




Un coup de fouet/un remontant Prendre qu’un à rebrousse-poil/ taper sur les nerfs à qu’un D‘un goût douteux


Energisch werden

Aufschwung Jdm. gegen sich aufbringen Hart an der Grenze sein Kein Gehör finden

Vyznít na prázdno, zůstat nevyslyšen Být za blbce, vypadat hloupě

Rester vain Avoir l’air plutôt ridicule

Dumm dastehen



Rire jaune


I‘ll have your guts for garters! Off hand

Roztrhnu tě jako hada! Z hlavy, z placu, bez přípravy Vyložit karty na stůl

J’aurai ta peau!

Ich mache dich zur Schnecke Aus dem Stand


Snadno zvítězit

Gagner haut la main


To show/reveal one’s hand To win/beat s‘one hands down

Sans préparation

Die Karten auf den Tisch legen Mühelos/spielend gewinnen

284


To keep one‘s head above water To laugh on the wrong side of one’s mouth To have a chip on one’s shoulders To work one’s fingers to the bone To have/get cold feet

Držet se nad vodou

Se maintenir


Rire jaune

Mít komplex, mindrák Dřít, pracovat do úpadu Mít strach, mít plné kalhoty Získat nadvládu, kontrolu

En vouloir au monde entier S’user au travail

Prendre le dessus





Sein Herz an etwas hängen

My lips are sealed

Jsem jako hrob

To be wet behind the ears

Být zelenáč

Je suis un vrai tombeau Être encore bleu

Meine Lippen sind versiegelt Noch feucht hinter den Ohren sein



Se tenir à la page














To break the back of the job To have brains

Faire le gros d‘un travail Être intelligent

Brainwave

Zdolat nejobtížnější část práce Být chytrý, inteligentní Náhlý nápad

Une idée géniale

Mit der Arbeit über den Berg sein Grips/Köpfchen haben Geistesblitz

In my mind’s eye

V představách

En imagination

A smack in the eye

Morální facka

Une gifle

Vor meinem inneren Auge Ein Schlag ins Gesicht

With an eye to

S ohledem na

En vue de

In der Absicht



Voir qu’un/ qch



Avoir la frousse

Sich über Wasser halten Das Lachen wird vergehen Einen Komplex haben Sich die Finger abarbeiten Kalte Füβe kriegen

285


On the face of it

Na první pohled

À première vue

So, wie es aussieht





Devenir critique

Sich zuspitzen


Přimět koho k poslušnosti Riskovat

Rappeler qu’un à l’ordre Prendre des risques

Jdm. an die Kandare nehmen Sich exponieren

To finish neck and neck To keep one’s nose clean To give one’s right arm To have a monkey on s’one’s back

Skončit stejně, na stejné úrovni Nenamočit se


Kopf-an-Kopf beenden Sauber bleiben

Dát nevímco

Donner n’importe quoi Être drogué

Was drum geben






Tondre un diable s’il n’a pas de cheveux / tirer de l’huile d’un mur Avoir un compte à régler avec qu’un



Stinkfaul sein

To be out on one‘s ear To blow up in s’one’s face To fly in the face of sth

Být vyhozen, být na dlažbě Vybouchnout, nezdařit se Pohrdat / naprosto odporovat

Être paresseux comme une couleuvre Se faire vider Foirer

Ins Auge gehen




Mám toulavé boty

J’ai la bougeotte


Karta se obrátila








Sentir au fond de soimême/ instinctivement Se calmer





To go out on a limb

Fetovat

Ne pas se mouiller





286




To be (quite) a handful To be an old hand

Být pěkné kvítko/číslo Být starý kozák

Connaître la musique




To scream one‘s head off Not to be able to make head or tail of it To be above/over s’one’s head To have a head start




N’y comprendre goutte Être trop complexe pour qu‘un Avoir une longueur d‘avance Lâcher la bride à qu’un


Být nad čí chápání Mít výhodu na začátku Nechat koho jednat podle vlastního rozumu

Être aux petits soins pour qu’un/ lui faire ses quatre volontés Être un enfant terrible

Jdm. von vorne und hinten bedienen Einen ganz schön in Trab halten können Ein alter Hase sein Sich (seinem Gönner gegenüber) undankbar zeigen Aus vollem Halse schreien Aus etwas/jdm. nicht klug werden Über jds. Horizont gehen Vorsprung haben Jdm. Machen lassen

Have a heart!



Gib deinem Herzen einem Stoß! Jdm. ist das Herz in die Hosen gerutscht



Cross my heart

Na mou duši

Croix de bois croix de fer Se braquer, se buter

Hand aufs Herz

To dig in one’s heels To pull s’one’s leg

Zapřít se, zašprajcovat se Utahovat si z koho




None of your lip!


Sei nicht so frech!


Schytat to naplno



En voilà assez!/Pas sur ce ton! En avoir pour son compte Dire des conneries

Parson’s nose


Croupion

Bürzel/Sterz

To give s‘one the cold shoulder

Chovat se chladně

Battre froid à qu‘un

Jdm. Schneiden

To rub shoulders with s’one

Kamarádit se, stýkat se

Côtoyer qu’un

Mit jdm. in Berührung kommen


Sich auf die Hinterbeine stellen Jdm. auf den Arm nehmen Auf dem letzten Loch pfeifen

Eins auf den Deckel kriegen Von Hölzchen auf Stöckchen kommen

287



Bez servítků

Carrément

To have no backbone Out at the elbows

Nemít odhodlání, odvahu Na mizině, chudý

More power to your elbow!

Jen tak dál!/ Zlom vaz!

Manquer de fermeté, d’énergie Dans la dèche/dans la gêne Vas-y! / Bonne chance!

To find one’s feet

Zorientovat se, rozkoukat se Vydělávat peníze velmi rychle Být praštěný

To make money hand over fist To have rocks in one’s head To eat one’s heart out


Unverblümt

S‘adapter Ramasser l’argent à la pelle Être cinglé

To blow one’s mind

Nadchnout, ohromit

Avoir la mort dans l’âme Époustoufler



Époustoufler

Blow/wipe your nose!

Starej se o svý!

Mêle-toi de tes oignons!/occupe-toi de tes affaires!

288

E English and German Body Idioms

E E.1 E.1.1

English and German Body Idioms Total Correspondence 100% Correspondence

To welcome/receive s‘one with open arms Behind s’one’s back

Přijmout koho s otevřenou náručí Za čími zády

Ouvrir/tendre les bras à qu‘un Dans le dos de qu’un

Jdm. mit offenen Armen empfangen Hinter jds. Rücken

To be nothing but skin and bone(s) By the sweat of one’s brow To have an eye for sth

Být kost a kůže

Mít oko pro něco

N’avoir que la peau et les os À la sueur de son front Avoir l’oeil pour qch

Nur noch Haut und Knochen sein Im Schweiße seines Angesichtes Ein Auge für etwas haben

Before/under s’one’s very eyes To take one’s eyes off sth

Přímo před zraky koho Spustit z čeho oči

Juste sous les yeux de qu’un Quitter qch des yeux

Direkt vor seinen Augen Die Augen von etwas abwenden

To do sth with one’s eyes closed/shut



Etwas mit geschlossenen Augen machen

He has eyes for no one but her/ he has eyes only for her To make a face

Má oči jen pro ni



Udělat obličej

Faire une grimace

Ein Gesicht machen

To lose face

Ztratit tvář

Perdre la face

Das Gesicht verlieren

To save face To burn one’s fingers

Zachovat si tvář Spálit si prsty

Sauver la face Se brûler les doigts

To point the finger at s’one At first hand (Near) at hand

Ukázat na koho prstem Z první ruky Po ruce

S’one’s right hand

Něčí pravá ruka

Montrer qu’un du doigt De première main Sous la main/ à portée de la main Un bras droit

Das Gesicht retten Sich die Finger verbrennen Mit dem Finger auf jdm. zeigen Aus erster Hand Zur Hand


Mít svázané ruce


Ztratit hlavu

Perdre la tête


Vzít si co k srdci

Prendre qch à coeur

V potu tváře

Rechte Hand Gebundene Hände haben Den Kopf verlieren Sich etwas zu Herzen nehmen

289


To have a heart of stone To have the heart to do sth To be hot on s’one’s heels To stretch one’s legs

Mít srdce z kamene

To ride at a breakneck pace To loosen s’one’s tongue To grit one’s teeth

Jet krkolomnou rychlostí Rozvázat komu jazyk

To be armed to the teeth To sweat blood



Vyplakat si oči

To raise one’s eyebrows at sth To laugh in s‘one’s face Not to lift a finger

Zvednout obočí (překvapení, pochybnost) Smát se komu do obličeje Ani nehnout prstem



Ne pas remuer le petit doigt Faire de qu’un ce qu’on veut

To stand on one’s own (two) feet


Voler de ses propres ailes


To get (back) on one’s feet To live from hand to mouth

Být znovu na nohou

Se rétablir



Wieder auf die Beine kommen Von der Hand in den Mund leben

With a heavy hand

Tvrdou rukou

Avec poigne

To get sth into one’s head To put heads together


S’enfoncer qch dans le crâne Se consulter

Mít srdce něco udělat Být těsně v patách Protáhnout si nohy

Zatnout zuby


Dát hlavy dohromady

Avoir un coeur de pierre Avoir le coeur de faire qch Talloner qu’un Se dérouiller les jambes Aller au casse-cou Délier la langue à qu’un Serrer les dents Être armé jusqu’aux dents Suer sang et eau Pleurer toutes les larmes de ses yeux Sourciller


Ein Herz aus Stein haben Das Herz haben etwas zu tun Dicht auf den Fersen sein Sich die Beine vertreten Mit halsbrecherischer Geswindigkeit fahren Jds. Zunge lösen Die Zähne zusammenbeißen Bis an die Zähne bewaffnet sein Blut (und Wasser) schwitzen Sich die Augen ausweinen Die Stirn runzeln

Jdm. ins Gesicht lachen Keinen Finger rühren Jdm. um den (kleinen) Finger wickeln

Mit harter/fester/ starker Hand Sich etwas in den Kopf setzen Seine Köpfe zusammenstecken

290



Utrhnout komu hlavu

To have one’s heart in the right place To turn/spin on one’s heel Turn up one’s nose

Mít srdce na pravém místě Otočit se na podpatku, na patě Ohrnovat nos


Faire la petite bouche

Jdm. den Kopf abreißen Das Herz auf dem rechten Fleck haben Auf dem Absatz kehrtmachen Die Nase rümpfen




To dig/poke s’one in the ribs To have a lump in one’s throat

Dloubnout/rýpnout koho do žeber Mít knedlík v krku /mít sevřené hrdlo

Pousser qu’un du coude Avoir la gorge serrée

Jdm. in die Rippen stoßen Einen Kloβ im Hals haben


Mít ostrý jazyk

Avoir la dent dure


To have a long arm

Mít dlouhé prsty, mít konexe Mít dostatečný prostor, volné pole

Avoir le bras long

Einen langen Arm haben Ellbogenfreiheit haben


Odstrčit stranou


Jdm. mit den Ellenbogen zur Seite stoβen

To cherish s’one like the apple of s’one’s eye To take s’one/sth in hand From head to toe/foot

Střežit koho jako oko v hlavě

Garder qu’un comme la prunelle de ses yeux Prendre qu’un/qch en main De la tête aux pieds

Jdm. wie seinen Augapfel hüten

A man/woman after my own heart


Un homme selon mon coeur

Ein Mann/eine Frau ganz nach meinem Herzen




Mít čich na něco

To have a delicate palate To twiddle one’s thumbs My lips are sealed


Lire dans la pensée de qu’un Avoir du nez pour qch Avoir le palais fin Se tourner les pouces

Jemandes Gedanken lesen Eine Nase für etwas haben Einen empfindlichen Gaumen haben Däumchen drehen


Meine Lippen sind versiegelt

To have elbow room

Ujmout se/chopit se Od hlavy k patě

Sedět s rukama v klíně Jsem jako hrob

Passer un savon à qu‘un Avoir le coeur bien placé Tourner les talons


Jdm./ etwas in die Hand nehmen Von Kopf bis Fuß

291


To be thick-skinned

Mít hroší kůži

Avoir la peau dure/une peau de rhinocéros Être encore bleu

Dickfellig sein

To be wet behind the ears

Být zelenáč



Se tenir à la page









Die Beine hochlegen

To split hairs



Haare spalten

To play into s‘one’s hands To lose one’s heart

Hrát komu na ruku, nahrávat Zahořet láskou


Jdm. in die Hände spielen Sein Herz verlieren













To shoot/fire from the hip

Střílet od boku

E.1.2


E.1.2.1

Compound


Noch feucht hinter den Ohren sein

Aus der Hüfte schießen

To do a belly flop

Udělat/skočit placáka

Faire un plat ventre

In cold blood

Chladnokrevně

De sang forid

Einen Bauchklatscher machen Kaltblütig

Achilles’ heel

Achillova pata

Talon d’Achille

Achillesferse





To have a wasp waist

Mít vosí pas

Brain drain

Odliv mozků

Avoir une taille de guêpe Exode des cerveaux

Eine Wespentaille haben Braindrain

292



Získat nadvládu, kontrolu

Prendre le dessus


Poker face

Kamenná tvář, ledový obličej

Visage impassible

Pokergesicht

To one’s heart’s content

Co hrdlo ráčí


Nach Herzenslust

E.1.2.2


a) The singular in one language against the plural in the other To be all ears

Být jedno ucho

Être tout oreilles

Ganz Ohr sein

To run/cast one’s eye over sth

Přelétnout očima

Jeter un coup d’oeil à/sur qch

Etwas mit den Augen überfliegen

b) Different grammatical case or preposition, using reflexive verb in one language To beat one‘s breast




Otevřít komu oči


Zlomit komu srdce

To hang on s’one’s lips

Viset komu na rtech

Ouvrir les yeux à qu’un Briser le coeur à qu’un Être suspendu aux lèvres de qu’un

c)

Sich an die Brust schlagen Jdm. die Augen öffnen Jdm. das Herz brechen Jdm. an den Lippen hängen


d) Change in word order e) A different way of forming the corresponding part of speech To elbow one’s way




To have a heart of gold To get one’s teeth into sth E.1.2.3

Se frayer un passage (en jouant des coudes) Se sailir les mains avec qch

Sich mit den Ellenbogen einen Weg bahnen Sich mit etwas die Hände schmutzig machen

Mít srdce ze zlata


Zakousnout se


Ein goldenes Herz haben Sich in etwas festbeißen


a) A different structure (accompanied by e.g. a different verb) To make s’one’s blood boil To be in s’one’s blood

Zpěnit krev, přivést do varu Mít něco v krvi (talent)

Faire bouillir qu’un Avoir cela dans le sang

Jdm. das Blut in Wallung bringen Etwas im Blut haben

293





Your ears must have been burning







To keep one‘s fingers crossed/ to cross one’s fingers To have (got) both/ one’s feet (firmly) on the ground

Držet palce/palec

Croiser les doigts





You shouldn’t look a gift-horse in the mouth To give s‘one a free hand/have a free hand To get out of hand




Avoir carte blanche

Einem geschenkten Gaul schaut man nicht ins Maul Jemandem freie Hand lassen

Vymknout se z ruky

Échapper des mains

Aus der Hand gleiten



Avoir fort à faire

To get on s’one’s nerves That turns my stomach!

Jít komu na nervy

Taper sur les nerfs à qu‘un Ça soulève le coeur!

Mit etwas/jdm. alle Hände voll zu tun haben Jdm. auf die Nerven gehen Dabei dreht sich mir der Magen um


Das geht zum einen Ohr hinein und zum anderen wieder hinaus Ihnen müssen die Ohren geklungen haben









To be all eyes


Être tout yeux

Groβe Augen machen


Omlátit o hubu



Une grande gueule

Eine große Klappe

E.2


a) Expressiveness versus neutrality A big mouth

Velká huba

294





Bis über den Hals in etwas stecken

To be soaked/ drenched to the skin




To eat out of s’one’s hand

Zobat komu z ruky

Obéir qu’un comme un chien

Jdm. aus der Hand fressen

b) Using lexically different words but keeping the semantic meaning To rack one’s brain(s)

Lámat si hlavu

Se casser la tête


From the bottom of one’s heart To bring s’one to his/her knees To beat one’s brains

Z celého srdce, z hloubi duše Srazit koho na kolena

Du fond du coeur

Aus tiefstem Herzen

Mettre qu’un à genoux Se creuser/casser le cerveau/ la tête

Jdm. in die Knie zwingen Sich den Kopf zerbrechen

To be knock-kneed

Mít nohy do X


X-beinig sein


Dát čemu zelenou



To put a bug in one’s ear To know sth like the back of one’s hand

Nasadit brouka do hlavy Znát něco jako svoje boty

Mettre la puce à l’oreille de qu’un Connaître qch comme sa poche

Jdm einen Floh ins Ohr setzen Etwas wie seine Westentasche kennen

To have eyes in the back of one‘s head

Mít oči i vzadu

Avoir les yeux derrière la tête


To have sth at one‘s fingertips To have a finger in every pie

Mít něco v malíčku

Savoir qch sur le bout du doigt Se mêler de tout

Etwas im kleinen Finger haben Überall die Finger drin haben


Mít prsty v čem

To be bow-legged

Mít nohy do O

Être pour qch dans qch Avoir les jambes en parenthèses

Seine Finger im Spiel haben O-beinig sein






Být komu za zády

Talonner qu‘un


To break the back of the job

Zdolat nejobtížnější část práce

Faire le gros d‘un travail

Mit der Arbeit über den Berg sein

Lámat si hlavu

Mít prsty ve všem

295


To have brains

Být chytrý, inteligentní Mít v hlavě, neustále myslet

Être intelligent

To have the brains of a canary To take to one’s legs

Mít ptačí mozek



Avoir une cervelle d‘oiseau/ de moineau Prendre ses jambes à son cou Avoir les fourmis dans les jambes

Ein Spatzenhirn haben Die Beine in die Hand nehmen Die Beine kribbeln

To blow up in s’one’s face To face the music

Vybouchnout, nezdařit se Sníst si, co si nadrobil/ nést si následky Nerozčilovat se/ nechat na hlavě

Foirer

Ins Auge gehen



Se calmer






To put one‘s hand to the plough To be an old hand


Mettre la main à la pâte Connaître la musique

Sich in die Riemen legen Ein alter Hase sein




Den Mund halten





To put one’s head above the parapet Not to have a leg to stand on

Jít s kůží na trh, nést kůži na trh Nemít žádnou oporu



c)


Být starý kozák

Avoir qch en tête

Grips/Köpfchen haben Jdm. nicht aus dem Kopf wollen/gehen

Sich in die Schusslinie begeben Nichts in der Hand haben


Not to turn a hair

Nehnout ani brvou

Ne pas broncher




To go to s’one‘s head

Stoupat/stoupnout komu do hlavy Nová krev

Monter au cerveau à qu‘un Un apport de sang frais

New blood

Nicht mit der Wimper zucken Jdm. den Klauen des Todes entreißen Einem in den Kopf steigen Frisches Blut

296


To pat s’one on the back


Complimenter qu‘un

Jdm. auf die Schulter klopfen


Neztratit hlavu





Den Kopf nicht verlieren Sein Herz an etwas hängen

To wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve To pull the rug / carpet from under s’one’s feet

Mít srdce na dlani

Avoir le coeur sur les lèvres Couper l’herbe sous les pieds de qu‘un

Das Herz auf der Zunge tragen Jdm. den Boden unter den Füßen wegziehen


Hold one’s tongue

Mít talent pro zahrádkaření Držet jazyk za zuby

Retomber sur ses pattes/pieds Marcher sur les pieds de qu’un Avoir le pouce vert/ la main verte Tenir sa langue

Jdm. auf die Füße treten Eine grüne Hand haben Den Mund halten

Chin up! Hold your jaw!

Hlavu vzhůru! Drž hubu!

Courage! La ferme!

Kopf hoch! Halt‘s Maul!

A smack in the eye

Morální facka

Une gifle

Ein Schlag ins Gesicht

d) Using hypernyms or hyponyms To fall/land on one’s feet Tread/step on s’one’s toes To have green fingers

Dopadnout na nohy Dotknout se koho

e) Idioms possessing a different number of lexical expressions To make eyes at s’one


On the tip of one’s tongue To work one’s fingers to the bone To walk arm-in-arm

Na jazyku

Break a leg!

Zlom vaz!

f)

Dřít, pracovat do úpadu Jít zavěšeni do sebe

Faire les yeux doux/de velours à qu’un Sur le bout de la langue S’user au travail Marcher bras dessus bras dessous

Jdm. schöne Augen machen Auf der Zunge Sich die Finger abarbeiten Arm in Arm

Casse le cou!


Tenir sa langue/fermer son caquet Avoir qch en vue








297


To have/get cold feet My heart was in my mouth/throat

Mít strach, mít plné kalhoty Měl jsem srdce v krku

Avoir la frousse

Kalte Füβe kriegen

J’avais le coeur dans la gorge

Mir schlug das Herz bis zum Hals

g) The whole idiom is expressed with different lexical means To take sth at face value




To learn sth at one’s mother’s knee To be in two minds about sth

Mít co v krvi od narození Být bez vyhraněného názoru, nemít jasno

Etwas im Blut haben

To keep s’one on his/ her toes To put an idea into s’one’s head To have feet of clay

Udržovat ve střehu Nasadit někomu brouka do hlavy Stát na hliněných nohou Nechávat si otevřená dvířka na obě strany

Avoir qch dans le sang Être indécis/irrésolu en ce qui concerne qch Forcer qu’un à être vigilant Mettre la puce à l’oreille de qu’un Avoir des pieds d’argile Avoir un pied dans chaque camp

To fall head over heels in love with s‘one To bang one’s head against a brick wall To make s‘one‘s hair stand on end



Jít hlavou proti zdi

C’est comme si on chantait/flûtait Faire dresser les cheveux sur la tête à qu‘un


Se braquer, se buter


Zapřít se, zašprajcovat se Utahovat si z koho


Schytat to naplno



En avoir pour son compte Dire des conneries

To stick in s’one’s throat


To have a foot in both camps

To be fed up to the (back) teeth



Sich über etwas nicht im Klaren sein Jdm. auf Zack halten Jdm. einen Floh ins Ohr setzen Auf tönernen Füßen stehen Mit beiden Seiten zu tun haben Sich bis über beide Ohren in jdn verlieben Mit dem Kopf gegen die Wand rennen Da stehen einem ja die Haare zu Berge Sich auf die Hinterbeine stellen Jdm. auf den Arm nehmen Eins auf den Deckel kriegen Von Hölzchen auf Stöckchen kommen Jdm. gegen den Strich gehen

En avoir marre/ras le bol

Jdm. zum Hals heraus hängen

298


h) Idiomatic expression using a different part of the body To bite one’s tongue


Se mordre les lèvres


To feel sth in one’s bones To fall flat on one’s face

Cítit co v kostech



Sentir qch dans tous ses os Tomber face contre terre

Face to face

Tváří v tvář

Face à face

Auge in Auge

To shout at the top of one’s lungs


Crier à pleins poumons


To save one’s neck

Zachránit si krk

Sauver sa peau

Seinen Kopf retten

To do sth under s’one’s (very) nose To be up to one’s eyes in work

Udělat něco přímo pod nosem Být zavalený prací/po uši v práci

Faire qch au nez et à la barbe de qu’un Avoir du travail pardessus la tête

Etwas vor jds. Augen tun Bis über beide Ohren in der Arbeit stecken


Nezkřivit komu ani vlas, nedotknout se prstem Je to z první ruky

Ne pas toucher



Es ist aus erster Hand

Être sur le dos de qu‘un Se manger le nez

Jdm. auf den Fersen sein Sich gegenseitig in die Haare fahren Das springt einem direkt ins Auge

It is straight from the horse’s mouth To be on s’one’s neck

Být komu v patách

To be at each other’s throats To stick/stand out like a sore thumb

Vjet si do vlasů

To be over head and ears in work / up to one’s ears in work To finish neck and neck To take to one’s heels



Skončit stejně, na stejné úrovni Vzít nohy na ramena

To tickle s’one’s ribs

To offer s‘one a shoulder to cry on i)

Cela va ensemble comme un tablier à une vache Avoir du travail pardessus la tête Arriver à égalité Prendre ses jambes à son cou Chatouiller les côtes à qu’un


Auf die Nase fallen

Bis zum Hals in Arbeit sein Kopf-an-Kopf beenden Die Beine in die Hand nehmen Jdm. in der Seite kitzeln Jdm. anbieten sich an jds. Brust ausweinen


299


Out of sight, out of mind


To lose one’s tongue

Ztratit řeč

E.3

Loin des yeux, loin du coeur

Aus den Augen, aus dem Sinn Die Sprache verlieren

Non Correspondence

a) Periphrasis Get off my back!


Fiche-moi la paix!


To put one’s back into sth To make a clean breast of sth

Opřít se do čeho (s vervou) Upřímně přiznat

S’y mettre, travailler énergiquement Faire des aveux complets

Sich bei etwas anstrengen Offen bekennen



Déloger qu’un/mettre sur le côté



Klamat, balamutit



To catch s’one’s eye To show one‘s face

Upoutat něčí pozornost Ukázat se

Attirer l’attention de qu’un Se montrer

Jds. Aufmerksamkeit erregen Sich zeigen

Foot the bill

Zaplatit účet

Payer la note



Faire de son mieux

Die Rechnung bezahlen Sein bestes tun

Se dépêcher

Sich beeilen

Být eso

Être un as


To be open-handed

Být štědrý

Freigebig sein

By the handful To lose heart

Plnýma rukama, štědře Ztratit odvahu

Avoir le coeur sur la main/être généreux À pleines mains Perdre courage

Den Mut verlieren

At heart


Au fond

Im Grunde

To take heart

Dodat si odvahy

(Re)prendre courage

Mut fassen

To tear s’one limb from limb To make up one’s mind

Roztrhnout jak hada/ na kusy Rozhodnout se

Démembrer/Mettre qu’un en pièces Se décider

Jdm. in die Stücke reißen Sich entschließen

Mit vollen Händen

300


To put/set s’one’s mind at rest To keep one’s nose to the grindstone To get under s’one’s skin



Jdm. beruhigen

Dřít do úpadu

Travailler d’arrachepied/sans rêlache Taper sur les nerfs à qu’un

Hart arbeiten Jdm. auf die Nerven gehen

To toe the line



Sich einfügen


Nicht mehr der/die Jüngste sein Ungeachtet allen Widerstands Jdm. im Stich lassen Jdm. einen Dolchstoss von hinten versetzen


Lézt na nervy, dožírat

In the teeth of all opposition To turn one’s back on s’one To stab s’one in the back

I přes odpor Obrátit se ke komu zády Vrazit komu nůž do zad, dát ránu pod pás

En dépit de tout opposition Tourner le dos à qu’un Poignarder qu’un dans le dos

To make s’one’s blood freeze/run cold




To get sth off one‘s chest

Říct , co má člověk na srdci, ulevit si

Déballer ce qu’on a sur le coeur

Sich etwas von der Seele reden

To put/lay one‘s finger on sth To put/set a foot wrong To escape by a hair/ a hair’s breadth








To go/come cap/hat in hand To beat sth into s’one’s head


Se présenter le bonnet à la main S’enfoncer qch dans le crâne

Demütig kommen Jdm. etwas eintrichtern

To be chilled/frozen to the marrow To keep a straight face

Být zmrzlý až do morku kostí Zachovat vážnou/ kamennou tvář

Être gelé jusqu’à la moelle des os Garder son sérieux

Völlig durchgefroren sein Ernst bleiben





Être sous la domination de qu‘un

Unter jds. Fuchtel stehen

To be under s’one’s thumb

Uniknout o vlásek



301



Hrubá kostra

L’essentiel

To pick s’one‘s brains


Faire appel aux lumières de qu’un Idée originale/ Invention personnelle Franchir la ligne d‘arrivée Épargne ta salive!

Brainchild To breast the tape Don’t waste your breath!

Protnout hrudí cílovou pásku Nemluv do větru/ šetři s dechem!

To be easy on the eye

Lahodit oku


Die wesentlichen Punkte Jdm. (nach etwas) ausfragen Geistesprodukt Durchs Ziel gehen Verschwende nicht deine Worte!


Être un plaisir pour les yeux Mettre les pieds dans le plat

Angenehm anzusehen sein Ins Fettnäpfchen treten



Faire acte d’autorité/ être catégorique

Energisch werden

To be dead on one’s feet To have a head for sth


Être à plat

Todmüde sein

Mít na co hlavu





Être dans la lune



To fight tooth and nail To have nerves of iron/steel To be glad to see the back of s’one

Prát se zuby nehty

Se battre avec acharnement Avoir des nerves d’acier Être content de voir partir qu’un/d’être débarrassé de qu’un

In den Wolken schweben Sich mal auf seinen Geisteszustand untersuchen lassen sollen Bis aufs Blut kämpfen



Être aux écoutes

Get/pull your finger out!

Vytáhni ruce z kapes, začni něco dělat!

Grouille-toi!/Magnetoi!

Mít nervy ze železa Těšit se až vypadne

Nerven wie Drahtseile haben Froh sein, jdm. nicht mehr sehen zu müssen Die Ohren aufsperren/ offen halten Nun mach schon!

302


In my heart of hearts

Podle mého nejhlubšího přesvědčení, v hloubi duše Riskovat krk

Au plus profond de mon coeur

Im Grunde meines Herzens

Risquer sa tête


Hrát podle sluchu

Jouer à l’oreille

V mžiku

En un clin d’oeil

Nach (dem) Gehör spielen Im Nu

Pomoci někomu


Jdm. helfen

Pod kontrolou, pevně v rukou Naučit se něco nazpaměť Být přístupný jiným názorům Tancuje, jak ona píská

En main

Im Griff

Apprendre qch par coeur Avoir l’esprit ouvert

Etwas auswendig lernen Aufgeschlossen gegenüberstehen Er tanzt ganz nach ihrer Pfeife


Faire bon visage
















To set tongues wagging To keep s’one at arm’s length A shot in the arm

Rozpoutat diskuzi

Dann geht das Gerede los Sich jdm. vom Leibe halten Aufschwung



Faire marcher les langues Tenir qu’un à distance Un coup de fouet/un remontant Être au pied du mur

To stick one’s neck out To play (a piece of music) by ear In the twinkling of an eye To give/lend s’one a hand In hand To learn sth by heart To have/keep an open mind She leads him by the nose To put on a brave/ good face Let’s face it

Držet si koho od těla Vzpruha, pobídka


Elle le mène par le bout du nez

Prendre qu’un à rebrousse-poil/ taper sur les nerfs à qu’un


303



Nedělat cavyky


Keine Umstände machen



D‘un goût douteux

Vyznít na prázdno, zůstat nevyslyšen Rozumět si, mít stejný názor

Rester vain

Hart an der Grenze sein Kein Gehör finden



To be eyeball to eyeball To keep one‘s eyes skinned/peeled

Z očí do očí/tváří v tvář Mít oči otevřené

Être face à face/tête à tête Ouvrir l‘oeil

Sich Auge in Auge gegenüberstehen Die Augen offen halten


Být za blbce, vypadat hloupě

Avoir l’air plutôt ridicule

Dumm dastehen



Rire jaune








Tollpatsch sein

I‘ll have your guts for garters! To give s’one a big/ good hand Off hand

Roztrhnu tě jako hada! Zatleskat (velmi), aplaudovat Z hlavy, z placu, bez přípravy Vyložit karty na stůl

Être qu‘un à qui tout glisse des doigts J’aurai ta peau!


Snadno zvítězit

Gagner haut la main

Držet se nad vodou

Se maintenir



To drag one’s heels



Die Karten auf den Tisch legen Mühelos/spielend gewinnen Sich über Wasser halten Herzzerreißend weinen /sich die Augen ausweinen Sich Zeit lassen

To kick/cool one’s heels



Warten


To show/reveal one’s hand To win/beat s‘one hands down To keep one‘s head above water To cry/sob one’s heart out


Ich mache dich zur Schnecke Jdm. großen Applaus geben Aus dem Stand

304




Soulager l’esprit

By word of mouth

Ústně


To laugh on the wrong side of one’s mouth Be a pain in the neck


Rire jaune

Jít komu na nervy






Jdm. schmieren

To have a chip on one’s shoulders To put one’s shoulder to the wheel

Mít komplex, mindrák Přiložit ruku k dílu

En vouloir au monde entier Mettre la main à la pâte

Einen Komplex haben


Rád mlsat, mít rád sladkosti Bok po boku, těsně vedle sebe Být po ruce

Avoir la bouche sucrée Côte à côte, tout près de Être sous la main

Gern Süßes mögen

To turn a blind eye to/on sth In my mind’s eye


Fermer les yeux sur qch En imagination

With an eye to To set/clap one’s eyes on s’one/sth

S ohledem na Spatřit, uvidět koho/ co

En vue de Voir qu’un/ qch

On the face of it

Na první pohled

À première vue

So, wie es aussieht

To be staring s’one in the face

Mít přímo na očích/ mít před nosem

Être devant le nez de qu’un

Klar auf der Hand liegen








Wie blöd schuften

To let one’s hair down

Chovat se přirozeně, uvolnit se



Cheek by jowl To be at s‘one’s elbow

V představách


Jdm. fällt ein Stein vom Herzen Seinen eigenen Kopf haben Durch mündliche Überlieferung Das Lachen wird vergehen

Hand ans Werk legen

Dicht nebeneinander In Reichweite/bei sich sein Bei etwas eine Auge zudrücken Vor meinem inneren Auge In der Absicht Jdm./ etwas zu Gesicht bekommen

305




(Combattre) corps à corps/homme à homme Devenir critique


To come to a head

Stát se naléhavým


Vylít si srdce, svěřit se Přimět koho k poslušnosti Riskovat

Vider son coeur Rappeler qu’un à l’ordre Prendre des risques

Sich etwas von der Seele reden Jdm. an die Kandare nehmen Sich exponieren

To keep one’s nose clean To cost an arm and a leg

Nenamočit se

Ne pas se mouiller

Sauber bleiben



Mít srdce na dlani

Coûter la peau des fesses/ les yeux de la tête Avoir le coeur sur la main

Jdm. teuer zu stehen kommen/ein Heidengeld kosten Gutherzig sein

To have a monkey on s’one’s back

Fetovat

Être drogué


To be after s‘one’s blood Like getting blood from/out of a stone

Jít komu po krku

Vouloir la peau de qu’un Tondre un diable s’il n’a pas de cheveux / tirer de l’huile d’un mur Être paresseux comme une couleuvre Tenir bon/tenir le coup Encaisser les coups

Es auf jdm. abgesehen haben Das ist verlorene Liebesmüh

Se faire vider



Být vyhozen, být na dlažbě Pohrdat / naprosto odporovat




Mám toulavé boty

J’ai la bougeotte


Karta se obrátila



To bring s’one to heel To go out on a limb





Držet hlavu vzhůru, nedat se Postavit se k čemu čelem, přijmout co s hlavou vztyčenou

To take sth on the chin To be out on one‘s ear

Sich zuspitzen

Stinkfaul sein Die Ohren steif halten Es mit Fassung tragen

306


To be run/rushed off one’s feet

Mít práce nad hlavu/ nevědět kde komu hlava stojí Mít plné zuby, nesnášet koho







Nevyjít ze cviku



To catch s’one redhanded To bite the hand that feeds one


Sentir au fond de soimême/ instinctivement Garder un pied dans qch Être aux petits soins pour qu’un/ lui faire ses quatre volontés Prendre qu‘un la main dans le sac Montrer une grande ingratitude

Jdm. auf den Tod nicht ausstehen können So aus dem Bauch heraus sagen würden

To laugh one’s head off To scream one‘s head off Not to be able to make head or tail of it To be above/over s’one’s head To be off one’s head

Popadat se smíchy za břicho Řvát na celé kolo

Se fendre la gueule


N’y comprendre goutte Être trop complexe pour qu‘un Ne plus avoir sa tête

To have a head start

Avoir une longueur d‘avance Avoir la tête solide/ bien sur les épaules

Vorsprung haben


Mít výhodu na začátku Mít dobrou hlavu/ hlavu na pravém místě Vysoce převyšovat koho

Dépasser les autres d‘une tête



Mluvit a mluvit


To use one’s head

Vzít rozum do hrsti


Nechat koho jednat podle vlastního rozumu


Reden wie ein Wasserfall/ein Buch Seinen Verstand gebrauchen Jdm. machen lassen

To have a heart to heart talk with s’one

Promluvit si s někým od srdce

Parler à coeur ouvert avec qu’un




Být nad čí chápání Být blázen, zcvoknout se


In Übung bleiben Jdm. von vorne und hinten bedienen Jdm. auf frischer Tat ertappen Sich (seinem Gönner gegenüber) undankbar zeigen Sich fast totlachen Aus vollem Halse schreien Aus etwas/jdm. nicht klug werden Über jds. Horizont gehen Den Verstand verloren haben



307


Have a heart!



Gib deinem Herzen einem Stoß! Jdm. ist das Herz in die Hosen gerutscht



Cross my heart

Na mou duši

Croix de bois croix de fer Donner un coup de main à qu’un Magne-toi!

Hand aufs Herz

To give s’one a leg up Shake a leg!

Pomoci komu v nesnázích Hejbni kostrou!

None of your lip!


En voilà assez!/Pas sur ce ton! Une idée derrière la tête Révéler un secret

Sei nicht so frech!

To be at the back of one’s mind To shoot one’s mouth off To be dead from the neck up

Být stále v podvědomí Pouštět si hubu na špacír Být blbej jako tágo

N’avoir rien dans la tête/être con comme un balais Payer quelque chose les yeux de la tête

Nur Stroh im Kopf haben

To pay through the nose

Vypláznout balík

To strengthen s‘one’s hand To put/lay one’s head on the block

Posílit pozici

Jds. Position stärken

Dát hlavu na špalek

Kopf und Kragen riskieren

To have old head on young shoulders

Být na svůj věk až moc chytrý

Sehr reif für sein Alter sein

To have a change of heart One’s heart is not in it

Změnit názor, postoj




To rub shoulders with s’one To ram sth down s’one’s throat To have a green thumb

Kamarádit se, stýkat se Krmit koho čím, vtloukat co do hlavy Být rozený zahradník

Côtoyer qu’un Rebattre les oreilles à qu’un Avoir la main verte

Seine Meinung ändern Nicht mit dem Herzen bei der Sache/dabei sein Sich einer Sache gegenüber taub stellen Mit jdm. in Berührung kommen Jdm. seine eigenen Ideen aufzwingen Eine Hand für Pflänzen haben

Vymývání mozků


Nedělat naplno, dělat bez nadšení

Jdm. hochhelfen Mach Dampf !

Eine Überlegung im Hinterkopf haben Das Maul aufreißen

Viel blechen

b) Calque Brainwashing

Gehirnwäsche

308


c)

One-word expression

Yellow-belly



To make/get s’one’s blood up Bone of contention

Rozčílit koho

Mettre qu’un en colère Une pomme de discorde

To bone up on sth

Šprtat, drtit

Potasser

Pauken

Tongue in cheek

Ironicky

Ironiquement

Ironisch

To play it by ear

Improvizovat

Improvisieren

Elbow grease

Dřina

Improviser le moment venu De l’huile de coude

In the face of sth

Navzdory

Malgré

Trotz

Pudding-face


Une face de lune

Mondgesicht

To rib s’one To give s‘one the cold shoulder By rule of thumb/by guess A slip of one’s tongue

Škádlit, popichovat Chovat se chladně

Taquiner qu’un Battre froid à qu‘un

Necken Jdm. schneiden

Od oka/zkusmo

À vue de nez

Faustregel

Přeřeknutí

Un lapsus linguae

Ein Versprecher

Brainwave

Náhlý nápad

Une idée géniale

Geistesblitz

Big head

Náfuka, vševěd

Crâneur

Fatzke

Parson’s nose


Croupion

Bürzel/Sterz


Bez servítků

Carrément

Unverblümt

Faire quleque chose sans sourciller Ne pas tenir dans sa peau

Nicht mit der Wimper zucken Aus dem Häuschen geraten

Échapper d’un cheveu/ poil Donner n’importe quoi Faire la main à qu’un

Mit Ach und Krach

Jablko sváru

Angsthase, Waschlappen Aufregen jdm. Zankapfel

Muskelkraft

d) Free combination of language elements To do sth without moving a muscle To jump out of one’s skin

Nehnout ani brvou

To escape by the skin of one‘s teeth To give one’s right arm To twist s’one’s arm

Uniknout jen o vlásek/chlup Dát nevímco



Vyletět z kůže


Avoir un compte à régler avec qu’un

Was drum geben Jdm. Daumenschrauben anlegen Mit jdm. ein Hühnchen zu rupfen haben

309


To be (quite) a handful To get up s‘one’s nose

Být pěkné kvítko/číslo Lézt krkem

Être un enfant terrible




It is no skin off my nose


Ça m’est égal


Einen ganz schön in Trab halten können Jdm. auf den Geist gehen Das Blaue vom Himmel herunterlügen Das juckt mich nicht

310

F English and Czech Animal Idioms

F F.1 F.1.1

English and Czech Animal Idioms Total Correspondence 100% Correspondence

Sacred cow

Vache sacrée

Heilige Kuh

Crocodile tears

Posvátná kráva (nedotknutelný člověk, věc) Krokodýlí slzy

Larmes de crocodiles

Krokodilstränen

To wriggle like an eel

Kroutit se jako úhoř

Se tortiller comme une anguille

Sich winden wie ein Aal

Flea market He would not harm/hurt a fly

Bleší trh Ani kuřeti/mouše by neublížil

Marché aux puces Il ne ferait pas de mal à une mouche

Flohmarkt Er kann keiner Fliege etwas zuleide tun

To be as gentle as a lamb

Být krotký/mírný jako beránek

Être doux comme un agneau/mouton

Sanft wie ein Lamm sein

To sing like a nightingale/ lark To stick to s’one like a leech The lion’s share

Zpívat jako slavík

Chanter comme un rossignol Coller comme une sangsue La part du lion

Singen wie eine Nachtigall Wie ein Blutegel sein

To fight like a lion

Bít se jako lev

To breed like rabbits

Množit se jako králíci

To be packed like sardines

Být namačkaní jako sardinky

Se battre comme un lion Se multiplier comme des lapins Être serrés comme des sardines

Wie ein Löwe kämpfen Sich vermehren wie die Kaninchen Zusammengepresst wie die Sardinen werden

To count sheep

Počítat ovečky

Compter les moutons

Schäfchen zählen

To follow s’one like sheep

Jít za někým jako ovce

Suivre qu’un comme des moutons

Jdm. wie eine Schafherde folgen

At a snail’s pace

Hlemýždím tempem

Im Schneckentempo

To cherish a snake/ viper in one’s bosom Swan song

Hřát si na svých prsou hada/zmiji Labutí píseň

Comme un escargot, à un pas de tortue Réchauffer un serpent dans son sein Chant du cygne

Sich eine Schlange an Busen wärmen Schwanengesang

A bird’s eye view

Z ptačí perspektivy

Vu d’avion

Aus der Vogelschau

To be mute as a fish

Mlčet/být němý jako ryba

Être muet comme une carpe

Stumm sein wie ein Fisch

Držet se jako pijavice Lví podíl

Der Löwenanteil

311


To eat like a wolf/horse

Jíst jako vlk, otesánek

Manger comme un ogre

Wie ein Wolf essen

Black sheep of the family

Černá ovce rodiny

Brebis galeuse de la famille

Das schwarze Schaf (der Familie)

To move like a tortoise

Lézt jako želva

Avancer à pas de tortue/d’un pas de tortue

Wie eine Schnecke kriechen

To give s’one a bear hug Hare-lip

Dát komu medvědí objetí Zaječí pysk, rozštěp rtu

Serrer qu’un très fort dans ses bras Bec-de-lièvre

Kräftige Umarmung machen?????? Hasenscharte

A white crow

Bílá vrána

To have an eagle nose

Mít orlí nos

A big fish in a small pond

Velká ryba v malém rybníce (člověk)

Le merle blanc/ l’oiseau rare Avoir un nez en bec d’aigle Le coq de son village

To take it like a lamb

Přijmout jako beránek

Ne pas protester/se faire laisser

Can a leopard change his spots?

Il mourra dans sa peau

To descend on/ swarm on like locusts

Může levhart změnit své skvrny? (může se člověk od základu změnit?) Vrhnout se na něco jako kobylky

Ostrich policy

Pštrosí politika

To stink like a polecat

Smrdět jako tchoř

La politique de l’autruche Puer comme un bouc

Snail mail Walrus moustache

Hlemýždí (klasická) pošta Mroží knír

To be food for worms

Být potrava pro červy

F.1.2


F.1.2.1

Compound

Arriver comme une nuée de sauterelles

Courrier classique/ escargot Un moustache à la gauloise Être la proie des vers

Frogman

Žabí muž (potápěč)

Homme grenouille

Mutton-head

Hlava skopová, zabedněnec Tygří oko

Un benêt/un nigaud

Tigereye F.1.2.2

Stinken wie ein Stinktier

Froschmann

Oeil de chat/tigre


312


a) The singular in one language against the plural in the other All one’s geese are swans

V každé huse vidět labuť (přehánět)

Faire un cygne d’un oison

b) Different grammatical case or preposition, using reflexive verb in one language To play cat and mouse with s‘one To back the wrong horse c)

Hrát si na kočku a na myš Vsadit si na špatného koně

Jouer au chat et à la souris avec qu’un Miser sur le mauvais cheval

Katz und Maus mit jdm. spielen Aufs verkehrte Pferd setzen



Être matinal/ se lever de bonne heure Donner à manger aux poissons/ avoir le mal de mer

Frühaufsteher sein


To take the bull by the horns To be an early bird To feed the fishes

Popadnout býčka za rohy (praštit do toho, jít na věc) Být ranní ptáče Krmit rybičky (mít mořskou nemoc)

d) Change in word order e) A different way of forming the corresponding part of speech To play the ape To be a copycat To nitpick f)

Faire le singe Faire le singe

Jdm. nachäffen Jdm. nachäffen

Chercher la petite bête/chipoter

Kritteln

Un solitaire

Eigenbrötler

A different part of speech

A lone wolf F.1.2.3

Opičit se Opičit se, papouškovat Hledat na něčem hnidy

Vlk samotář (o člověku)


a) A different structure (accompanied by e.g. a different verb) Repeat sth parrotfashion/parrot-like

Opakovat jako papoušek, papouškovat

Répéter comme un perroquet

To have an elephant’s memory

Mít paměť jako slon

Avoir une mémoire d‘éléphant

A visit from the stork

„Přiletěl k nám čáp“

Une naissance

To have a viperish tongue

Mít jedovatý jazyk, jazyk jako zmije

Avoir une langue de vipère

Wie ein Papagei wiederholen

313


F.2


a) Expressiveness versus neutrality To die like a dog

Chcípnout jako pes

To work like a horse/ dog/slave To look like a stuffed owl A wolf in a sheep’s clothing Dog-paddle

Dřít jako kůň/mezek/ vůl Čumět/koukat jako vejr Vlk v rouše beránčím

It was a pig to do!

Byla to svinsky těžká práce!

Čubička (plavecký styl)

Mourir comme un chien Travailler comme un cheval/un boeuf Avoir l’air d’un hibou empaillé Un loup déguisé en brebis Nage en chien

Wie ein Hund verrecken Arbeiten wie ein Pferd/Ochs Gucken wie ein Uhu Ein Wolf im Schafpelz

C’était vachement difficile à faire!

b) Using lexically different words but keeping the semantic meaning To feel like a fish out of water Pigsty To separate the sheep from the goats To kill two birds with one stone

Být jako ryba na suchu Chlív (špinavá místnost) Oddělit zrno od plev Zabít dvě mouchy jednou ranou

Être comme un poisson hors de l’eau Porcherie

Wie ein Fisch auf dem Trockenen sein Schweinestall

Séparer les brebis d’avec les boucs Faire d’une pierre deux coups/faire coup double

Die Böcke von den Schafen trennen Zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe erschlagen

A little bird told me

Vrabci na střeše mi to vycvrlikali

Mon petit doigt me l’a dit

Mein kleiner Finger sagt mir das

I could eat a horse!

Mám hlad jako vlk!

J’ai une faim de loup!

To be happy as a pig in a muck To live like pigs in clover It’s enough to make a cat laugh

Mít se jako prase v žitě Mít se jako prase v žitě To by rozesmálo i mrtvého

Être comme un porc à l’auge Vivre comme un porc à l‘auge Ça ferait rire des pierres, c’est à mourir de rire

Ich habe einen Bärenhunger! Wie die Made im Speck leben Wie die Made im Speck leben

c)


A cash cow To handle with kid gloves

Dojná kráva, zlatý důl Zacházet v rukavičkách

Mine d’or

Goldgrube

Prendre des gants avec qu’un

Glacéhandschuhen anfassen

314


To drink like a fish

Pít jako duha

Boire comme un trou

Trinken wie ein Loch

Goose pimples

Husí kůže

Chair de poule

Gänsehaut

To be a dark horse

Cacher son jeu, ne pas avoir l’air d’y toucher Chauffard/écraseur

Ein stilles Wasser sein

Road-hog

Být černý kůň, velká neznámá Pirát silnic

Rat fink

Zrádná krysa

Ratte

Monkey bars

Opičí dráha, dětská prolézačka

Une peau de vache/ un salaud Cage à poules

Verkehrsrowdy

d) Using hypernyms or hyponyms To eat like a bird

Jíst jako vrabec

Avoir un appétit d’oiseau

Essen wie ein Vögelchen/Spatz

Night owl

Noční pták (člověk)

Oiseau de nuit

Nachteule

A rare bird

Bílá vrána, rarita

Merle blanc

A big bug

Velké zvíře

Une grosse légume

To be pigeon-chested

Mít ptačí hruď

Avoir la poitrine bombée

To arouse the tiger in s’one

Probudit v kom šelmu, zvíře

e) Idioms possessing a different number of lexical expressions A fly in the ointment

Un cheveu, un hic

Ein Haken

To curl up like a hedgehog

Háček, chlup, moucha, chybička Schoulit se do klubíčka jako ježek

Se hérisser, se mettre en boule

Sich zusammenrollen wie ein Igel

A piggy-bank

Prasátko (střádací)

Tirelire

Sparschweinchen

To fight like cats and dogs To stink like an old goat

Rvát/hádat se jako psi

Se battre comme des chiffonniers Puer le bouc/comme un bouc

Wie Hund und Katze sein Wie ein alter Ziegenbock stinken

To get on one’s high horse Watch the birdie!

Být na koni

Monter sur ses grands chevaux Le petit oiseau va sortir! Mettre à l’épreuve la patience de la nation anglaise

Auf dem hohen Roß sitzen

Smrdět jako kozel

Pozor, vyletí ptáček!

To twist the lion’s tail

Tahat britského lva za ocas (psát urážlivě o Británii)

Swallow dive To cry wolf

Vlaštovka Volat „vlk, vlk“, ztropit planý poplach Vlče

Wolf cub

Le saut de l’ange Crier au loup Louveteau

315


f)


To have a hang-dog look To be dog-tired

Vypadat jako zpráskaný pes Být utahaný/unavený jako kůň/pes

Avoir une mine de chien battu Être crevé/claqué

Wie ein geprügelter Hund herumlaufen Hundemüde sein

g) The whole idiom is expressed with different lexical means It’s raining cats and dogs At night all cats are grey To put/set the cat among the pigeons

Leje jako z konve

Il pleut à seaux/ torrents La nuit tous les chats sont gris Mettre le loup dans la bergerie

Es gießt wie aus Kannen/Kübeln Bei Nacht sind alle Katzen grau Einen Hecht in den Karpfenteich setzen

Comme un poisson dans l’eau

Bei etwas gleich in seinem Element sein

To take to sth like a duck to water

Potmě je každá kráva černá Pustit štiku do rybníka, udělat rozruch Cítit se jako ryba ve vodě

To play leapfrog

Skákat přes kozu

Jouer à saute-mouton

Bockspringen machen

To bleed like a stuck pig

Je tam krve jako z vola/ když se zapíchne prase

Saigner comme un veau

Bluten wie ein abgestochenes Schwein

To be like a bear with a sore head

Být nabručený, mrzutý

Être aimable comme un porte de prison

h) Idiomatic expression using a different animal Être comme un éléphant dans un rayon de porcelaine Écorné Aux yeux d’aigle/de lynx Avoir un nez aquilin

Wie ein Elefant im Porzellanladen sein

Poskakovat jako kůzle Mít kachní žaludek

Bondir comme un chevreau Avoir un estomac d’autruche

Herumspringen wie ein Zicklein Einen Straußenmagen haben

To make an ass of oneself

Dělat ze sebe vola

Faire l’idiot/se conduire comme un âne

Sich blamieren

To see pink elephants

Vidět bílé myšky

Voir des rats bleus/ voir des éléphants roses

Weiße Mäuse sehen

To be like a bull in a china shop

Být jako slon v porcelánu

Dog-eared To be eagle-eyed

S oslíma ušima Mít zrak jako ostříž

To be hawk-nosed

Mít orlí nos

To frisk like a lamb To have the digestion/stomach of an ostrich

Mit Eselsohren Adleraugen haben Adlernase haben

316


Neither fish nor fowl

Ani ryba, ani rak

Ni chair ni poisson, ni poisson ni grenouille Mettre le feu aux poudres

Weder Fisch noch Fleisch sein In ein Wespennest stechen

To stir up a hornet’s nest

Píchnout do vosího hnízda

To rise with the lark

Vstávat se slepicemi

Se lever avec les poules/ au chant du coq

Mit dem ersten Hahnenschrei aufstehen

To act as a guinea pig

Být pokusný králík

Servir de cobaye

To buy a pig in a poke To have a hide like a rhinoceros

Kupovat zajíce v pytli

Acheter chat en poche

Mít hroší kůži

Avoir une peau d’éléphant

Versuchskaninchen spielen Die Katze im Sack kaufen Eine Elefantenhaut haben

To fight like a tiger

Bít se jako lev

A bookworm

Knihomol

Wie ein Löwe kämpfen Bücherwurm

Worm’s eye view

Pohled z žabí perspektivy

Se battre comme une tigresse Un rat de bibliothèque Perspective vue d’en bas

To beaver away

Dřít se jako kůň

Eifrig arbeiten

An odd fish/bird

Divný pavouk (člověk), podivín

Travailler d’arrachepied Un drôle de coco

To milk the bull

Mámit z jalové krávy tele Hledat mouchy, hnidy

Entreprendre l’impossible Attacher de l’importance à des broutilles/vétilles

Aus Scheiße Bonbons machen Überall ein Haar in der Suppe suchen

To make s’one a scapegoat To watch s’one like a hawk

Udělat z koho obětního beránka Sledovat koho jako ostříž

Prendre comme bouc émissaire Avoir un regard d’aigle/des yeux de lynx

Jdm. zum Sündenbock machen Jdm. mit Argusaugen beobachten

Mare’s tail

Queue de chat

Lämmerwolken

To make a mountain out of a molehill

Beránky (cirus – meteorologicky) Dělat z komára velblouda

Faire d’une mouche un éléphant

Aus einer Mücke einen Elefanten machen

To be drenched like a drowned rat To work like a tiger

Být jako zmoklá slepice/mokrá myš Dřít jako mezek

Être trempé comme un canard/une soupe Trimer comme un forçat

Nass wie eine Katze sein Arbeiten wie ein Tier

To strain at a gnat

Froschperspektive

Komischer Kauz

317


To have a bee in one’s bonnet To catfoot

Být posedlý, mít brouka v hlavě Jít tiše jako myška

Avoir une idée fixe

Chicken scratches

Écriture de chat

To let sleeping dogs lie

Škrabe jak kocour, nečitelné písmo Nešťourat do vosího hnízda

Dirty dog

Mizera, krysa

Coquin/sale type

To make/play at ducks and drakes Fine weather for ducks

Házet žabky Počasí, že by psa nevyhnal

Faire des ricochets sur l’eau Beau temps pour les grenouilles

Flea-bitten

Všivý, mizerný

Miteux

To kill the goose that lays the golden eggs Hare and hounds

Zabít slepici, která snáší zlatá vejce Hra na lišku (stíhání podle roztroušených papírků)

Tuer la poule aux oeufs d’or Rallye-papiers

Not to know a hawk from a handsaw Mackerel sky

Nerozeznat kozu od vozu Obloha pokrytá beránky

N’y connaître absolument rien Ciel moutonné

i)

Marcher à pas feutrés

Ne réveillez pas le chat qui dort

Adult animal contrasted with baby animal

To go to bed with the chickens Like a lamb to the slaughter

Chodit spát se slepicemi Jako ovce na porážku

Se coucher comme les poules Comme un agneau qu’on mène à l’abattoir

Cow-lick

Líznutí telátkem, kačírek (stojící vlasy)

Épi (de cheveux)

F.3

Mit den Hühnern schlafen gehen Wie ein Lamm zur Schlachtbank

Non Correspondence

a) Periphrasis To make a bee-line for sth There’s no room to swing the cat Not to have a cat in hell’s chance

Namířit si to přímo k čemu Tady se člověk nemůže ani otočit Nemít ani nejmenší šanci

Se diriger en ligne droite vers qch Il n’y a pas de place pour se retourner N’avoir pas l’ombre d’une chance

Schnurstracks auf etwas zustürzen Kaum Platz zum Umdrehen Nicht die geringste Chance haben

Wild cat strike

Divoká stávka (neschválená odbory)

Grève sauvage

Wilder Streik

318


To be top dog

Být šéf

Être le chef

Boß sein

For donkey’s years

Depuis une éternité

Donkey work

Celou věčnost, léta letoucí Tvrdá práce, dřina

Ewigkeit/ Unendlichkeit Schwerarbeit

A white elephant

Zbytečná věc

To ferret out the truth

Vyslídit/dopídit se pravdy Pěkná kaše, šlamastika Být obelstěn, oklamán Mrknout se na něco

Objet inutile/ attrapepoussière Dénicher/découvrir la vérité En voilà un beau gâchis Être mystifié Jeter un coup d’oeil à qch N’oser jamais ouvrir le bec

A fine/pretty kettle of fish To be foxed To take a gander at sth Not to say boo to a goose

Neumět otevřít pusu

Gros travail

Nutzloser Besitz Wahrheit aufstöbern Eine schöne Bescherung Verwirrt werden Sich etwas ansehen Kaum das Maul aufmachen

To run with the hare and hunt with the hounds

Hrát na obě strany, hrát dvojí hru

Ménager la chèvre et le chou, donner une chandelle à Dieu et une au diable, jouer double jeu

Doppeltes Spiel spielen

Pig Latin

Dětská hatmatilka

Du javanais

Kauderwelsch

To give s’one a piggyback To be pigeon-toed

Vzít koho na záda

Monter sur le dos

Mít dovnitř obrácené prsty (u nohou)

Marcher les pieds en dedans

Jdm. huckepack nehmen Mit einwärts gerichteten Füßen gehen

A stag party

Pánská jízda

To turn turtle

Převrhnout se (loď)

Une réunion entre hommes Chavirer, capoter

Kentern

To hit the bull’s eye

Trefit do černého

Taper dans le mille

Ins Schwarze treffen

To be like a cat on a hot tin roof/on hot bricks

Být jako na trní/chodit jako po řežavém uhlí

Être sur des épines/ être comme chat sur braise

Wie auf glühenden Kohlen sitzen

To let the cat out of the bag To be no chicken

Odhalit tajemství

To cock a snook at s’one

Udělat na koho dlouhý nos

Révéler le pot aux roses N’être plus dans sa première jeunesse Faire un pied de nez à qu’un

Die Katze aus dem Sack lassen Nicht mehr der/die Jüngste sein Jdm. eine lange Nase machen

As the crow flies

Vzdušnou čarou

À vol d’oiseau

Luftlinie

Cloud-cuckoo-land

Vysněný svět, vzdušné zámky

Pays des songes/ rêves

Wolkenkuckuckshei m


Herrengesellschaft

319


To be like a dog in the manger

Být nepřející závistník, sobec

Faire comme le chien du jardinier

Ein Biest, das keinem was gönnt

Dogrose

Šípková růže

Églantier

Hundsrose

Between dog and wolf It’s like water off a duck’s back

Za soumraku

Entre chien et loup

Beim Nachtanbruch

Jako házet hrách na stěnu

Ça glisse comme de l’eau ser les ailes d’un canard

Alles an jdm. ablaufen

A sitting duck

Snadná kořist

Une proie facile

Leichtes Ziel

To fish in troubled waters Small fry

Lovit v kalných vodách Bezvýznamní lidé

Pêcher en eau trouble

Im Trüben fischen

Menu fretin

Unbedeutende Leute

To get s’one’s goat

Naštvat koho

Échauffer la bile/ Frotter les oreilles à qu’un

Jdm. aufregen

Goose-step

Parádní krok (vojenský) Být ukvapený, bezmyšlenkovitý Jít až do důsledků, dovést až do konce

Pas de l’oie

Stechschritt

Être écervellé, avoir une tête de linotte Aller jusqu’au bout

Unüberlegt sein

To live high on the hog

Žít na vysoké noze

Vivre sur un grand train

Auf großem Fuß leben

To have kittens

Být celý nesvůj

Être dans tous ses états

Zustände kriegen

To feel lousy

Se sentir mal fichu

Sich miserabel fühlen

Mettre en cocon/ mettre au frigidaire Le monde est à lui

Eingemottet werden

The world is his oyster

Cítit se mizerně, pod psa Zakonzervovat, vyřadit z provozu Celý svět mu leží u nohou

To be a pig-headed person To squeal like a stuck pig

Být paličatý, tvrdohlavý Křičet jako když ho na nože berou

Avoir une tête de cochon Brailler comme un cochon qu’on égorge

Dickschädelig sein

Puppy fat

Dětská baculatost, faldíčky Dělat zamilované oči

Adiposité d’enfance

Babyspeck

Faire les yeux doux à qu’un

Verliebte Augen machen

To be hare-brained To go the whole hog

To mothball

To make sheep’s eyes at s’one

Nägel mit Köpfen machen

Ihm liegt die Welt zu Füßen

Schreien als ob jdn. am Spieß steckte

320


To ride a tiger

Hrát si s ohněm/ dráždit kobru bosou nohou

Vivre dangereusement

Mit dem Feuer spielen

Weasel words

Vyhýbavá slova, kličky Bez milosti obětovat, ponechat osudu Přechod pro chodce

Mots ambigus

Ausweichende Worte

Sacrifier

Opfern

Passage pour piétons

Zebrastreifen

To have ants in one’s pants

Být neposeda, mít roupy, chvíli neposedět

Avoir des oeufs de fourmi sous les pieds


To have bats in the belfry/attic To bug s’one

Strašit ve věži

Avoir une araignée dans le plafond Casser les pieds à qu’un

Einen Dachschaden haben Nerven, beunruhigen

A cock and bull story

Báchorka, smyšlená historka

Histoire abracadabrante/ à dormir debout

Lügengeschichte

Cat burglar

Lupič fasádník (leze oknem ve zdi nebo střeše)

Monte en l’air/ cambrioleur

Fassadenkletterer

To count one’s chickens

Říkat hop, dělat předčasné závěry

Ne pas vendre la peau de l’ours

Den Pelz verkaufen

Chickens come home to roost To be as dead as a dodo

Vymstít se, doplatit na Být úplně zastaralý, předpotopní

Ça se retourne contre qu’un Être complêtement fossilisé

Jdm. heimgezahlt werden Völlig ausgestorben sein

To be like a dog with two tails To talk the hind leg off a donkey

Být radostí celý bez sebe Nepustit nikoho ke slovu

Être comme un coq en pâte Être bavard comme une pie/ être un moulin à paroles

Sich freuen wie ein Schneekönig Einem die Ohren abreden können

A lame duck

Bezradný, bezmocný člověk

Malheureux/pauvre type

Versager, Versagerin

To send s’one away with a flea in his ear There are no flies on him To frogmarch s’one

Dát komu co proto, vyčinit Není žádný hlupák

Dire à qu’un ses quatre vérités Il n’est pas né d’hier

Jdm. abblitzen lassen

Někoho násilně vést s pažemi za zády

Obliger qu’un à avancer/porter qu’un à quatre

To throw to the wolves Zebra crossing

Štvát, dohánět k šílenství

Ihm kann man nichts vormachen Im Polizeigriff abführen

321


To go on a wild-goose chase

Honit se za falešnou stopou

Chercher midi à quatorze heures/ courir après le vent Une réunion entre femmes

Einem Phantom nachjagen

A hen party

Dámská jízda

Horse sense

Selský rozum

Gros bon sens

Jít po svých, pěšky Udělat z koho pitomce

Prendre le train onze/ aller à pinces Se foutre de la poire de qu’un

Gesunder Menschenverstand Auf Schusters Rappen reisen Jdm. Zum Gespött machen

To go on Shanks’s mare To make a monkey out of s’one Monkey wrench

Francouzský klíč

Clé anglaise

Rollgabelschlüssel

Mutton dressed up as a lamb

Stará vykopávka (žena)

Un vieux tableau

Eine Alte, die auf jugendlich macht

To make a pig of oneself To pussyfoot

Přežírat se, přecpávat se Být nerozhodný, nepřiklonit se k žádné straně Chodit tiše

Être comme un cochon à l’auge Ne pas se mouiller

Den Bauch vollschlagen Überängstlich sein

Marcher sur la pointe des pieds La course au biftek/ foire d’empoigne Soupçonner anguille sous roche Un serpent caché

Herumschleichen

Pattes d’araignée

Krakelig Schrift

Morceau de saucisse/ de viande cuit au four dans de la pâte à crêpes Mettre qu’un à l’abri du besoin Siffler une fille

Würstchen, in einen Teig eingebacken

To pussyfoot The rat race To smell a rat/ to smell sth fishy A snake in the grass Spidery handwriting A toad in the hole

Bezohledná honba za kariérou Větřit lumpárnu Zrádný člověk Rukopis s dlouhými tenkými čarami Zapékaná klobása, zapékaný párek

To keep the wolf from the door To give a girl a wolf whistle To have an albatross around one’s neck

Odhánět bídu ode dveří Pochvalně/obdivně hvízdnout (na dívku) Mít obrovskou nevýhodu

Animal spirits

Vitalita, radost ze života Flamendr, lev salonů

A party animal To lead apes in hell

Zemřít jako stará panna

Damenkränzchen

Erbarmungsloser Konkurrenzkampf Lunte riechen Falsche Schlange

Den größten Hunger stillen Anerkennend pfeifen

Souffrir d’un énorme désadvantage Joie de vivre Fêtard Mourir vieille fille

322


An old bat

Stará ochechule

Une vieille chouette

Like a bat out of hell

Jako ďas, jako blázen (rychle)

Comme si l’on avait le diable à ses trousses

To be the bee’s knees

Být super, bezva

Être super

Beetle-browed

S huňatým obočím

To know all about the birds and the bees

Vědět, jak chodí děti na svět

Aux sourcils broussailleux Savoir que les enfants ne naissent pas dans les choux

A home bird

Pecivál, domácí puťka Nulová viditelnost

Bird-walking weather Bug-eyed

Stubenhocker Visibilité zéro Aux yeux globuleux

Bull at a gate

S vypoulenýma očima S vervou, zostra

Bull session

Chlapský pokec

Calf-love

Mladistvé vzplanutí, dětská láska Odvážit se rizika

Causerie entre hommes Premier amour/ amour d’adolescent Attacher le grelot à un tigre Avoir l’air satisfait de soi

To bell the cat

Impétueux

To look like a cat that swallowed the canary

Tvářit se spokojený sám se sebou, samolibě

Fat cat

Zazobanec, bohatý prominent Smát se od ucha k uchu Bezhlavě pobíhat

Richard/huile

To turn out crabs

Neuspět, pohořet

Échouer

To walk crabwise

Chodit stranou, bokem, šikmo

Marcher en crabe

To eat the crow To have a crow to pick/pluck with s’one

Ponížit se Muset něco probrat s kým

Avaler les couleuvres Avoir maille à partir avec qu’un

A sly dog

Tichá voda, tajnůstkář Parné dny

Une fine mouche

To grin like a Cheshire cat To be running around like a headless chicken

Dog days

Avoir un sourire jusqu’aux oreilles

La canicule

323


Doggy bag It is duck soup for him

Sáček na nesnědené jídlo v restauraci To zvládne levou zadní

A dead duck

Zabitý případ

Can a duck swim?

Samozřejmě, s radostí

To break one’s duck

Získat první bod

Like a dying duck in thunderstorm

Bezmocně, bezradně

To get one’s ducks in a row Ferrety eyes

Připravit se, udělat si pořádek Slídivé oči

Se préparer

To have other fish to fry A cold fish

Mít důležitější věci na práci Studený čumák (člověk)

Avoir d’autres chats à fouetter Un pisse-froid

To live in a goldfish bowl Flea-pit

Žít ve výkladní skříni (bez soukromí) Špinavé kino

Vivre en aquarium

To play the fly on the wheel To be a fly on the wall

Dělat se důležitým

Jouer la mouche du coche Être petite souris

Být při tom, u toho

Sac à restes C’est du gâteau/ simple comme bonjour pour lui Mort/fini Évidemment/tu parles! Marquer son premier point Dans un état piteux

Yeux de furet

Cinéma pouilleux

To play the giddy goat

Dělat (ze sebe) blbce

Faire l’imbécile/ l’andouille

To start a hare

Začít mluvit o něčem jiném

Donner un nouveau tour à la conversation

To draw a red herring across the track

Odvést pozornost (v konverzaci)

Faire dévier la conversation

To throw a sprat to catch a herring/ a mackerel/ a whale

Risk je zisk; dát vajíčko, aby byla slepička

C’est donner un oeuf pour avoir un boeuf

Hog heaven

Dokonalé štěstí, ráj

Le paradis

That’s a horse of a different color A nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse

To je jiný kafe, to je jiná Chytrému napověz, hloupého trkni

C’est une autre paire de manches C’est comme si vous parliez à un sourd

324


The willing horse

Vždy ochotný dříč

Horses for courses

Ten umí to a ten zas tohle

Jaywalking

Neukázněné přecházení silnice

Traverser la rue d’une manière imprudente

My one ewe lamb

Můj jediný poklad

Mon seul trésor

In three shakes of a lamb’s tail

Za chviličku, za momentíček

En trois coups de cuiller à pot

To beard the lion in his den

Utkat se s kým na jeho vlastní půdě

Aller braver le lion dans sa tanière

A lion in the path/way

Nepřekonatelná překážka

Un obstacle/une difficulté

To lionize

Považovat si koho, oslavovat Odhalit “senzaci”

Faire une célébrité de qu’un Faire la découverte du siècle N’en avoir rien à foutre Un boulot pépère

To discover a mare’s nest Not to give a monkey’s A mickey mouse job To have a kick like a mule Let’s return to our muttons Muttonchop whiskers

Být fuk, kašlat na Jednoduchá, prostá práce Probudit i mrtvého Vraťme se k věci Císařský vous (licousy od uší k ústním koutkům)

A black ox has trodden on his foot To be as sick as a parrot To bring one’s pigs to the wrong market In a pig’s eye!

Potkalo ho neštěstí

Pigskin

Ragbyový míč

Být velmi zklamaný Dopadnout bledě, pohořet (při jednání) To určitě!

La bonne âme (qui se sacrifie toujours) Jeder sollte die Aufgaben übernehmen, für die er am besten geeignet ist

À réveiller un mort Revenons à nos moutons Favoris en côtelette

Il est tombé dans le malheur Être très déçu Faire une mauvaise affaire Jamais de la vie!/mon oeil! Ballon de foot américain

325


To play possum

Dělat mrtvého

Faire le mort

Rabbit punch

Le coup du lapin

To go stag to the dance

Krátký tvrdý úder do týla Přijít s nečekaným řešením Sbírat do zásoby nepotřebné věci Kápnout vedle, netrefit se Slané tučné vepřové nebo slanina Jít bez partnerky na večírek

A stag party

Loučení se svobodou

Stormy petrel

Posel špatných zpráv

Sortie pour enterrer sa vie de garçon Semeur de discorde

Swallow-tailed coat

Frakový kabát

Une queue de pie

To have a tiger in one’s tank/to have incredible energy

Být plný vervy

Avoir mangé du lion

To have a tiger by the tail

Být v prekérní situaci

Tenir le loup par des oreilles

To tread s’one like a toad under the harrow To be cold turkey

Velmi špatně zacházet s kým

Fouler qu’un aux pieds

Mít absťák (drogový)

Être en manque

To talk turkey

Mluvit vážně

Parler franchement

Culture vulture

Člověk dychtící po kulturním vyžití

Intello/grand consommateur de culture

To weasel out

Kličkovat, snažit se vykroutit Být v něčem kanón, odborník

Se rétracter

A whale of a job To winkle s’one out

Obrovská práce Vypudit koho

Un travail énorme Déloger/éliminer

To have/hold the wolf by the ears

Být v prekérní, ošemetné situaci

Tenir le loup par les oreilles

A can of worms

Začarovaný kruh, těžko řešitelná situace

Un véritable guêpier

To pull a rabbit out of one’s hat To be a pack rat To get the wrong sow by the ear Sowbelly

To be a whale at sth

Faire un tour de passe-passe Ne jamais rien jeter Être loin du compte Du petit salé Aller au bal sans cavalière

Être un as dans qch

326


b) Calque c)

One-word expression

Bear garden

Cirkus, blázinec

Pétaudière/ la cour du roi Pétaud

Zirkus

Firebug

Žhář

Incendiaire

Brandleger

Bull and cow A catnap

Hádka, rvačka Zdřímnutí, šlofík

Querelle/dispute Un petit somme

Streit Kurzes Schläfchen

Cathouse

Nevěstinec, bordel

Bordel

Bordell

Catwalk

Pódium, molo

Laufsteg/ Podium

To shoot the cat

Blít

La passerelle/ le podium Dégobiller

Kotzen

Cock-sparrow

Domýšlivec

Un petit prétentieux

Geck

To ferret about sth

Slídit, čmuchat

Fureter/fouiller

Herumschnüffeln

Horse opera

Western

Western

Western

Horseplay

Sranda, legrácky

Badinerie grossière

Balgerei

Stalking horse

Záminka, maska

Prétexte/masque

Vorwand

Lounge lizard

Gigolo

Gigolo

Gigolo

To louse up

Zvorat, zmršit

Gâcher

Verpfuschen

Monkey nut

Arašíd, burák

Cacahuète

Erdnuss

To make a pig’s ear of sth Pigtail

Zprasit, zpackat

Cochonner qch

Verpfuschen

Cop, copánek

Natte

Zopf

De la cochonnerie

Schweinefraß

A pigeon-hole

Pomyje (nedobré jídlo) Přihrádka, škatulka

Un casier/une case

(Ablage)fach/ Postfach

Rat cheese

Čedar

Cheddar

Cheddarkäse

Sparrow-grass

Chřest

Des asperges

Spargel

Paper tiger

Loutka, maškara (v politice)

Tigre de papier

Papiertiger

Turtleneck To wolf down

Rolák Zhltnout

Rollkragenpullover Verschlingen

To do bird

Sedět, bručet

Col roulé Engloutir/dévorer sa nourriture Faire de la taule

Knast schieben

Bugbear

Postrach

Bête noire

Sorge, Problem

Bull-headed

Umíněný, paličatý

D’une impétuosité de taureau

Hartköpfig

Pigwash/pigswill

327


Chicken feed

Pakatel

Bagatelle

Eine lächerliche Summe

Cock-a-hoop

Fier comme un coq

Triumphierend

Dog collar

Vítězoslavný, chvástavý Kolárek (kněžský)

Kollar

To fawn on s’one

Podlézat, lichotit

To lark about

Skotačit, dovádět

Moth-eaten

Zchátralý

Faux col d’ecclésiastique Aduler/lécher les bottes à qu’un Rigoler/faire des farces Miteux

Verstaubt

Pig in the middle

Prostředník

Pris entre deux feux

Zwischenperson

Stool-pigeon

Informátor, špión

Mouchard/indicateur

Spion

Sour-puss

Bručoun, mrzout

Miesepeter

Sluggard

Lenoch

Rabat-joie/ troublefête/chipie Paresseux

To eat s’one’s toads

Pochlebovat komu, šplhat, lísat se

Flagorner/flatter bassement qu’un

Fuchsschwänzeln

A toad-eater/toady

Patolízal, šplhoun

Un lécheur de bottes

Kriecher

Toadstool

Champignon vénéneux Pince à dessin

Giftpilz

Bulldog clip

Muchomůrka, prašivka Svorka (na papíry)

Catty

Jízlivý, kousavý

Méchant/vache

Gehässig

Hold your horses

Přestaň, zabrzdi

Ne vous emballez pas

A one-horse town

Zapadákov

Un trou perdu/une petite ville de rien du tout

Immer sachte mit den jungen Pferden Dingskirchen

Horse laugh

Řehot (smích)

Gros rire

Gekicher

Kangaroo court

Lynč

Tribunal irrégulier

Femegericht

Monkey business

Lumpárna, křivárna

Krumme Touren

Eager beaver

Horlivec

Beefcake

Svalovec

Coup fourré/ fricotage Un bourreau/mordu de travail Beaux mâles

Bird dog

Slídil

Dénicheur

Bugaboo

Bubák, strašidlo

Fraidy/ scaredy cat

Zbabělec, strašpytel

Loup-garou/croquemitaine Froussard

Katzbuckeln Herumalbern

Nichtstuer/Faulpelz

Flügelklammer

328


Hellcat

Semetrika, fúrie

Harpie/megère

Chicken-livered

Zbaběle, bázlivě

Froussard/poltron

To cry stinking fish

Hanět (vlastní dílo)

Dénigrer/déprécier sa propre marchandise

A fly in amber

Kuriozita, pozoruhodnost Špinavý, pošpiněný Nesmysly, žvásty

Une curiosité

Horse-and-buggy

Starobylý, staromódní

Vieillot

To put s’one’s monkey up Grease monkey

Dožrat, naštvat koho

Mettre qu’un en colère/en rogne Un mécano/garagiste

Flyblown Hogwash

Monkey tricks

Automechanik

Souillé/gâté Foutaises

Rabbit ears

Lumpárna, darebáctví Anténa

Singeries/ tours de singe Antenne de télé intérieure

Rat-arsed Sheepskin

Ožralý, namazaný Diplom

Bituré Peau d’âne

The Swan of Avon

Shakespeare

Le cygne de l’Avon

Swan dive

Vlaštovka

Le saut de l’ange

d) Free combination of language elements To make/play at ducks and drakes with one’s money

Vyhazovat peníze oknem

Jeter l’argent par les fenêtres

Geld zum Fenster hinauswerfen

To be on the wallaby

Potulovat se, vandrovat Jít od desíti k pěti, přijít vepsí

Trimarder

Wandern

Aller à vau-l’eau

Vor die Hunde gehen

To give a dog a bad name and hang him

Špatnou pověst už člověku nikdo neodpáře

Qui veut noyer son chien l’accuse de la rage

Einmal in Verruf gekommen, bleibt man immer verdächtig

To be henpecked/ pussy-whipped

Být pod pantoflem

Être mené par le bout du nez par sa femme

Unter dem Pantoffel stehen

To be like a rabbit in clover

Mít na růžích ustláno

Être comme un coq en pâte

Auf Rosen gebettet haben

To go to the dogs

329


Even a worm will turn To wait till the cows come home

I nepatrný človíček se brání, konečně se ozve Až naprší a uschne

En avoir assez de se faire marcher dessus Attendre la semaine de quatre jeudis/la Saint-Glinglin Être le dindon de la farce Faire son affaire à qu’un

Auch der Wurm krümmt sich, wenn er getreten wird Bis in alle Ewigkeit

To be the goat

Být kašpar, hlupák

To cook s’one’s goose

Vypálit rybník, udělat čáru přes rozpočet

To flog/beat a dead horse Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey

Mlátit prázdnou slámu Je zima jako v morně

Se battre les flancs

Pigs might fly

Až naprší a uschne, na svatého Dyndy

Quand les poules auront des dents

Da müßte schon ein Wunder geschehen

To sell s’one a pup

Vzít při koupi na hůl

Rouler qu’un/ être roulé

Jdm. die Butter vom Brot nehmen

Il fait un froid de canard

Sich lächerlich machen Jdm. übers Ohr hauen

Seine Kraft und Zeit verschwenden Es ist saukalt hier

330

G English and French Animal Idioms

G English and French Animal Idioms G.1 G.1.1


To take the bull by the horns



Vache sacrée

Heilige Kuh

Crocodile tears

Popadnout býčka za rohy (praštit do toho, jít na věc) Posvátná kráva (nedotknutelný člověk, věc) Krokodýlí slzy


Krokodilstränen

To die like a dog

Chcípnout jako pes

To have a hang-dog look To wriggle like an eel

Vypadat jako zpráskaný pes Kroutit se jako úhoř

Flea market He would not harm/hurt a fly To work like a horse/ dog/slave To be as gentle as a lamb

Bleší trh Ani kuřeti/mouše by neublížil Dřít jako kůň/mezek/ vůl Být krotký/mírný jako beránek

Mourir comme un chien Avoir une mine de chien battu Se tortiller comme une anguille Marché aux puces Il ne ferait pas de mal à une mouche Travailler comme un cheval/un boeuf Être doux comme un agneau/mouton

Wie ein Hund verrecken Wie ein geprügelter Hund herumlaufen Sich winden wie ein Aal Flohmarkt Er kann keiner Fliege etwas zuleide tun Arbeiten wie ein Pferd/Ochs Sanft wie ein Lamm sein

To sing like a nightingale/ lark To stick to s’one like a leech


Chanter comme un rossignol Coller comme une sangsue


The lion’s share

Lví podíl

La part du lion

Der Löwenanteil


Bít se jako lev

To look like a stuffed owl To breed like rabbits

Čumět/koukat jako vejr Množit se jako králíci

Wie ein Löwe kämpfen Gucken wie ein Uhu



Se battre comme un lion Avoir l’air d’un hibou empaillé Se multiplier comme des lapins Être serrés comme des sardines

To count sheep

Počítat ovečky

Compter les moutons

Schäfchen zählen

Sacred cow

Držet se jako pijavice

Sich vermehren wie die Kaninchen Zusammengepresst wie die Sardinen werden

331








Réchauffer un serpent dans son sein Chant du cygne


At night all cats are grey To ferret about sth

Potmě je každá kráva černá Slídit, čmuchat

La nuit tous les chats sont gris Fureter/fouiller

Bei Nacht sind alle Katzen grau Herumschnüffeln

To have the digestion/stomach of an ostrich

Mít kachní žaludek

Avoir un estomac d’autruche

Einen Straußenmagen haben

To separate the sheep from the goats Paper tiger

Oddělit zrno od plev

Séparer les brebis d’avec les boucs Tigre de papier

Die Böcke von den Schafen trennen Papiertiger


Lézt jako želva




Dělat ze sebe vola


Sich blamieren

To eat like a bird

Jíst jako vrabec



Bugbear

Postrach

Bête noire

Sorge, Problem

Between dog and wolf To see pink elephants

Za soumraku

Entre chien et loup

Beim Nachtanbruch

Vidět bílé myšky

Weiße Mäuse sehen

Small fry

Bezvýznamní lidé

Voir des rats bleus/ voir des éléphants roses Menu fretin

Goose-step

Pas de l’oie

Stechschritt


Parádní krok (vojenský) Být pokusný králík

Servir de cobaye

To squeal like a stuck pig

Křičet jako když ho na nože berou

Brailler comme un cochon qu’on égorge

Versuchskaninchen spielen Schreien als ob jdn. am Spieß steckte

To walk crabwise


Marcher en crabe




Ferrety eyes

Slídivé oči

Yeux de furet


Unbedeutende Leute

332


To feed the fishes

Krmit rybičky (mít mořskou nemoc)

Donner à manger aux poissons/ avoir le mal de mer


Utkat se s kým na jeho vlastní půdě


To descend on/ swarm on like locusts

Vrhnout se na něco jako kobylky

Arriver comme une nuée de sauterelles

Monkey tricks

Lumpárna, darebáctví Vraťme se k věci

Singeries/ tours de singe Revenons à nos moutons La politique de l’autruche Le coup du lapin

Let’s return to our muttons Ostrich policy Rabbit punch To be caught like a rat in a trap Snail mail

Pštrosí politika Krátký tvrdý úder do týla

Être pris comme un rat au piège Courrier escargot

The Swan of Avon

Hlemýždí (klasická) pošta Shakespeare

Tigereye

Tygří oko

Oeil de chat/tigre

To have/hold the wolf by the ears To be food for worms

Být v prekérní, ošemetné situaci Být potrava pro červy

Tenir le loup par les oreilles Être la proie des vers

G.1.2


G.1.2.1

Compound

Frogman G.1.2.2



Homme grenouille

Froschmann


e) The singular in one language against the plural in the other To get on one’s high horse All one’s geese are swans f)

Být na koni V každé huse vidět labuť (přehánět)

Monter sur ses grands chevaux Faire un cygne d’un oison


Different grammatical case or preposition, using reflexive verb in one language

To play cat and mouse with s‘one To cry wolf

Hrát si na kočku a na myš Volat „vlk, vlk“, ztropit planý poplach

Jouer au chat et à la souris avec qu’un Crier au loup

Katz und Maus mit jdm. spielen

g) A diminutive in one language

333


h) Change in word order i)

A different way of forming the corresponding part of speech

j)


To curl up like a hedgehog To have a viperish tongue

Schoulit se do klubíčka jako ježek Mít jedovatý jazyk, jazyk jako zmije

Se hérisser, se mettre en boule Avoir une langue de vipère


Bít se jako lev

Se battre comme une tigresse

Wie ein Löwe kämpfen

k) A different sex To fight like a tiger G.1.2.3


a) A different structure (accompanied by e.g. a different verb) Repeat sth parrotfashion/parrot-like




A wolf in a sheep’s clothing To be eagle-eyed

Vlk v rouše beránčím

Un loup déguisé en brebis Aux yeux d’aigle/de lynx

Ein Wolf im Schafpelz Adleraugen haben

Faire le singe

Jdm. nachäffen

G.2

Mít zrak jako ostříž


a) Expressiveness versus neutrality To play the ape

Opičit se

b) Using lexically different words but keeping the semantic meaning Pigsty

Chlív (špinavá místnost)

They were living like pigs c)

Porcherie

Schweinestall

Ils vivaient dans une vraie porcherie


To feel like a fish out of water Black sheep of the family

Být jako ryba na suchu Černá ovce rodiny

Être comme un poisson hors de l’eau Brebis galeuse de la famille

Wie ein Fisch auf dem Trockenen sein Das schwarze Schaf (der Familie)

Bull-headed


Hartköpfig



D’une impétuosité de taureau Être sur des épines/ être comme chat sur braise


334



Ani ryba, ani rak

Ni chair ni poisson, ni poisson ni grenouille

Weder Fisch noch Fleisch sein

Hare-lip

Zaječí pysk, rozštěp rtu

Bec-de-lièvre

Hasenscharte

To back the wrong horse To play the fly on the wheel

Vsadit si na špatného koně Dělat se důležitým

Miser sur le mauvais cheval Jouer la mouche du coche

Aufs verkehrte Pferd setzen

As the crow flies

Mlčet/být němý jako ryba Vzdušnou čarou

Être muet comme une carpe À vol d’oiseau

Stumm sein wie ein Fisch Luftlinie

Night owl


Oiseau de nuit

Nachteule

A rare bird


Merle blanc

d) Using hypernyms or hyponyms To be mute as a fish

e) Idioms possessing a different number of lexical expressions To handle with kid gloves

Zacházet v rukavičkách



Like a lamb to the slaughter

Jako ovce na porážku

Comme un agneau qu’on mène à l’abattoir

Wie ein Lamm zur Schlachtbank

To stink like an old goat

Smrdět jako kozel

Puer le bouc/comme un bouc

Wie ein alter Ziegenbock stinken


Mít orlí nos

Moth-eaten

Zchátralý

Avoir un nez en bec d’aigle Miteux

Verstaubt

Wolf cub

Vlče

Louveteau

f)


At a snail’s pace

Hlemýždím tempem

To be a pig-headed person

Být paličatý, tvrdohlavý

Comme un escargot, à un pas de tortue Avoir une tête de cochon

Im Schneckentempo Dickschädelig sein

g) The whole idiom is expressed with different lexical means It’s raining cats and dogs

Leje jako z konve

Il pleut à seaux/ torrents

Es gießt wie aus Kannen/Kübeln

h) Idiomatic expression using a different animal

335


To be like a bull in a china shop


To be a copycat

Opičit se, papouškovat Husí kůže

Goose pimples

Être comme un éléphant dans un rayon de porcelaine Faire le singe


Chair de poule

Gänsehaut

Jdm. nachäffen



Ménager la chèvre et le chou, jouer double jeu


To be hawk-nosed

Mít orlí nos

Avoir un nez aquilin

Adlernase haben

To frisk like a lamb

Poskakovat jako kůzle

Bondir comme un chevreau

Herumspringen wie ein Zicklein

To put/set the cat among the pigeons

Mettre le loup dans la bergerie

Einen Hecht in den Karpfenteich setzen


Pustit štiku do rybníka, udělat rozruch Cítit se jako ryba ve vodě



To play leapfrog

Skákat přes kozu


Bockspringen machen

I could eat a horse!

Mám hlad jako vlk!

J’ai une faim de loup!




Ich habe einen Bärenhunger! Mit dem ersten Hahnenschrei aufstehen





To buy a pig in a poke To stink like a polecat



Smrdět jako tchoř

Puer comme un bouc

To be like a rabbit in clover To have a hide like a rhinoceros


Être comme un coq en pâte Avoir une peau d’éléphant

Die Katze im Sack kaufen Stinken wie ein Stinktier Auf Rosen gebettet haben Eine Elefantenhaut haben

A bookworm

Knihomol

To have bats in the belfry/attic To count one’s chickens

Strašit ve věži

Mít hroší kůži


Un rat de bibliothèque Avoir une araignée dans le plafond Ne pas vendre la peau de l’ours

Bücherwurm Einen Dachschaden haben Den Pelz verkaufen

336






To be the goat


To watch s’one like a hawk

Sledovat koho jako ostříž

Être le dindon de la farce Avoir un regard d’aigle/des yeux de lynx

Sich lächerlich machen Jdm. mit Argusaugen beobachten

Mare’s tail


Queue de chat

Lämmerwolken



Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey

Je zima jako v morně


Es ist saukalt hier

Pigs might fly

Až naprší a uschne, na svatého Dyndy

Quand les poules auront des dents

Da müßte schon ein Wunder geschehen

To be drenched like a drowned rat Rat fink

Být jako zmoklá slepice/mokrá myš Zrádná krysa

Être trempé comme un canard/une soupe Une peau de vache/ un salaud Être tout juste bon pour les chiens

Nass wie eine Katze sein Ratte

To bell the cat

Odvážit se rizika

Chicken scratches A white crow

Škrabe jak kocour, nečitelné písmo Bílá vrána

Attacher le grelot à un tigre Écriture de chat

To eat the crow

Ponížit se

A sly dog

Une fine mouche


Tichá voda, tajnůstkář Nešťourat do vosího hnízda

Fine weather for ducks

Počasí, že by psa nevyhnal

Beau temps pour les grenouilles

To have other fish to fry

Mít důležitější věci na práci

Avoir d’autres chats à fouetter


To be for the birds (meal)

Le merle blanc/ l’oiseau rare Avaler les couleuvres

Ne réveillez pas le chat qui dort

337




Le coq de son village

To be a fly on the wall

Být při tom, u toho

Être petite souris

To kill the goose that lays the golden eggs To throw a sprat to catch a herring/ a mackerel/ a whale

Zabít slepici, která snáší zlatá vejce Risk je zisk; dát vajíčko, aby byla slepička

Tuer la poule aux oeufs d’or C’est donner un oeuf pour avoir un boeuf

Mackerel sky

Obloha pokrytá beránky Opičí dráha, dětská prolézačka Byla to svinsky těžká práce!

Ciel moutonné

Sheepskin

Diplom

Peau d’âne

Swallow-tailed coat

Frakový kabát

Une queue de pie


Být plný vervy





A can of worms



Monkey bars It was a pig to do!

i)



To go to bed with the chickens To get up with the chickens j)

Cage à poules

Chodit spát se slepicemi

Se coucher comme les poules Se lever avec les poules

Mit den Hühnern schlafen gehen

Identical animal but a different structure and lexical elements in the idiom

Cock-a-hoop To be like a dog in the manger To give a dog a bad name and hang him

Vítězoslavný, chvástavý Být nepřející závistník, sobec

Fier comme un coq

Triumphierend






338


It’s like water off a duck’s back


Ça glisse comme de l’eau sur les ailes d’un canard






To make s’one a scapegoat To make a pig of oneself To be happy as a pig in a muck To live like pigs in clover A snake in the grass

Udělat z koho obětního beránka Přežírat se, přecpávat se Mít se jako prase v žitě Mít se jako prase v žitě Zrádný člověk

Prendre comme bouc émissaire Être comme un cochon à l’auge Être comme un porc à l’auge Vivre comme un porc à l‘auge Un serpent caché

Jdm. zum Sündenbock machen Den Bauch vollschlagen Wie die Made im Speck leben Wie die Made im Speck leben Falsche Schlange

Spidery handwriting

Rukopis s dlouhými tenkými čarami Pozor, vyletí ptáček!


Krakelig Schrift

Watch the birdie! Dog-paddle

G.3


Le petit oiseau va sortir! Nage en chien

Non Correspondence

a) Periphrasis To make a bee-line for sth A bird’s eye view

Namířit si to přímo k čemu Z ptačí perspektivy

Se diriger en ligne droite vers qch Vu d’avion

Schnurstracks auf etwas zustürzen Aus der Vogelschau


Trefit do černého

Taper dans le mille


There’s no room to swing the cat A catnap

Tady se člověk nemůže ani otočit Zdřímnutí, šlofík

Il n’y a pas de place pour se retourner Un petit somme

Kaum Platz zum Umdrehen Kurzes Schläfchen

Not to have a cat in hell’s chance

Nemít ani nejmenší šanci

N’avoir pas l’ombre d’une chance

Nicht die geringste Chance haben

Wild cat strike

Divoká stávka (neschválená odbory) Domýšlivec

Grève sauvage

Wilder Streik


Geck

Dojná kráva, zlatý důl Být utahaný/unavený jako kůň/pes

Mine d’or

Goldgrube

Être crevé/claqué

Hundemüde sein

Cock-sparrow A cash cow To be dog-tired

339


To be top do

Být šéf

Être le chef

Boß sein



Depuis une éternité Gros travail


To make/play at ducks and drakes with one’s money




A white elephant

Zbytečná věc

Nutzloser Besitz


Vyslídit/dopídit se pravdy Pěkná kaše, šlamastika Být obelstěn, oklamán Mrknout se na něco


Donkey work

A fine/pretty kettle of fish To be foxed To take a gander at sth Not to say boo to a goose


Wahrheit aufstöbern Eine schöne Bescherung Verwirrt werden Sich etwas ansehen Kaum das Maul aufmachen




Wie ein Wolf essen

Horseplay

Sranda, legrácky


Balgerei


Vzít koho na záda

Monter sur le dos



A stag party

Pánská jízda

Turtleneck To give s’one a bear hug To kill two birds with one stone

Rolák Dát komu medvědí objetí Zabít dvě mouchy jednou ranou

Une réunion entre hommes Col roulé Serrer qu’un très fort dans ses bras Faire d’une pierre deux coups/faire coup double

Jdm. huckepack nehmen Mit einwärts gerichteten Füßen gehen Herrengesellschaft

To do bird

Sedět, bručet

Faire de la taule

Knast schieben

To be an early bird

Být ranní ptáče

Frühaufsteher sein

To fight like cats and dogs To be no chicken




Être matinal/ se lever de bonne heure Se battre comme des chiffonniers N’être plus dans sa première jeunesse Faire un pied de nez à qu’un


Rollkragenpullover Kräftige Umarmung machen?????? Zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe erschlagen

Wie Hund und Katze sein Nicht mehr der/die Jüngste sein Jdm. eine lange Nase machen

340


Cloud-cuckoo-land

Vysněný svět, vzdušné zámky Jít od desíti k pěti, přijít vepsí

Pays des songes/ rêves Aller à vau-l’eau

Wolkenkuckuckshei m Vor die Hunde gehen

Dog collar

Kolárek (kněžský)

Kollar

A sitting duck

Snadná kořist

Faux col d’ecclésiastique Une proie facile

To fawn on s’one

Podlézat, lichotit

Katzbuckeln


Pít jako duha

Aduler/lécher les bottes à qu’un Boire comme un trou

To fish in troubled waters To get s’one’s goat

Lovit v kalných vodách Naštvat koho


Im Trüben fischen


Jdm. aufregen

To be hare-brained

Být ukvapený, bezmyšlenkovitý Být pod pantoflem

Être écervellé, avoir une tête de linotte Être mené par le bout du nez par sa femme

Unüberlegt sein

To go the whole hog

Jít až do důsledků, dovést až do konce

Aller jusqu’au bout








Mettre le feu aux poudres

In ein Wespennest stechen

To be a dark horse

Cacher son jeu, ne pas avoir l’air d’y toucher Être dans tous ses états


To have kittens

Být černý kůň, velká neznámá Být celý nesvůj

To lark about


Herumalbern

To feel lousy

Cítit se mizerně, pod psa Zakonzervovat, vyřadit z provozu Hledat na něčem hnidy Celý svět mu leží u nohou

Rigoler/faire des farces Se sentir mal fichu Mettre en cocon/ mettre au frigidaire Chercher la petite bête/chipoter Le monde est à lui

Eingemottet werden

To go to the dogs


To mothball To nitpick The world is his oyster

Leichtes Ziel



Zustände kriegen


Kritteln Ihm liegt die Welt zu Füßen

341


Pig in the middle

Prostředník


Zwischenperson

Puppy fat

Dětská baculatost, faldíčky Dělat zamilované oči


Babyspeck

Faire les yeux doux à qu’un Vivre dangereusement

Verliebte Augen machen Mit dem Feuer spielen

To make sheep’s eyes at s’one To ride a tiger





Fuchsschwänzeln

A toad-eater/toady



Kriecher

Toadstool

Champignon vénéneux Mots ambigus

Giftpilz

En avoir assez de se faire marcher dessus

Auch der Wurm krümmt sich, wenn er getreten wird Froschperspektive

Zebra crossing

Muchomůrka, prašivka Vyhýbavá slova, kličky I nepatrný človíček se brání, konečně se ozve Pohled z žabí perspektivy Přechod pro chodce

To beaver away


Eifrig arbeiten

An odd fish/bird


Travailler d’arrachepied Un drôle de coco

To bug s’one


Casser les pieds à qu’un

Nerven, beunruhigen

To milk the bull

Mámit z jalové krávy tele Báchorka, smyšlená historka

Entreprendre l’impossible Histoire abracadabrante/ à dormir debout

Aus Scheiße Bonbons machen Lügengeschichte

Bulldog clip

Svorka (na papíry)

Pince à dessin

Flügelklammer

Cat burglar



Fassadenkletterer

Chickens come home to roost

Vymstít se, doplatit na

Ça se retourne contre qu’un

Jdm. heimgezahlt werden

Weasel words Even a worm will turn Worm’s eye view


Perspective vue d’en bas Passage pour piétons

Ausweichende Worte

Zebrastreifen

Komischer Kauz

342


To wait till the cows come home

Až naprší a uschne

Bis in alle Ewigkeit

Být úplně zastaralý, předpotopní

Attendre la semaine de quatre jeudis/la Saint-Glinglin Être complêtement fossilisé

To be as dead as a dodo A lame duck










To strain at a gnat

Hledat mouchy, hnidy

Attacher de l’importance à des broutilles/vétilles

Überall ein Haar in der Suppe suchen



Faire son affaire à qu’un

Jdm. übers Ohr hauen




A hen party

Dámská jízda


To flog/beat a dead horse Hold your horses

Mlátit prázdnou slámu Přestaň, zabrzdi


A one-horse town

Zapadákov


Seine Kraft und Zeit verschwenden Immer sachte mit den jungen Pferden Dingskirchen

Horse sense

Selský rozum

Gros bon sens

Horse laugh

Řehot (smích)

Gros rire

Gesunder Menschenverstand Gekicher

Kangaroo court

Lynč, samozvaný soud Jít po svých, pěšky


Femegericht

Udělat z koho pitomce


Auf Schusters Rappen reisen Jdm. zum Gespött machen

Francouzský klíč

Clé anglaise

Rollgabelschlüssel

To go on Shanks’s mare To make a monkey out of s’one Monkey wrench


Völlig ausgestorben sein


Damenkränzchen

343


Monkey business






To pussyfoot

Být nerozhodný, nepřiklonit se k žádné straně Chodit tiše

To pussyfoot The rat race To smell a rat/ to smell sth fishy A toad in the hole

Bezohledná honba za kariérou Větřit lumpárnu Zapékaná klobása, zapékaný párek

To work like a tiger

Dřít jako mezek



Animal spirits

Vitalita, radost ze života Zemřít jako stará panna Stará ochechule

To lead apes in hell An old bat

Coup fourré/ fricotage Un vieux tableau

Krumme Touren

Rouler qu’un/ être roulé Ne pas se mouiller

Jdm. die Butter vom Brot nehmen Überängstlich sein

Marcher sur la pointe des pieds La course au biftek/ foire d’empoigne Soupçonner anguille sous roche Morceau de saucisse/ de viande cuit au four dans de la pâte à crêpes Trimer comme un forçat Mettre qu’un à l’abri du besoin Siffler une fille

Herumschleichen


Erbarmungsloser Konkurrenzkampf Lunte riechen Würstchen, in einen Teig eingebacken

Arbeiten wie ein Tier Den größten Hunger stillen Anerkennend pfeifen

Souffrir d’un énorme désadvantage Joie de vivre Mourir vieille fille Une vieille chouette




To be like a bear with a sore head Eager beaver

Být nabručený, mrzutý Horlivec

To have a bee in one’s bonnet To be the bee’s knees

Být posedlý, mít brouka v hlavě Být super, bezva

Être aimable comme un porte de prison Un bourreau/mordu de travail Avoir une idée fixe

Beefcake

Svalovec

Être super Beaux mâles

344


Beetle-browed




A bird of ill-omen

Aux sourcils broussailleux Savoir que les enfants ne naissent pas dans les choux Messager de malheur

Bird-walking weather

Nulová viditelnost

Visibilité zéro

A big bug

Velké zvíře

Une grosse légume

Bug-eyed

Aux yeux globuleux

Bugaboo

S vypoulenýma očima Bubák, strašidlo

Bull session

Chlapský pokec

Calf-love

Mladistvé vzplanutí, dětská láska To by rozesmálo i mrtvého

It’s enough to make a cat laugh

Loup-garou/croquemitaine Causerie entre hommes Premier amour/ amour d’adolescent Ça ferait rire des pierres, c’est à mourir de rire


Tvářit se spokojený sám se sebou, samolibě

Avoir l’air satisfait de soi

To catfoot

Jít tiše jako myška

Marcher à pas feutrés

To grin like a Cheshire cat To have a crow to pick/pluck with s’one

Smát se od ucha k uchu Muset něco probrat s kým

Avoir un sourire jusqu’aux oreilles Avoir maille à partir avec qu’un

Dirty dog

Mizera, krysa

Enterrer la hache de guerre Coquin/sale type

Doggy bag

Sáček na nesnědené jídlo v restauraci Házet žabky

To call off the dogs

To make/play at ducks and drakes It is duck soup for him

To zvládne levou zadní


Získat první bod



Sac à restes Faire des ricochets sur l’eau C’est du gâteau/ simple comme bonjour pour lui Marquer son premier point Dans un état piteux

345


A cold fish

Studený čumák (člověk)

Un pisse-froid




To live in a goldfish bowl

Žít ve výkladní skříni (bez soukromí)

Vivre en aquarium

Flea-pit

Špinavé kino

Cinéma pouilleux




To be knee-high to a grasshopper/mosquit o To start a hare

Être haut comme trois pommes Začít mluvit o něčem jiném

Donner un nouveau tour à la conversation

Hare and hounds

Hra na lišku (stíhání podle roztroušených papírků)

Rallye-papiers

Not to know a hawk from a handsaw To draw a red herring across the track

Nerozeznat kozu od vozu Odvést pozornost (v konverzaci)

N’y connaître absolument rien Faire dévier la conversation




The willing horse


La bonne âme (qui se sacrifie toujours)

Jaywalking



To take it like a lamb

Přijmout jako beránek

My one ewe lamb

Můj jediný poklad

Ne pas protester/se faire laisser Mon seul trésor





Může levhart změnit své skvrny?( může se člověk od základu změnit?)


346




Mettre à l’épreuve la patience de la nation anglaise

To lionize


Faire une célébrité de qu’un Faire la découverte du siècle Mettre qu’un en colère/en rogne N’en avoir rien à foutre Un boulot pépère

To discover a mare’s nest To put s’one’s monkey up Not to give a monkey’s A mickey mouse job To have a kick like a mule Muttonchop whiskers

Dožrat, naštvat koho Být fuk, kašlat na Jednoduchá, prostá práce Probudit i mrtvého

À réveiller un mort

Císařský vous (licousy od uší k ústním koutkům)

Favoris en côtelette

A black ox has trodden on his foot To be as sick as a parrot To bring one’s pigs to the wrong market In a pig’s eye!


Il est tombé dans le malheur Être très déçu

Pigskin

Ragbyový míč

To be pigeon-chested

Mít ptačí hruď

Být velmi zklamaný Dopadnout bledě, pohořet (při jednání) To určitě!

That’s not my pigeon!

Faire une mauvaise affaire Jamais de la vie!/mon oeil! Ballon de foot américain Avoir la poitrine bombée Ce n’est pas mon affaire!/mes oignons!

To play possum

Dělat mrtvého

Faire le mort

Rabbit ears

Anténa

To pull a rabbit out of one’s hat To be a pack rat

Přijít s nečekaným řešením Sbírat do zásoby nepotřebné věci Kápnout vedle, netrefit se Slané tučné vepřové nebo slanina

Antenne de télé intérieure Faire un tour de passe-passe Ne jamais rien jeter

To get the wrong sow by the ear Sowbelly

Das ist nicht mein Bier!

Être loin du compte Du petit salé

347


To go stag to the dance

Jít bez partnerky na večírek

Aller au bal sans cavalière

A stag party




Sortie pour enterrer sa vie de garçon Une naissance

Stormy petrel


Semeur de discorde

Swallow dive

Vlaštovka

Le saut de l’ange

Swan dive As full as a tick

Vlaštovka

Le saut de l’ange Plein comme un oeuf





Être en manque

To talk turkey

Mluvit vážně

Parler franchement

Culture vulture



Walrus moustache

Mroží knír


Být v něčem kanón, odborník

Un moustache à la gauloise Être un as dans qch

A whale of a job

Obrovská práce

Un travail énorme

b) Calque c)

One-word expression

Firebug

Žhář

Incendiaire

Brandleger

Bull and cow

Hádka, rvačka

Querelle/dispute

Streit

Cathouse

Nevěstinec, bordel

Bordel

Bordell

Catwalk

Pódium, molo

Laufsteg/ Podium

To shoot the cat

Blít


A fly in the ointment

Háček, chlup, moucha, chybička

Un cheveu, un hic

Ein Haken

Horse opera

Western

Western

Western

Stalking horse

Záminka, maska

Prétexte/masque

Vorwand

Lounge lizard

Gigolo

Gigolo

Gigolo

To louse up

Zvorat, zmršit

Gâcher

Verpfuschen

Monkey nut

Arašíd, burák

Cacahuète

Erdnuss

Kotzen

348


To make a pig’s ear of sth Pig Latin

Zprasit, zpackat

Cochonner qch

Verpfuschen

Dětská hatmatilka

Du javanais

Kauderwelsch

Pigtail

Cop, copánek

Natte

Zopf

A piggy-bank


Tirelire

Sparschweinchen

Pigwash/pigswill

De la cochonnerie

Schweinefraß

A pigeon-hole

Pomyje (nedobré jídlo) Přihrádka, škatulka

Un casier/une case


Rat cheese

Čedar

Cheddar

Cheddarkäse

Sparrow-grass

Chřest

Des asperges

Spargel

To turn turtle


Chavirer, capoter

Kentern


Potulovat se, vandrovat Pakatel, pár babek

Trimarder

Wandern

Bagatelle

Eine lächerliche Summe

Écorné

Mit Eselsohren

Dogrose

S oslíma ušima (kniha) Šípková růže

Églantier

Hundsrose

Stool-pigeon


Mouchard/indicateur

Spion

Sour-puss

Bručoun, mrzout

Miesepeter

Sluggard

Lenoch, kůže líná


A lone wolf

Un solitaire

Eigenbrötler

To throw to the wolves Catty

Vlk samotář (o člověku) Bez milosti obětovat, ponechat osudu Jízlivý, kousavý

Sacrifier

Opfern

Méchant/vache

Gehässig

Road-hog

Pirát silnic

Chauffard/écraseur

Verkehrsrowdy

A party animal

Flamendr, lev salonů

Fêtard

Bird dog

Slídil

Dénicheur

Bull at a gate

S vervou, zostra

Impétueux

Fat cat

Richard/huile

Fraidy/scaredy cat

Zazobanec, bohatý prominent Zbabělec, strašpytel

Hellcat

Semetrika, fúrie

Harpie/megère

Chicken-livered

Zbaběle, bázlivě

Froussard/poltron

Chicken feed

Dog-eared

Nichtstuer/Faulpelz

Froussard

349


Cow-lick


Épi (de cheveux)

To turn out crabs

Neuspět, pohořet

Échouer

Dog days

Parné dny

La canicule

A dead duck

Zabitý případ

Mort/fini

Can a duck swim?


To get one’s ducks in a row Flea-bitten

Připravit se, udělat si pořádek Všivý, mizerný

Évidemment/tu parles! Se préparer

A fly in amber

Une curiosité

Flyblown

Kuriozita, pozoruhodnost Špinavý, pošpiněný

Hog heaven


Le paradis

Hogwash

Nesmysly, žvásty

Foutaises

Horse-and-buggy

Vieillot


Starobylý, staromódní Nepřekonatelná překážka

Grease monkey

Automechanik

Un mécano/garagiste

Mutton-head

Hlava skopová, zabedněnec Ožralý, namazaný Kličkovat, snažit se vykroutit Vypudit koho

Un benêt/un nigaud

Rat-arsed To weasel out To winkle s’one out

Miteux

Souillé/gâté


Bituré Se rétracter Déloger/éliminer

d) Free combination of language elements Bear garden

Cirkus, blázinec


Zirkus

To wolf down

Zhltnout

Verschlingen



Engloutir/dévorer sa nourriture Mon petit doigt me l’a dit

To let the cat out of the bag

Odhalit tajemství

Révéler le pot aux roses

Die Katze aus dem Sack lassen


350

H Czech and German Animal Idioms

H Czech and German Animal Idioms H.1 H.1.1


To eat like a bird

Jíst jako vrabec


Essen wie ein Spatz

Sacred cow

Vache sacrée

Heilige Kuh

Crocodile tears

Posvátná kráva (nedotknutelný člověk, věc) Krokodýlí slzy


Krokodilstränen

To die like a dog

Chcípnout jako pes



Mourir comme un chien Se tortiller comme une anguille

Wie ein Hund verrecken Sich winden wie ein Aal

To feel like a fish out of water Flea market To sing like a nightingale/ lark To be as gentle as a lamb

Být jako ryba na suchu Bleší trh Zpívat jako slavík

Être comme un poisson hors de l’eau Marché aux puces Chanter comme un rossignol Être doux comme un agneau/mouton

Wie ein Fisch auf dem Trockenen sein Flohmarkt Singen wie eine Nachtigall Sanft wie ein Lamm sein


Bít se jako lev

To look like a stuffed owl Repeat sth parrotfashion/parrot-like

Čumět/koukat jako vejr Opakovat jako papoušek, papouškovat

Se battre comme un lion Avoir l’air d’un hibou empaillé Répéter comme un perroquet

Wie ein Löwe kämpfen Gucken wie ein Uhu





Se multiplier comme des lapins Être serrés comme des sardines


To count sheep

Počítat ovečky

Compter les moutons

Schäfchen zählen

A wolf in a sheep’s clothing To cherish a snake/ viper in one’s bosom To be like a bull in a china shop


Un loup déguisé en brebis Réchauffer un serpent dans son sein Être comme un éléphant dans un rayon de porcelaine

Ein Wolf im Schafpelz Sich eine Schlange an Busen wärmen Wie ein Elefant im Porzellanladen sein

Být krotký/mírný jako beránek

Hřát si na svých prsou hada/zmiji Být jako slon v porcelánu


351


To go to bed with the chickens To be mute as a fish

Chodit spát se slepicemi Mlčet/být němý jako ryba Schoulit se do klubíčka jako ježek

Se coucher comme les poules Être muet comme une carpe Se hérisser, se mettre en boule

Mit den Hühnern schlafen gehen Stumm sein wie ein Fisch Sich zusammenrollen wie ein Igel


Wie ein Wolf essen


Manger comme un ogre Bondir comme un chevreau

A piggy-bank


Tirelire

Sparschweinchen

Black sheep of the family

Černá ovce rodiny

Brebis galeuse de la famille

Das schwarze Schaf (der Familie)

To eat like a bird

Jíst jako vrabec



Dog-eared

Écorné

Mit Eselsohren


S oslíma ušima (kniha) Vidět bílé myšky

Weiße Mäuse sehen



Voir des rats bleus/ voir des éléphants roses Mettre le feu aux poudres

To stink like a polecat

Smrdět jako tchoř

Puer comme un bouc


Bít se jako lev

Worm’s eye view


Se battre comme une tigresse Perspective vue d’en bas

Stinken wie ein Stinktier Wie ein Löwe kämpfen Froschperspektive

To curl up like a hedgehog To eat like a wolf/horse To frisk like a lamb

H.1.2


H.1.2.1

Compound



Frogman


Homme grenouille

Froschmann

The lion’s share

Lví podíl

La part du lion

Der Löwenanteil

Pigsty

Porcherie

Schweinestall

At a snail’s pace

Chlív (špinavá místnost) Hlemýždím tempem

Im Schneckentempo

Swan song

Labutí píseň

Comme un escargot, à un pas de tortue Chant du cygne

A bird’s eye view


Vu d’avion

Aus der Vogelschau

To be dog-tired

Být utahaný/unavený jako kůň/pes


Hundemüde sein

Schwanengesang

352


Goose pimples

Husí kůže

Chair de poule

Gänsehaut

To be hawk-nosed

Mít orlí nos


Adlernase haben

H.1.2.2


a) The singular in one language against the plural in the other b) Different grammatical case or preposition, using reflexive verb in one language To play cat and mouse with s‘one c)

Hrát si na kočku a na myš

Jouer au chat et à la souris avec qu’un

Katz und Maus mit jdm. spielen





Popadnout býčka za rohy (praštit do toho, jít na věc)

d) Change in word order e) A different way of forming the corresponding part of speech f)


g) A different sex H.1.2.3


a) A different structure (accompanied by e.g. a different verb) He would not harm/hurt a fly

H.2

Ani kuřeti/mouše by neublížil

Il ne ferait pas de mal à une mouche

Er kann keiner Fliege etwas zuleide tun

Travailler comme un cheval/un boeuf Coller comme une sangsue

Arbeiten wie ein Pferd/Ochs Wie ein Blutegel sein


a) Expressiveness versus neutrality To work like a horse/ dog/slave To stick to s’one like a leech

Dřít jako kůň/mezek/ vůl Držet se jako pijavice

b) Using lexically different words but keeping the semantic meaning To separate the sheep from the goats c)


Séparer les brebis d’avec les boucs

Die Böcke von den Schafen trennen


To have a hang-dog look To kill two birds with one stone

Vypadat jako zpráskaný pes Zabít dvě mouchy jednou ranou

Avoir une mine de chien battu Faire d’une pierre deux coups/faire coup double

Wie ein geprügelter Hund herumlaufen Zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe erschlagen

353



Ani ryba, ani rak

Ni chair ni poisson, ni poisson ni grenouille


To play leapfrog

Skákat přes kozu


Bockspringen machen



Servir de cobaye

Versuchskaninchen spielen

d) Using hypernyms or hyponyms Night owl


Oiseau de nuit

Nachteule


Dřít jako mezek

Trimer comme un forçat

Arbeiten wie ein Tier

e) Idioms possessing a different number of lexical expressions To follow s’one like sheep





Pustit štiku do rybníka, udělat rozruch Smrdět jako kozel





Beránky (cirus – meteorologicky) Zrádná krysa

Queue de chat

Lämmerwolken

Une peau de vache/ un salaud

Ratte

To stink like an old goat Mare’s tail Rat fink f)


g) The whole idiom is expressed with different lexical means h) Idiomatic expression using a different animal At night all cats are grey To be eagle-eyed

Potmě je každá kráva černá Mít zrak jako ostříž

La nuit tous les chats sont gris Aux yeux d’aigle/de lynx Avoir un estomac d’autruche

Bei Nacht sind alle Katzen grau Adleraugen haben




Lézt jako želva



To fight like cats and dogs I could eat a horse!


Se battre comme des chiffonniers J’ai une faim de loup!

Wie Hund und Katze sein Ich habe einen Bärenhunger!

Mám hlad jako vlk!


354





Mit dem ersten Hahnenschrei aufstehen





To buy a pig in a poke To have a hide like a rhinoceros



Mít hroší kůži


Die Katze im Sack kaufen Eine Elefantenhaut haben

A bookworm

Knihomol

Bücherwurm

An odd fish/bird


Un rat de bibliothèque Un drôle de coco






Dělat z komára velblouda



To be happy as a pig in a muck To live like pigs in clover To be drenched like a drowned rat

Mít se jako prase v žitě Mít se jako prase v žitě Být jako zmoklá slepice/mokrá myš

Être comme un porc à l’auge Vivre comme un porc à l‘auge Être trempé comme un canard/une soupe

Wie die Made im Speck leben Wie die Made im Speck leben Nass wie eine Katze sein

i)


Like a lamb to the slaughter j)





To back the wrong horse To get on one’s high horse

H.3

Komischer Kauz

Vsadit si na špatného koně Být na koni

Miser sur le mauvais cheval Monter sur ses grands chevaux

Aufs verkehrte Pferd setzen Auf dem hohen Roß sitzen

Non Correspondence

a) Periphrasis

355


To give s’one a bear hug To be an early bird

Dát komu medvědí objetí Být ranní ptáče



To let the cat out of the bag Cloud-cuckoo-land

Odhalit tajemství

To go to the dogs

Vysněný svět, vzdušné zámky Jít od desíti k pěti, přijít vepsí

Serrer qu’un très fort dans ses bras Être matinal/ se lever de bonne heure Mon petit doigt me l’a dit

Kräftige Umarmung machen Frühaufsteher sein

Révéler le pot aux roses Pays des songes/ rêves Aller à vau-l’eau

Die Katze aus dem Sack lassen Wolkenkuckuckshei m Vor die Hunde gehen


Dogrose

Šípková růže

Églantier

Hundsrose


Cítit se jako ryba ve vodě



To fawn on s’one

Podlézat, lichotit

Katzbuckeln

To fish in troubled waters To be a dark horse

Lovit v kalných vodách Být černý kůň, velká neznámá

Aduler/lécher les bottes à qu’un Pêcher en eau trouble Cacher son jeu, ne pas avoir l’air d’y toucher





Fuchsschwänzeln

A lone wolf

Un solitaire

Eigenbrötler


Zebra crossing

Vlk samotář (o člověku) I nepatrný človíček se brání, konečně se ozve Přechod pro chodce

Auch der Wurm krümmt sich, wenn er getreten wird Zebrastreifen

To beaver away


Eifrig arbeiten

To milk the bull

Mámit z jalové krávy tele Hledat mouchy, hnidy

Travailler d’arrachepied Entreprendre l’impossible Attacher de l’importance à des broutilles/vétilles

Immer sachte mit den jungen Pferden Auf Schusters Rappen reisen Falsche Schlange

Even a worm will turn

To strain at a gnat


Hold your horses

Přestaň, zabrzdi


To go on Shanks’s mare A snake in the grass

Jít po svých, pěšky

Prendre le train onze/ aller à pinces Un serpent caché

Zrádný člověk

Im Trüben fischen

Aus Scheiße Bonbons machen Überall ein Haar in der Suppe suchen

356


To be an early bird

Být ranní ptáče

Frühaufsteher sein


Être matinal/ se lever de bonne heure Mon petit doigt me l’a dit


Bugbear

Postrach

Bête noire

Sorge, Problem

Bull-headed


D’une impétuosité de taureau

Hartköpfig

Pomyje (nedobré jídlo) Loutka, maškara (v politice)

De la cochonnerie

Schweinefraß

Tigre de papier

Papiertiger

Dělat ze sebe vola


Sich blamieren


b) Calque c)

One-word expression

Pigwash/pigswill Paper tiger To make an ass of oneself


H.3.1

Identical wording, corresponding lexemes but not idioms which would match the English source idioms

To play the ape

Opičit se

Faire le singe

Jdm. nachäffen

Bear garden

Cirkus, blázinec

Zirkus

To make a bee-line for sth Firebug

Namířit si to přímo k čemu Žhář

Pétaudière/ la cour du roi Pétaud Se diriger en ligne droite vers qch Incendiaire

Bull and cow

Hádka, rvačka

Querelle/dispute

Streit

It’s raining cats and dogs To be a copycat

Leje jako z konve

Il pleut à seaux/ torrents Faire le singe

Es gießt wie aus Kannen/Kübeln Jdm. nachäffen



Schnurstracks auf etwas zustürzen Brandleger


Opičit se, papouškovat Tady se člověk nemůže ani otočit Zdřímnutí, šlofík





Cathouse

Nevěstinec, bordel

Bordel

Bordell

Catwalk

Pódium, molo

La passerelle/ le podium

Laufsteg/ Podium

357


To shoot the cat

Blít

Dégobiller

Kotzen

Wild cat strike

Divoká stávka (neschválená odbory) Domýšlivec

Grève sauvage

Wilder Streik


Geck

Dojná kráva, zlatý důl Být šéf

Mine d’or

Goldgrube

Être le chef

Boß sein


Depuis une éternité Gros travail






A white elephant

Zbytečná věc

Nutzloser Besitz

To ferret about sth

Slídit, čmuchat

Objet inutile/ attrapepoussière Fureter/fouiller


Vyslídit/dopídit se pravdy Pěkná kaše, šlamastika Háček, chlup, moucha, chybička

Dénicher/découvrir la vérité En voilà un beau gâchis Un cheveu, un hic

Wahrheit aufstöbern

To be foxed To take a gander at sth Not to say boo to a goose

Být obelstěn, oklamán Mrknout se na něco

Être mystifié Jeter un coup d’oeil à qch N’oser jamais ouvrir le bec

Verwirrt werden Sich etwas ansehen





Horse opera

Western

Western

Western

Horseplay

Sranda, legrácky


Balgerei

Stalking horse

Záminka, maska

Prétexte/masque

Vorwand

To handle with kid gloves




Lounge lizard

Gigolo

Gigolo

Gigolo

To louse up

Zvorat, zmršit

Gâcher

Verpfuschen

Monkey nut

Arašíd, burák

Cacahuète

Erdnuss

Cock-sparrow A cash cow To be top dog For donkey’s years Donkey work

A fine/pretty kettle of fish A fly in the ointment


Herumschnüffeln

Eine schöne Bescherung Ein Haken

Kaum das Maul aufmachen

358


To make a pig’s ear of sth Pigtail

Zprasit, zpackat

Cochonner qch

Verpfuschen

Cop, copánek

Natte

Zopf

A pigeon-hole

Přihrádka, škatulka

Un casier/une case


To be pigeon-toed



Rat cheese

Čedar

Cheddar

Mit einwärts gerichteten Füßen gehen Cheddarkäse

Sparrow-grass

Chřest

Des asperges

Spargel

A stag party

Pánská jízda

Herrengesellschaft

To turn turtle


Une réunion entre hommes Chavirer, capoter

Turtleneck To be on the wallaby

Col roulé Trimarder

Rollkragenpullover Wandern

To wolf down

Rolák Potulovat se, vandrovat Zhltnout

Verschlingen

Bugbear

Postrach

Engloutir/dévorer sa nourriture Bête noire

Bull-headed


Hartköpfig


Trefit do černého

D’une impétuosité de taureau Taper dans le mille





To be no chicken


Cock-a-hoop

Nicht mehr der/die Jüngste sein Triumphierend


Vítězoslavný, chvástavý Udělat na koho dlouhý nos

N’être plus dans sa première jeunesse Fier comme un coq Faire un pied de nez à qu’un


As the crow flies

Vzdušnou čarou

À vol d’oiseau

Luftlinie




Dog collar


Between dog and wolf Small fry

Za soumraku

Faux col d’ecclésiastique Entre chien et loup

Einmal in Verruf gekommen, bleibt man immer verdächtig Kollar

Bezvýznamní lidé

Menu fretin

Kentern

Sorge, Problem


Beim Nachtanbruch Unbedeutende Leute

359



Naštvat koho


Jdm. aufregen

To be hare-brained

Být ukvapený, bezmyšlenkovitý Být pod pantoflem


Unüberlegt sein

Se sentir mal fichu



Cítit se mizerně, pod psa Celý svět mu leží u nohou

Le monde est à lui


To be a pig-headed person Pig in the middle

Být paličatý, tvrdohlavý Prostředník

Avoir une tête de cochon Pris entre deux feux

Dickschädelig sein

Stool-pigeon


Mouchard/indicateur

Spion

Sour-puss

Bručoun, mrzout

Miesepeter

To be like a rabbit in clover To make sheep’s eyes at s’one Sluggard


Rabat-joie/ troublefête/chipie Être comme un coq en pâte Faire les yeux doux à qu’un Paresseux

To ride a tiger

Hrát si s ohněm/ dráždit kobru bosou nohou Patolízal, šplhoun

Vivre dangereusement

Mit dem Feuer spielen


Kriecher

Vyhýbavá slova, kličky Řehot (smích)

Mots ambigus

Ausweichende Worte

Gros rire

Gekicher

To be henpecked/ pussy-whipped To feel lousy

A toad-eater/toady Weasel words Horse laugh A home bird

H.3.2

Dělat zamilované oči Lenoch, kůže líná

Pecivál, domácí puťka


Zwischenperson

Auf Rosen gebettet haben Verliebte Augen machen Nichtstuer/Faulpelz

Stubenhocker

Different wording, no idioms, no correspondence

Pig Latin

Dětská hatmatilka

Du javanais

Kauderwelsch

To give s’one a piggyback To do bird

Vzít koho na záda

Monter sur le dos

Sedět, bručet

Faire de la taule

Jdm. huckepack nehmen Knast schieben

Chicken feed

Pakatel, pár babek

Bagatelle




Eine lächerliche Summe Ein Biest, das keinem was gönnt

360


It’s like water off a duck’s back




A sitting duck

Snadná kořist

Une proie facile

Leichtes Ziel


Pít jako duha

Boire comme un trou


Goose-step

Parádní krok (vojenský) Zaječí pysk, rozštěp rtu

Pas de l’oie

Stechschritt

Bec-de-lièvre

Hasenscharte

To go the whole hog








To have kittens

Být celý nesvůj


Zustände kriegen

To lark about


Herumalbern

Moth-eaten

Zchátralý

Rigoler/faire des farces Miteux

To mothball

Zakonzervovat, vyřadit z provozu Hledat na něčem hnidy Křičet jako když ho na nože berou

Mettre en cocon/ mettre au frigidaire Chercher la petite bête/chipoter Brailler comme un cochon qu’on égorge

Eingemottet werden

Dětská baculatost, faldíčky Muchomůrka, prašivka Bez milosti obětovat, ponechat osudu Být neposeda, mít roupy, chvíli neposedět


Babyspeck

Champignon vénéneux Sacrifier

Giftpilz



To bug s’one



Nerven, beunruhigen




Lügengeschichte

Bulldog clip

Svorka (na papíry)

Pince à dessin

Flügelklammer

Hare-lip

To nitpick To squeal like a stuck pig Puppy fat Toadstool To throw to the wolves To have ants in one’s pants

Verstaubt

Kritteln Schreien als ob jdn. am Spieß steckte

Opfern

361


Cat burglar



Fassadenkletterer

Catty

Jízlivý, kousavý

Méchant/vache

Gehässig




Den Pelz verkaufen

Chickens come home to roost To wait till the cows come home

Vymstít se, doplatit na Až naprší a uschne

Jdm. heimgezahlt werden Bis in alle Ewigkeit

To be as dead as a dodo


Ça se retourne contre qu’un Attendre la semaine de quatre jeudis/la Saint-Glinglin Être complêtement fossilisé





A lame duck










To be the goat




Être le dindon de la farce Faire son affaire à qu’un





A hen party

Dámská jízda


Road-hog

Pirát silnic

Chauffard/écraseur

Verkehrsrowdy

To flog/beat a dead horse A one-horse town

Mlátit prázdnou slámu Zapadákov


Seine Kraft und Zeit verschwenden Dingskirchen




Damenkränzchen

362


Horse sense

Selský rozum

Gros bon sens

Kangaroo court


To make a monkey out of s’one

Lynč, samozvaný soud Udělat z koho pitomce

Gesunder Menschenverstand Femegericht

Se foutre de la poire de qu’un

Jdm. zum Gespött machen

Monkey wrench

Francouzský klíč

Clé anglaise

Rollgabelschlüssel

Monkey business


Krumme Touren



Coup fourré/ fricotage Il fait un froid de canard



Un vieux tableau


To make a pig of oneself Pigs might fly

Přežírat se, přecpávat se Až naprší a uschne, na svatého Dyndy

Être comme un cochon à l’auge Quand les poules auront des dents

Den Bauch vollschlagen Da müßte schon ein Wunder geschehen



To pussyfoot




Marcher sur la pointe des pieds La course au biftek/ foire d’empoigne Soupçonner anguille sous roche Pattes d’araignée

Herumschleichen

Morceau de saucisse/ de viande cuit au four dans de la pâte à crêpes Mettre qu’un à l’abri du besoin Siffler une fille


To pussyfoot The rat race To smell a rat/ to smell sth fishy Spidery handwriting A toad in the hole

To keep the wolf from the door To give a girl a wolf whistle Horses for courses

Bezohledná honba za kariérou Větřit lumpárnu Rukopis s dlouhými tenkými čarami Zapékaná klobása, zapékaný párek

Odhánět bídu ode dveří Pochvalně/obdivně hvízdnout (na dívku) Ten umí to a ten zas tohle

Es ist saukalt hier

Erbarmungsloser Konkurrenzkampf Lunte riechen Krakelig Schrift

Den größten Hunger stillen Anerkennend pfeifen Jeder sollte die Aufgaben übernehmen, für die er am besten geeignet ist

363

I Czech and French Animal Idioms

I I.1 I.1.1

Czech and French Animal Idioms Total Correspondence 100% Correspondence

To play cat and mouse with s‘one Sacred cow

Crocodile tears

Hrát si na kočku a na myš Posvátná kráva (nedotknutelný člověk, věc) Krokodýlí slzy





Flea market He would not harm/hurt a fly Frogman

Bleší trh Ani kuřeti/mouše by neublížil Žabí muž (potápěč)

Marché aux puces Il ne ferait pas de mal à une mouche Homme grenouille

Flohmarkt Er kann keiner Fliege etwas zuleide tun Froschmann

To work like a horse/ dog/slave To be as gentle as a lamb

Dřít jako kůň/mezek/ vůl Být krotký/mírný jako beránek

Travailler comme un cheval/un boeuf Être doux comme un agneau/mouton

Arbeiten wie ein Pferd/Ochs Sanft wie ein Lamm sein

To sing like a nightingale/ lark To stick to s’one like a leech


Chanter comme un rossignol Coller comme une sangsue


The lion’s share

Lví podíl

La part du lion

Der Löwenanteil


Bít se jako lev

Repeat sth parrotfashion/parrot-like


Se battre comme un lion Répéter comme un perroquet

Wie ein Löwe kämpfen Wie ein Papagei wiederholen
















Jouer au chat et à la souris avec qu’un Vache sacrée

Katz und Maus mit jdm. spielen Heilige Kuh


Krokodilstränen

364


To be hawk-nosed

Mít orlí nos


Adlernase haben

To frisk like a lamb


Bondir comme un chevreau


To make a pig’s ear of sth To take to sth like a duck to water

Zprasit, zpackat

Cochonner qch

Verpfuschen





Smrdět jako kozel



Hare-lip


Bec-de-lièvre

Hasenscharte

To back the wrong horse I could eat a horse!

Vsadit si na špatného koně Mám hlad jako vlk!

Miser sur le mauvais cheval J’ai une faim de loup!




Aufs verkehrte Pferd setzen Ich habe einen Bärenhunger! Mit dem ersten Hahnenschrei aufstehen

Night owl


Oiseau de nuit

Nachteule




All one’s geese are swans

V každé huse vidět labuť (přehánět)

Faire un cygne d’un oison

To descend on/ swarm on like locusts Ostrich policy

Vrhnout se na něco jako kobylky Pštrosí politika

Snail mail Tigereye

Hlemýždí (klasická) pošta Tygří oko

Arriver comme une nuée de sauterelles La politique de l’autruche Courrier classique/ escargot Oeil de chat/tigre

To have a viperish tongue Wolf cub To be food for worms

Mít jedovatý jazyk, jazyk jako zmije Vlče Být potrava pro červy

Avoir une langue de vipère Louveteau Être la proie des vers

I.1.2


I.1.2.1

Compound

I.1.2.2


a) The singular in one language against the plural in the other b) Different grammatical case or preposition, using reflexive verb in one language

365


To go to bed with the chickens c)

Chodit spát se slepicemi

Se coucher comme les poules

Mit den Hühnern schlafen gehen



Compter les moutons Donner à manger aux poissons/ avoir le mal de mer

Schäfchen zählen


To take the bull by the horns To count sheep To feed the fishes

Popadnout býčka za rohy (praštit do toho, jít na věc) Počítat ovečky Krmit rybičky (mít mořskou nemoc)



To play the ape

Opičit se

Faire le singe

Jdm. nachäffen

A wolf in a sheep’s clothing To be a copycat


Un loup déguisé en brebis Faire le singe

Ein Wolf im Schafpelz Jdm. nachäffen

Opičit se, papouškovat

g) A different sex I.1.2.3


a) A different structure (accompanied by e.g. a different verb) To have a hang-dog look To kill the goose that lays the golden eggs Mackerel sky To move like a tortoise

I.2

Vypadat jako zpráskaný pes Zabít slepici, která snáší zlatá vejce Obloha pokrytá beránky Lézt jako želva

Avoir une mine de chien battu Tuer la poule aux oeufs d’or Ciel moutonné

Wie ein geprügelter Hund herumlaufen



Mourir comme un chien Nage en chien


Partial Correspondence a) Expressiveness versus neutrality

To die like a dog

Chcípnout jako pes

Dog-paddle


b) Using lexically different words but keeping the semantic meaning

366


Pigsty c)

Chlív (špinavá místnost)

Porcherie

Schweinestall


To feel like a fish out of water Black sheep of the family

Být jako ryba na suchu Černá ovce rodiny

Être comme un poisson hors de l’eau Brebis galeuse de la famille

Wie ein Fisch auf dem Trockenen sein Das schwarze Schaf (der Familie)

To be happy as a pig in a muck

Mít se jako prase v žitě

Être comme un porc à l’auge

Wie die Made im Speck leben

Être muet comme une carpe

Stumm sein wie ein Fisch

d) Using hypernyms or hyponyms To be mute as a fish

Mlčet/být němý jako ryba

e) Idioms possessing a different number of lexical expressions To look like a stuffed owl To be like a bull in a china shop

Čumět/koukat jako vejr Být jako slon v porcelánu

Watch the birdie!

Pozor, vyletí ptáček!


Mít orlí nos

f)

Avoir l’air d’un hibou empaillé Être comme un éléphant dans un rayon de porcelaine Le petit oiseau va sortir! Avoir un nez en bec d’aigle

Gucken wie ein Uhu

Se hérisser, se mettre en boule





Schoulit se do klubíčka jako ježek

g) The whole idiom is expressed with different lexical means h) Idiomatic expression using a different animal At night all cats are grey To be eagle-eyed

Potmě je každá kráva černá Mít zrak jako ostříž

La nuit tous les chats sont gris Aux yeux d’aigle/de lynx Chair de poule

Bei Nacht sind alle Katzen grau Adleraugen haben

Goose pimples

Husí kůže






Dělat ze sebe vola


Sich blamieren

Gänsehaut

367


To put/set the cat among the pigeons To see pink elephants

Pustit štiku do rybníka, udělat rozruch Vidět bílé myšky


Ani ryba, ani rak

To play leapfrog

Skákat přes kozu


Bockspringen machen

To nitpick

Hledat na něčem hnidy Být pokusný králík

Chercher la petite bête/chipoter Servir de cobaye

Kritteln







Smrdět jako tchoř

Puer comme un bouc

To have a hide like a rhinoceros

Mít hroší kůži



Bít se jako lev

A bookworm

Knihomol

Wie ein Löwe kämpfen Bücherwurm



Se battre comme une tigresse Un rat de bibliothèque Avoir des oeufs de fourmi sous les pieds





Mare’s tail

Queue de chat

Lämmerwolken





To be drenched like a drowned rat

Být jako zmoklá slepice/mokrá myš

Être trempé comme un canard/une soupe

Nass wie eine Katze sein




Voir des rats bleus/ voir des éléphants roses Ni chair ni poisson, ni poisson ni grenouille

Weiße Mäuse sehen


Versuchskaninchen spielen Bluten wie ein abgestochenes Schwein Die Katze im Sack kaufen Stinken wie ein Stinktier Eine Elefantenhaut haben


368


Rat fink

Zrádná krysa

An old bat

Stará ochechule

Une peau de vache/ un salaud Une vieille chouette

A rare bird


Merle blanc

A white crow

Bílá vrána


Nešťourat do vosího hnízda

Le merle blanc/ l’oiseau rare Ne réveillez pas le chat qui dort

Fine weather for ducks

Počasí, že by psa nevyhnal

Beau temps pour les grenouilles



Le coq de son village

Flea-bitten

Všivý, mizerný

Miteux

To throw a sprat to catch a herring/ a mackerel/ a whale

Risk je zisk; dát vajíčko, aby byla slepička

C’est donner un oeuf pour avoir un boeuf

Monkey bars

Opičí dráha, dětská prolézačka Byla to svinsky těžká práce!

Cage à poules

It was a pig to do!

i)





At a snail’s pace

Hlemýždím tempem

To get on one’s high horse To live like pigs in clover

Být na koni

Chicken scratches

Škrabe jak kocour, nečitelné písmo Volat „vlk, vlk“, ztropit planý poplach

To cry wolf

I.3



Like a lamb to the slaughter j)

Ratte

Mít se jako prase v žitě

Comme un escargot, à un pas de tortue Monter sur ses grands chevaux Vivre comme un porc à l‘auge

Im Schneckentempo Auf dem hohen Roß sitzen Wie die Made im Speck leben

Écriture de chat Crier au loup

Non Correspondence a) Periphrasis

369


A bird’s eye view


Vu d’avion

Aus der Vogelschau

A cash cow

Dojná kráva, zlatý důl Být utahaný/unavený jako kůň/pes

Mine d’or

Goldgrube


Hundemüde sein

To be dog-tired To ferret about sth

Slídit, čmuchat

Fureter/fouiller

Herumschnüffeln








Wie ein Wolf essen

A piggy-bank


Tirelire

Sparschweinchen

Pigwash/pigswill

Pomyje (nedobré jídlo) Oddělit zrno od plev

De la cochonnerie

Schweinefraß

Séparer les brebis d’avec les boucs Serrer qu’un très fort dans ses bras Faire d’une pierre deux coups/faire coup double

Die Böcke von den Schafen trennen Kräftige Umarmung machen Zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe erschlagen

Se battre comme des chiffonniers Fier comme un coq

Wie Hund und Katze sein Triumphierend

À vol d’oiseau

Luftlinie

To separate the sheep from the goats To give s’one a bear hug To kill two birds with one stone To fight like cats and dogs Cock-a-hoop

Dát komu medvědí objetí Zabít dvě mouchy jednou ranou Rvát/hádat se jako psi

As the crow flies

Vítězoslavný, chvástavý Vzdušnou čarou





Dog-eared

S oslíma ušima (kniha) Špatnou pověst už člověku nikdo neodpáře

Écorné

Mit Eselsohren



Za soumraku

Entre chien et loup

Beim Nachtanbruch






370


Goose-step

Parádní krok (vojenský) Být ukvapený, bezmyšlenkovitý Píchnout do vosího hnízda

Pas de l’oie

Stechschritt

Être écervellé, avoir une tête de linotte Mettre le feu aux poudres

Unüberlegt sein

To be a dark horse

Být černý kůň, velká neznámá

Cacher son jeu, ne pas avoir l’air d’y toucher


To feel lousy

Se sentir mal fichu


Moth-eaten

Cítit se mizerně, pod psa Zchátralý

Miteux

Verstaubt




Dickschädelig sein

To be like a rabbit in clover To ride a tiger


Être comme un coq en pâte Vivre dangereusement

Auf Rosen gebettet haben Mit dem Feuer spielen

A lone wolf

Vlk samotář (o člověku) Pohled z žabí perspektivy Strašit ve věži

Un solitaire

Eigenbrötler

Perspective vue d’en bas Avoir une araignée dans le plafond Travailler d’arrachepied Un drôle de coco

Froschperspektive

To be hare-brained To stir up a hornet’s nest

Worm’s eye view To have bats in the belfry/attic To beaver away





Einen Dachschaden haben Eifrig arbeiten

An odd fish/bird


Komischer Kauz

To milk the bull To count one’s chickens

Mámit z jalové krávy tele Říkat hop, dělat předčasné závěry

Entreprendre l’impossible Ne pas vendre la peau de l’ours

Aus Scheiße Bonbons machen Den Pelz verkaufen





371


To strain at a gnat




To be the goat




Être le dindon de la farce Il fait un froid de canard

Sich lächerlich machen Es ist saukalt hier





To smell a rat/ to smell sth fishy A snake in the grass

Větřit lumpárnu

Soupçonner anguille sous roche Un serpent caché

Lunte riechen

Spidery handwriting


Krakelig Schrift


Rukopis s dlouhými tenkými čarami Dřít jako mezek


A party animal

Flamendr, lev salonů

Trimer comme un forçat Fêtard

To have a bee in one’s bonnet A big bug

Být posedlý, mít brouka v hlavě Velké zvíře

Bugaboo

Bubák, strašidlo

To bell the cat

Odvážit se rizika

To catfoot

Jít tiše jako myška

Cow-lick


Épi (de cheveux)

To walk crabwise


Marcher en crabe

To eat the crow

Ponížit se

Avaler les couleuvres

A sly dog

Tichá voda, tajnůstkář Mizera, krysa

Une fine mouche

Házet žabky

Faire des ricochets sur l’eau Yeux de furet

Dirty dog To make/play at ducks and drakes Ferrety eyes

Zrádný člověk

Slídivé oči

Falsche Schlange

Avoir une idée fixe Une grosse légume Loup-garou/croquemitaine Attacher le grelot à un tigre Marcher à pas feutrés

Coquin/sale type

372


To have other fish to fry To be a fly on the wall

Mít důležitější věci na práci Být při tom, u toho

Avoir d’autres chats à fouetter Être petite souris

Hare and hounds

Hra na lišku (stíhání podle roztroušených papírků)

Rallye-papiers

Not to know a hawk from a handsaw To take it like a lamb

Nerozeznat kozu od vozu Přijmout jako beránek

N’y connaître absolument rien Ne pas protester/se faire laisser


Může levhart změnit své skvrny?( může se člověk od základu změnit?) Utkat se s kým na jeho vlastní půdě





Mettre à l’épreuve la patience de la nation anglaise

Monkey tricks

Lumpárna, darebáctví Vraťme se k věci

Singeries/ tours de singe Revenons à nos moutons Un benêt/un nigaud


Let’s return to our muttons Mutton-head To be pigeon-chested

Rabbit punch

Hlava skopová, zabedněnec Mít ptačí hruď

Avoir la poitrine bombée Le coup du lapin

Sheepskin

Krátký tvrdý úder do týla Diplom



Une naissance

Swallow dive Swallow-tailed coat

Vlaštovka Frakový kabát

Le saut de l’ange Une queue de pie

The Swan of Avon

Shakespeare


Swan dive

Vlaštovka

Le saut de l’ange


Být plný vervy


Peau d’âne

373





Walrus moustache

Mroží knír

To have/hold the wolf by the ears

Být v prekérní, ošemetné situaci

Un moustache à la gauloise Tenir le loup par les oreilles

A can of worms



b) Calque c)

One-word expression


I.3.1


To make a bee-line for sth Firebug

Namířit si to přímo k čemu Žhář

Se diriger en ligne droite vers qch Incendiaire

Schnurstracks auf etwas zustürzen Brandleger

Bull and cow

Hádka, rvačka

Querelle/dispute

Streit

It’s raining cats and dogs Cathouse

Leje jako z konve

Il pleut à seaux/ torrents Bordel

Es gießt wie aus Kannen/Kübeln Bordell

Catwalk

Pódium, molo

Laufsteg/ Podium

To shoot the cat

Blít


Wild cat strike

Grève sauvage

Wilder Streik

To be top dog

Divoká stávka (neschválená odbory) Být šéf

Être le chef

Boß sein

Donkey work

Tvrdá práce, dřina

Gros travail

Schwerarbeit





A white elephant

Zbytečná věc

Nutzloser Besitz


Vyslídit/dopídit se pravdy Háček, chlup, moucha, chybička

Objet inutile/ attrapepoussière Dénicher/découvrir la vérité Un cheveu, un hic Être mystifié Western

Verwirrt werden Western

A fly in the ointment To be foxed Horse opera

Nevěstinec, bordel

Být obelstěn, oklamán Western

Kotzen

Wahrheit aufstöbern Ein Haken

374


Stalking horse

Záminka, maska

Prétexte/masque

Vorwand

Lounge lizard

Gigolo

Gigolo

Gigolo

To louse up

Zvorat, zmršit

Gâcher

Verpfuschen

Monkey nut

Arašíd, burák

Cacahuète

Erdnuss

Pigtail

Cop, copánek

Natte

Zopf

To give s’one a piggyback A pigeon-hole

Vzít koho na záda

Monter sur le dos


Un casier/une case

Jdm. huckepack nehmen (Ablage)fach/ Postfach

Rat cheese

Čedar

Cheddar

Cheddarkäse

Sparrow-grass

Chřest

Des asperges

Spargel

To turn turtle


Chavirer, capoter

Kentern


Trimarder

Wandern

To wolf down

Potulovat se, vandrovat Zhltnout

Verschlingen



Engloutir/dévorer sa nourriture Être sur des épines/ être comme chat sur braise

Chicken feed

Pakatel, pár babek

Bagatelle

Cloud-cuckoo-land Dogrose

Vysněný svět, vzdušné zámky Šípková růže

Pays des songes/ rêves Églantier

Eine lächerliche Summe Wolkenkuckuckshei m Hundsrose

A sitting duck

Snadná kořist

Une proie facile

Leichtes Ziel

To fawn on s’one

Podlézat, lichotit

Katzbuckeln

To go the whole hog


Aduler/lécher les bottes à qu’un Aller jusqu’au bout

Sluggard


Paresseux

Nichtstuer/Faulpelz




Fuchsschwänzeln

Zebra crossing

Přechod pro chodce


Zebrastreifen

Animal spirits

Joie de vivre

To be the bee’s knees

Vitalita, radost ze života Zemřít jako stará panna Být super, bezva

Beetle-browed


To lead apes in hell



Mourir vieille fille Être super Aux sourcils broussailleux

375


Bird-walking weather

Nulová viditelnost

Visibilité zéro

Bug-eyed

S vypoulenýma očima Tvářit se spokojený sám se sebou, samolibě

Aux yeux globuleux

Fraidy/scaredy cat

Zbabělec, strašpytel

Froussard

Hellcat

Semetrika, fúrie

Harpie/megère

Chicken-livered

Zbaběle, bázlivě

Froussard/poltron

To turn out crabs

Neuspět, pohořet

Échouer


Získat první bod

To get one’s ducks in a row A fly in amber

Připravit se, udělat si pořádek Kuriozita, pozoruhodnost Špinavý, pošpiněný

Marquer son premier point Se préparer


Flyblown

Avoir l’air satisfait de soi

Une curiosité Souillé/gâté




Hog heaven


Le paradis

Hogwash

Nesmysly, žvásty

Foutaises

Horse-and-buggy

Vieillot

My one ewe lamb

Starobylý, staromódní Můj jediný poklad

Grease monkey

Automechanik

Un mécano/garagiste

To have a kick like a mule To be as sick as a parrot To play possum

Probudit i mrtvého

À réveiller un mort

Být velmi zklamaný

Être très déçu

Dělat mrtvého

Faire le mort

Rat-arsed To go stag to the dance

Ožralý, namazaný Jít bez partnerky na večírek

Bituré Aller au bal sans cavalière

To talk turkey

Mluvit vážně

Parler franchement

A whale of a job To winkle s’one out

Obrovská práce Vypudit koho

Un travail énorme Déloger/éliminer

I.3.2

Mon seul trésor


Bear garden

Cirkus, blázinec


Zirkus

376



Tady se člověk nemůže ani otočit Zdřímnutí, šlofík







Cock-sparrow

Domýšlivec


Geck


Celou věčnost, léta letoucí Pěkná kaše, šlamastika Mrknout se na něco


Ewigkeit/ Unendlichkeit Eine schöne Bescherung Sich etwas ansehen

A fine/pretty kettle of fish To take a gander at sth Not to say boo to a goose


En voilà un beau gâchis Jeter un coup d’oeil à qch N’oser jamais ouvrir le bec


Horseplay

Sranda, legrácky


Balgerei

To handle with kid gloves Pig Latin

Zacházet v rukavičkách Dětská hatmatilka

Prendre des gants avec qu’un Du javanais

Glacéhandschuhen anfassen Kauderwelsch

To be pigeon-toed



A stag party

Pánská jízda

Paper tiger


Une réunion entre hommes Tigre de papier

Mit einwärts gerichteten Füßen gehen Herrengesellschaft

Turtleneck To do bird

Rolák Sedět, bručet

Col roulé Faire de la taule

Rollkragenpullover Knast schieben


Trefit do černého

Taper dans le mille


To let the cat out of the bag To be no chicken

Odhalit tajemství



Révéler le pot aux roses N’être plus dans sa première jeunesse Faire un pied de nez à qu’un

Die Katze aus dem Sack lassen Nicht mehr der/die Jüngste sein Jdm. eine lange Nase machen

To go to the dogs

Jít od desíti k pěti, přijít vepsí

Aller à vau-l’eau

Vor die Hunde gehen

Dog collar


Kollar


Pít jako duha

Faux col d’ecclésiastique Boire comme un trou


Papiertiger


377


To fish in troubled waters Small fry

Lovit v kalných vodách Bezvýznamní lidé


Im Trüben fischen

Menu fretin

Unbedeutende Leute


Naštvat koho


Jdm. aufregen


Být pod pantoflem

Être mené par le bout du nez par sa femme






To have kittens

Být celý nesvůj


Zustände kriegen

To lark about


Herumalbern

To mothball The world is his oyster

Zakonzervovat, vyřadit z provozu Celý svět mu leží u nohou

Rigoler/faire des farces Mettre en cocon/ mettre au frigidaire Le monde est à lui

Pig in the middle

Prostředník


Zwischenperson

Stool-pigeon


Mouchard/indicateur

Spion

Puppy fat

Dětská baculatost, faldíčky Bručoun, mrzout


Babyspeck

Rabat-joie/ troublefête/chipie Faire les yeux doux à qu’un Un lécheur de bottes

Miesepeter

Sour-puss

Eingemottet werden Ihm liegt die Welt zu Füßen

To make sheep’s eyes at s’one A toad-eater/toady

Dělat zamilované oči

Toadstool

Muchomůrka, prašivka Vyhýbavá slova, kličky Bez milosti obětovat, ponechat osudu I nepatrný človíček se brání, konečně se ozve Štvát, dohánět k šílenství

Champignon vénéneux Mots ambigus

Giftpilz

Sacrifier

Opfern


Auch der Wurm krümmt sich, wenn er getreten wird Nerven, beunruhigen



Weasel words To throw to the wolves Even a worm will turn To bug s’one A cock and bull story



Verliebte Augen machen Kriecher

Ausweichende Worte

Lügengeschichte

378


Bulldog clip

Svorka (na papíry)

Pince à dessin

Flügelklammer

Cat burglar



Fassadenkletterer

Catty

Jízlivý, kousavý

Méchant/vache

Gehässig







A lame duck












Faire son affaire à qu’un

Jdm. übers Ohr hauen




A hen party

Dámská jízda


Road-hog

Pirát silnic

Chauffard/écraseur

Verkehrsrowdy

To flog/beat a dead horse Hold your horses

Mlátit prázdnou slámu Přestaň, zabrzdi


A one-horse town

Zapadákov


Seine Kraft und Zeit verschwenden Immer sachte mit den jungen Pferden Dingskirchen

Horse sense

Selský rozum

Gros bon sens

Horse laugh

Řehot (smích)

Gros rire

Gesunder Menschenverstand Gekicher

Kangaroo court

Lynč, samozvaný soud


Femegericht




Damenkränzchen

379


To go on Shanks’s mare To make a monkey out of s’one



Auf Schusters Rappen reisen Jdm. zum Gespött machen

Monkey wrench

Francouzský klíč

Clé anglaise

Rollgabelschlüssel

Monkey business


Krumme Touren






To pussyfoot




Marcher sur la pointe des pieds La course au biftek/ foire d’empoigne Morceau de saucisse/ de viande cuit au four dans de la pâte à crêpes Mettre qu’un à l’abri du besoin Siffler une fille

Herumschleichen

To pussyfoot The rat race A toad in the hole


Bezohledná honba za kariérou Zapékaná klobása, zapékaný párek






To be like a bear with a sore head Eager beaver

Být nabručený, mrzutý Horlivec

Beefcake

Svalovec

Être aimable comme un porte de prison Un bourreau/mordu de travail Beaux mâles



Savoir que les enfants ne naissent pas dans les choux

Bird dog

Slídil

Dénicheur

Bull at a gate

S vervou, zostra

Impétueux


Erbarmungsloser Konkurrenzkampf Würstchen, in einen Teig eingebacken

Den größten Hunger stillen Anerkennend pfeifen

Souffrir d’un énorme désadvantage

380


Bull session

Chlapský pokec

Calf-love

Mladistvé vzplanutí, dětská láska To by rozesmálo i mrtvého

It’s enough to make a cat laugh Fat cat

Causerie entre hommes Premier amour/ amour d’adolescent Ça ferait rire des pierres, c’est à mourir de rire Richard/huile

To grin like a Cheshire cat To have a crow to pick/pluck with s’one

Zazobanec, bohatý prominent Smát se od ucha k uchu Muset něco probrat s kým

Dog days

Parné dny

La canicule

Doggy bag

Sac à restes

It is duck soup for him

Sáček na nesnědené jídlo v restauraci To zvládne levou zadní

A dead duck

Zabitý případ

Can a duck swim?




A cold fish

Studený čumák (člověk)

Un pisse-froid




To live in a goldfish bowl

Žít ve výkladní skříni (bez soukromí)

Vivre en aquarium

Flea-pit

Špinavé kino

Cinéma pouilleux

To play the fly on the wheel To start a hare

Dělat se důležitým Začít mluvit o něčem jiném

Jouer la mouche du coche Donner un nouveau tour à la conversation

To draw a red herring across the track

Odvést pozornost (v konverzaci)

Faire dévier la conversation

Avoir un sourire jusqu’aux oreilles Avoir maille à partir avec qu’un

C’est du gâteau/ simple comme bonjour pour lui Mort/fini Évidemment/tu parles! Dans un état piteux

381





The willing horse


La bonne âme (qui se sacrifie toujours)

Jaywalking







Nepřekonatelná překážka


To lionize


Faire une célébrité de qu’un Faire la découverte du siècle Mettre qu’un en colère/en rogne N’en avoir rien à foutre Un boulot pépère

To discover a mare’s nest To put s’one’s monkey up Not to give a monkey’s A mickey mouse job Muttonchop whiskers

Dožrat, naštvat koho Být fuk, kašlat na Jednoduchá, prostá práce Císařský vous (licousy od uší k ústním koutkům)

A black ox has trodden on his foot To bring one’s pigs to the wrong market In a pig’s eye!


Pigskin

Ragbyový míč

Rabbit ears

Anténa

To pull a rabbit out of one’s hat To be a pack rat

Přijít s nečekaným řešením Sbírat do zásoby nepotřebné věci Kápnout vedle, netrefit se

To get the wrong sow by the ear

Dopadnout bledě, pohořet (při jednání) To určitě!

Favoris en côtelette

Il est tombé dans le malheur Faire une mauvaise affaire Jamais de la vie!/mon oeil! Ballon de foot américain Antenne de télé intérieure Faire un tour de passe-passe Ne jamais rien jeter Être loin du compte

382


Sowbelly

Slané tučné vepřové nebo slanina

Du petit salé

A stag party


Stormy petrel


Sortie pour enterrer sa vie de garçon Semeur de discorde





Être en manque

Culture vulture



To weasel out

Kličkovat, snažit se vykroutit Být v něčem kanón, odborník

Se rétracter


Être un as dans qch

383

J English and German Animal Idioms

J J.1

English and German Animal Idioms Total Correspondence

J.1.1

100% Correspondence


Crocodile tears

Popadnout býčka za rohy (praštit do toho, jít na věc) Hrát si na kočku a na myš Chodit spát se slepicemi Posvátná kráva (nedotknutelný člověk, věc) Krokodýlí slzy





He would not harm/hurt a fly

Ani kuřeti/mouše by neublížil

Il ne ferait pas de mal à une mouche

Er kann keiner Fliege etwas zuleide tun

Frogman


Homme grenouille

Froschmann

To work like a horse/ dog/slave To be as gentle as a lamb

Dřít jako kůň/mezek/ vůl Být krotký/mírný jako beránek

Travailler comme un cheval/un boeuf Être doux comme un agneau/mouton

Arbeiten wie ein Pferd/Ochs Sanft wie ein Lamm sein

To sing like a nightingale/ lark To fight like a lion


Pigsty

Singen wie eine Nachtigall Wie ein Löwe kämpfen Schweinestall


Chlív (špinavá místnost) Množit se jako králíci

Chanter comme un rossignol Se battre comme un lion Porcherie





To count sheep

Počítat ovečky

Compter les moutons

Schäfchen zählen

A wolf in a sheep’s clothing


Un loup déguisé en brebis

Ein Wolf im Schafpelz

To play cat and mouse with s‘one To go to bed with the chickens Sacred cow

Bít se jako lev



Jouer au chat et à la souris avec qu’un Se coucher comme les poules Vache sacrée

Katz und Maus mit jdm. spielen Mit den Hühnern schlafen gehen Heilige Kuh


Krokodilstränen

384






At night all cats are grey To be dog-tired

Potmě je každá kráva černá Být utahaný/unavený jako kůň/pes

La nuit tous les chats sont gris Être crevé/claqué

Bei Nacht sind alle Katzen grau Hundemüde sein

To be mute as a fish

Mlčet/být němý jako ryba Schoulit se do klubíčka jako ježek

Être muet comme une carpe Se hérisser, se mettre en boule

Stumm sein wie ein Fisch Sich zusammenrollen wie ein Igel

To eat like a wolf/horse Like a lamb to the slaughter


Manger comme un ogre Comme un agneau qu’on mène à l’abattoir

Wie ein Wolf essen





A piggy-bank


Tirelire

Sparschweinchen

Pigwash/pigswill

Pomyje (nedobré jídlo) Udělat z koho obětního beránka Černá ovce rodiny

De la cochonnerie

Schweinefraß

Prendre comme bouc émissaire Brebis galeuse de la famille

Jdm. zum Sündenbock machen Das schwarze Schaf (der Familie)

To separate the sheep from the goats Paper tiger


Séparer les brebis d’avec les boucs Tigre de papier

Die Böcke von den Schafen trennen Papiertiger

To let the cat out of the bag To go to the dogs

Odhalit tajemství

Révéler le pot aux roses Aller à vau-l’eau

Die Katze aus dem Sack lassen Vor die Hunde gehen


To make s’one a scapegoat Black sheep of the family



Jít od desíti k pěti, přijít vepsí


Dogrose

Šípková růže

Églantier

Hundsrose


Smrdět jako kozel



Night owl


Oiseau de nuit

Nachteule

385






A bookworm

Knihomol

Bücherwurm

Zebra crossing

Přechod pro chodce

Un rat de bibliothèque Passage pour piétons

J.1.2


J.1.2.1

Compound

Zebrastreifen

Flea market The lion’s share

Bleší trh Lví podíl

Marché aux puces La part du lion

Flohmarkt Der Löwenanteil

At a snail’s pace

Hlemýždím tempem

Comme un escargot, à un pas de tortue

Im Schneckentempo

J.1.2.2


a) The singular in one language against the plural in the other To fight like cats and dogs


Se battre comme des chiffonniers

Wie Hund und Katze sein

b) Different grammatical case or preposition, using reflexive verb in one language A bird’s eye view c)


Vu d’avion

Aus der Vogelschau




To eat like a bird

Jíst jako vrabec



To play the ape

Opičit se

Faire le singe

Jdm. nachäffen

g) A different sex J.1.2.3


a) A different structure (accompanied by e.g. a different verb) To stick to s’one like a leech


Coller comme une sangsue

Wie ein Blutegel sein

Repeat sth parrotfashion/parrot-like




To be eagle-eyed

Mít zrak jako ostříž

Aux yeux d’aigle/de lynx

Adleraugen haben

386


To be hawk-nosed

Mít orlí nos


Adlernase haben

To get on one’s high horse

Být na koni

Monter sur ses grands chevaux


Mourir comme un chien


J.2

Partial Correspondence a) Expressiveness versus neutrality

To die like a dog

Chcípnout jako pes

b) Using lexically different words but keeping the semantic meaning c)


To feel like a fish out of water Neither fish nor fowl

Být jako ryba na suchu Ani ryba, ani rak

Être comme un poisson hors de l’eau Ni chair ni poisson, ni poisson ni grenouille

Wie ein Fisch auf dem Trockenen sein Weder Fisch noch Fleisch sein

Goose pimples

Husí kůže

Chair de poule

Gänsehaut

Hare-lip


Bec-de-lièvre

Hasenscharte

Trimer comme un forçat


d) Using hypernyms or hyponyms To work like a tiger

Dřít jako mezek

e) Idioms possessing a different number of lexical expressions To look like a stuffed owl To follow s’one like sheep

Čumět/koukat jako vejr Jít za někým jako ovce

Avoir l’air d’un hibou empaillé Suivre qu’un comme des moutons

Even a worm will turn

I nepatrný človíček se brání, konečně se ozve Zrádná krysa


Rat fink f)

Une peau de vache/ un salaud

Gucken wie ein Uhu Jdm. wie eine Schafherde folgen Auch der Wurm krümmt sich, wenn er getreten wird Ratte


g) The whole idiom is expressed with different lexical means h) Idiomatic expression using a different animal To be like a bull in a china shop


Être comme un éléphant dans un rayon de porcelaine


387


To be a copycat

Opičit se, papouškovat Poskakovat jako kůzle Lézt jako želva

Faire le singe

Jdm. nachäffen

Bondir comme un chevreau Avancer à pas de tortue/d’un pas de tortue

Herumspringen wie ein Zicklein Wie eine Schnecke kriechen

To kill two birds with one stone

Zabít dvě mouchy jednou ranou

Faire d’une pierre deux coups/faire coup double

Zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe erschlagen




Écorné

Mit Eselsohren


Pustit štiku do rybníka, udělat rozruch S oslíma ušima (kniha) Vidět bílé myšky

Weiße Mäuse sehen

To fawn on s’one

Podlézat, lichotit

To play leapfrog

Skákat přes kozu

Voir des rats bleus/ voir des éléphants roses Aduler/lécher les bottes à qu’un Jouer à saute-mouton

To stir up a hornet’s nest I could eat a horse!

Píchnout do vosího hnízda Mám hlad jako vlk!

Mettre le feu aux poudres J’ai une faim de loup!




In ein Wespennest stechen Ich habe einen Bärenhunger! Mit dem ersten Hahnenschrei aufstehen



Servir de cobaye




Smrdět jako tchoř

Puer comme un bouc

To have a hide like a rhinoceros

Mít hroší kůži



Bít se jako lev



Se battre comme une tigresse Flagorner/flatter bassement qu’un

Wie ein Löwe kämpfen Fuchsschwänzeln

Worm’s eye view


Perspective vue d’en bas

Froschperspektive

To frisk like a lamb To move like a tortoise

Dog-eared

Katzbuckeln Bockspringen machen

Versuchskaninchen spielen Die Katze im Sack kaufen Stinken wie ein Stinktier Eine Elefantenhaut haben

388


An odd fish/bird


Un drôle de coco

Komischer Kauz

To watch s’one like a hawk

Sledovat koho jako ostříž

Avoir un regard d’aigle/des yeux de lynx

Jdm. mit Argusaugen beobachten

Mare’s tail


Queue de chat

Lämmerwolken






Es ist saukalt hier

To be happy as a pig in a muck To live like pigs in clover To be drenched like a drowned rat

Mít se jako prase v žitě Mít se jako prase v žitě Být jako zmoklá slepice/mokrá myš

Être comme un porc à l’auge Vivre comme un porc à l‘auge Être trempé comme un canard/une soupe

Wie die Made im Speck leben Wie die Made im Speck leben Nass wie eine Katze sein


i)


j)


To have a hang-dog look To fish in troubled waters To back the wrong horse Hold your horses

Vypadat jako zpráskaný pes Lovit v kalných vodách Vsadit si na špatného koně Přestaň, zabrzdi

To go on Shanks’s mare A snake in the grass


J.3

Zrádný člověk

Avoir une mine de chien battu Pêcher en eau trouble

Wie ein geprügelter Hund herumlaufen Im Trüben fischen

Miser sur le mauvais cheval Ne vous emballez pas Prendre le train onze/ aller à pinces Un serpent caché

Aufs verkehrte Pferd setzen Immer sachte mit den jungen Pferden Auf Schusters Rappen reisen Falsche Schlange

Se diriger en ligne droite vers qch Il pleut à seaux/ torrents Il n’y a pas de place pour se retourner

Schnurstracks auf etwas zustürzen Es gießt wie aus Kannen/Kübeln Kaum Platz zum Umdrehen

Non Correspondence a) Periphrasis

To make a bee-line for sth It’s raining cats and dogs There’s no room to swing the cat

Namířit si to přímo k čemu Leje jako z konve Tady se člověk nemůže ani otočit

389


A catnap

Zdřímnutí, šlofík

Un petit somme

Kurzes Schläfchen





Wild cat strike

Divoká stávka (neschválená odbory)

Grève sauvage

Wilder Streik

A cash cow

Dojná kráva, zlatý důl Být šéf

Mine d’or

Goldgrube

Être le chef

Boß sein





A white elephant

Zbytečná věc

Nutzloser Besitz


Vyslídit/dopídit se pravdy Pěkná kaše, šlamastika Být obelstěn, oklamán


Sich etwas ansehen

To be top dog

A fine/pretty kettle of fish To be foxed

Wahrheit aufstöbern Eine schöne Bescherung Verwirrt werden

To take a gander at sth Not to say boo to a goose

Mrknout se na něco





To handle with kid gloves





Vzít koho na záda

Monter sur le dos



Jdm. huckepack nehmen Mit einwärts gerichteten Füßen gehen

A stag party

Pánská jízda

Turtleneck To give s’one a bear hug To do bird

Rolák Dát komu medvědí objetí Sedět, bručet

Une réunion entre hommes Col roulé Serrer qu’un très fort dans ses bras Faire de la taule



Herrengesellschaft Rollkragenpullover Kräftige Umarmung machen Knast schieben

390


To be an early bird

Být ranní ptáče

Frühaufsteher sein


Être matinal/ se lever de bonne heure Mon petit doigt me l’a dit



Trefit do černého

Taper dans le mille






To be no chicken


Chicken feed

Pakatel, pár babek

N’être plus dans sa première jeunesse Bagatelle

Nicht mehr der/die Jüngste sein Eine lächerliche Summe














Za soumraku

Entre chien et loup

Beim Nachtanbruch








A sitting duck

Snadná kořist

Une proie facile

Leichtes Ziel


Pít jako duha

Boire comme un trou


Small fry

Bezvýznamní lidé

Menu fretin

Unbedeutende Leute


Naštvat koho


Jdm. aufregen

Goose-step

Parádní krok (vojenský) Být ukvapený, bezmyšlenkovitý Být pod pantoflem

Pas de l’oie

Stechschritt


Unüberlegt sein

To be hare-brained To be henpecked/ pussy-whipped



391


To go the whole hog








To be a dark horse

Být černý kůň, velká neznámá

Cacher son jeu, ne pas avoir l’air d’y toucher


To have kittens

Být celý nesvůj


Zustände kriegen

To lark about


Herumalbern

To feel lousy

Mettre en cocon/ mettre au frigidaire Le monde est à lui

Eingemottet werden


Cítit se mizerně, pod psa Zakonzervovat, vyřadit z provozu Celý svět mu leží u nohou

Rigoler/faire des farces Se sentir mal fichu




Dickschädelig sein

Pig in the middle

Prostředník


Zwischenperson

Puppy fat

Dětská baculatost, faldíčky Mít na růžích ustláno


Babyspeck

Être comme un coq en pâte Faire les yeux doux à qu’un Vivre dangereusement

Auf Rosen gebettet haben Verliebte Augen machen Mit dem Feuer spielen

Vyhýbavá slova, kličky Být neposeda, mít roupy, chvíli neposedět

Mots ambigus

Ausweichende Worte



Strašit ve věži

Avoir une araignée dans le plafond Travailler d’arrachepied

Einen Dachschaden haben Eifrig arbeiten

To mothball

To be like a rabbit in clover To make sheep’s eyes at s’one To ride a tiger

Weasel words To have ants in one’s pants To have bats in the belfry/attic To beaver away

Dělat zamilované oči Hrát si s ohněm/ dráždit kobru bosou nohou





392


To milk the bull

Mámit z jalové krávy tele Báchorka, smyšlená historka

Entreprendre l’impossible Histoire abracadabrante/ à dormir debout

Aus Scheiße Bonbons machen Lügengeschichte

Bulldog clip

Svorka (na papíry)

Pince à dessin

Flügelklammer

Cat burglar



Fassadenkletterer




Den Pelz verkaufen

















To strain at a gnat




To be the goat




Être le dindon de la farce Faire son affaire à qu’un




Chercher midi à quatorze heures/ courir après le vent





393


A hen party

Dámská jízda

Une réunion entre femmes

Damenkränzchen

To flog/beat a dead horse Horse sense

Mlátit prázdnou slámu Selský rozum


To make a monkey out of s’one


Se foutre de la poire de qu’un

Seine Kraft und Zeit verschwenden Gesunder Menschenverstand Jdm. zum Gespött machen

Monkey wrench

Francouzský klíč

Clé anglaise

Rollgabelschlüssel

Monkey business


Krumme Touren










To pussyfoot




Marcher sur la pointe des pieds La course au biftek/ foire d’empoigne Soupçonner anguille sous roche Pattes d’araignée

Herumschleichen

Morceau de saucisse/ de viande cuit au four dans de la pâte à crêpes Siffler une fille


To pussyfoot The rat race To smell a rat/ to smell sth fishy Spidery handwriting A toad in the hole

To give a girl a wolf whistle Horses for courses

That’s not my pigeon!

Bezohledná honba za kariérou Větřit lumpárnu Rukopis s dlouhými tenkými čarami Zapékaná klobása, zapékaný párek

Pochvalně/obdivně hvízdnout (na dívku) Ten umí to a ten zas tohle

Gros bon sens


Erbarmungsloser Konkurrenzkampf Lunte riechen Krakelig Schrift

Anerkennend pfeifen Jeder sollte die Aufgaben übernehmen, für die er am besten geeignet ist

Ce n’est pas mon affaire!/mes oignons!

Das ist nicht mein Bier!

394


b) Calque Cloud-cuckoo-land c)

Vysněný svět, vzdušné zámky

Pays des songes/ rêves

Wolkenkuckuckshei m

One-word expression

Bear garden

Cirkus, blázinec


Zirkus

Firebug

Žhář

Incendiaire

Brandleger

Bull and cow

Hádka, rvačka

Querelle/dispute

Streit

Cathouse

Nevěstinec, bordel

Bordel

Bordell

Catwalk

Pódium, molo

Laufsteg/ Podium

To shoot the cat

Blít


Cock-sparrow

Domýšlivec


Geck



Donkey work


Gros travail


To ferret about sth

Slídit, čmuchat

Fureter/fouiller

Herumschnüffeln

A fly in the ointment

Háček, chlup, moucha, chybička

Un cheveu, un hic

Ein Haken

Horse opera

Western

Western

Western

Horseplay

Sranda, legrácky


Balgerei

Stalking horse

Záminka, maska

Prétexte/masque

Vorwand

Lounge lizard

Gigolo

Gigolo

Gigolo

To louse up

Zvorat, zmršit

Gâcher

Verpfuschen

Monkey nut

Arašíd, burák

Cacahuète

Erdnuss

To make a pig’s ear of sth Pig Latin

Zprasit, zpackat

Cochonner qch

Verpfuschen

Dětská hatmatilka

Du javanais

Kauderwelsch

Pigtail

Cop, copánek

Natte

Zopf

A pigeon-hole


Un casier/une case


Rat cheese

Čedar

Cheddar

Cheddarkäse

Sparrow-grass

Chřest

Des asperges

Spargel

To turn turtle


Chavirer, capoter

Kentern


Potulovat se, vandrovat

Trimarder

Wandern

Kotzen

395


To wolf down

Zhltnout

Verschlingen

Dělat ze sebe vola

Engloutir/dévorer sa nourriture Faire l’idiot/se conduire comme un âne

To make an ass of oneself Bugbear

Postrach

Bête noire

Sorge, Problem

Bull-headed


Hartköpfig

Cock-a-hoop As the crow flies

Vítězoslavný, chvástavý Vzdušnou čarou

D’une impétuosité de taureau Fier comme un coq À vol d’oiseau

Luftlinie

Dog collar


Kollar

Moth-eaten

Zchátralý

Faux col d’ecclésiastique Miteux

To nitpick

Chercher la petite bête/chipoter Mouchard/indicateur

Kritteln

Stool-pigeon

Hledat na něčem hnidy Informátor, špión

Sour-puss

Bručoun, mrzout

Miesepeter

Sluggard



A toad-eater/toady



Kriecher

Toadstool

Muchomůrka, prašivka Vlk samotář (o člověku) Bez milosti obětovat, ponechat osudu Štvát, dohánět k šílenství

Champignon vénéneux Un solitaire

Giftpilz

Sacrifier

Opfern


Nerven, beunruhigen

Catty

Jízlivý, kousavý

Méchant/vache

Gehässig

A lame duck




Road-hog

Pirát silnic

Chauffard/écraseur

Verkehrsrowdy

A one-horse town

Zapadákov


Dingskirchen

Horse laugh

Řehot (smích)

Gros rire

Gekicher

Kangaroo court

Lynč, samozvaný soud Pecivál, domácí puťka


Femegericht

A lone wolf To throw to the wolves To bug s’one

A home bird

Sich blamieren

Triumphierend

Verstaubt

Spion

Nichtstuer/Faulpelz

Eigenbrötler

Stubenhocker

396

K English and Czech Color Idioms

K

English and Czech Color Idioms

K.1

Total Correspondence

K.1.1

100% Correspondence

Black list

Černá listina

Liste noire

Schwarze Liste

Black death

Černá smrt

Peste noire

Schwarzer Tod

Blue blood

Modrá krev

Sang bleu/noble

Blaues Blut

Green belt

Zelený pruh (pruh zeleně kolem města)

Ceinture verte

Grüngürtel

To be green with envy

Být zelený závistí

Être vert de jalousie

Vor Neid grün sein

To see red

Vidět rudě

Voir rouge

Rotsehen

A black day

Černý den

Ein schwarzer Tag

To see things through rose-colored spectacles

Vidět svět růžovými brýlemi

Un jour triste/ de deuil Voir la vie en rose

Black mark

Černý puntík

Mauvais point

Makel

White goods

Bílé zboží

Appareils ménagers

K.1.2


K.1.2.1

Compound

K.1.2.2


Die Dinge durch eine rosarote Brille sehen

a) The singular in one language against the plural in the other b) Different grammatical case or preposition, using reflexive verb in one language In black and white c)

Černé na bílém

Noir sur blanc

Schwarz auf weiß


d) Change in word order e) A different way of forming the corresponding part of speech f) K.1.2.3

A different part of speech Syntactical Deviation

a) A different structure (accompanied by e.g. a different verb)

397


K.2


a) Expressiveness versus neutrality b) Using lexically different words but keeping the semantic meaning c)


White sale

Bílý týden (výprodej ložního prádla)

Vente de blanc

d) Using hypernyms or hyponyms e) Idioms possessing a different number of lexical expressions To give s’one the green light Grey matter To be in the red To be black and blue

Till one is blue in the face f)

Dát komu zelenou Šedá hmota mozková/inteligence Být v červených číslech Být samá modřina, celý modrý Dokud není člověk celý modrý (vzteky)

Donner le feu vert à qu’un Matière grise/ cervelle

Jdm. grünes Licht geben Graue Zellen

Être à découvert

In den roten Zahlen sein Grün und blau sein

Être couvert de bleus

Avoir le visage cyanosé


g) The whole idiom is expressed with different lexical means h) Idiomatic expression using a different color Grey area

Mezera (v zákoně), bílé místo

Zone de flou/ d’incertitude

Grauzone

Black Maria

Zelený Anton

Panier à salade

Grüne Minna

i)

K.3

Identical color but a different structure and lexical elements in the idiom

Non Correspondence

a) Periphrasis Black spot

Místo častých nehod

Point noir

Gefahrenstelle

To be in a blue funk

Být podělaný strachy

Avoir une peur bleue

To brown-nose

Lézt do prdele

Lécher le cul de qu’un

Red-letter day

Památný den

Jour mémorable

Mächtig Bammel haben Jdm. in den Arsch kriechen Im Kalender rot anzustreichender Tag

398


Redbrick

Nově založená univerzita

Université de fondation assez récente

Weniger traditionsreich Universität

White-collar worker

Employé de bureau/ col blanc

Angestellte

Marriage en blanc

Hochzeit in weiß

To be in the black

Duševně pracující/úředník/ pracovník v administrativě Svatba v kostele (nevěsta v bílém) Být v plusu (finančně)

Être créditeur

In den schwarzen Zahlen sein

Blue-collar worker

Tovární dělník

Col bleu

Arbeiter

Once in a blue moon

Jednou za uherský rok

Tous les trente-six du mois

Alle Jubeljahre

To scream/cry blue murder

Křičet, jako když koho na nože berou

Crier comme un putois/comme si on l’écorchait


To be in the pink

Být zdravý jako řípa

Kerngesund sein

To be tickled pink

Black look

Být radostí celý bez sebe Obřadní/slavnostní zacházení Nevraživý pohled

Se porter comme un charme Être heureux comme tout Accueil princier/ somptueux Regard noir

Blackout

Okno, ztráta paměti

Trou de mémoire

To brownbag one’s lunch To be as green as grass

Nosit si vlastní jídlo do práce Být naprosto nezkušený, naivní

Apporter son repas

A white lie

Dobře míněná lež

White wedding

Red-carpet treatment

Sich wahnsinnig über etwas freuen Roter Teppich

Être un innocent/ne connaître rien de la vie Un pieux mensonge

b) Calque c)

One-word expression

Black ice

Náledí

Verglas

Glatteis

Blue film/movie

Porno

Porno

Porno

Green-eyed

Žárlivý

Jaloux

Eifersüchtig

Red tape

Byrokracie, úřední šiml

Bureaucratie

Bürokratie

Yellow streak

Zbabělost

Côté lâche

Feigheit

Black frost

Holomráz

Gel

Barfrost

399


True-blue

Loajální, věrný

Loyal

Hundertfünfzigprozentige

Pink slip

Výpověď (od zaměstnavatele) Oblíbenec, protěžovaný Masařka

Lettre de licenciement Chouchou/chéri

Kündigung

Mouche bleue/ à viande

Schmeißfliege

Blue-eyed boy Bluebottle Out of the blue

Zčistajasna, znenadání

Goldjunge

Aus heiterem Himmel

400

L English and French Color Idioms

L

English and French Color Idioms

L.1


L.1.1

100% Correspondence

Black list

Černá listina

Liste noire

Schwarze Liste

Blue blood

Modrá krev

Sang bleu/noble

Blaues Blut

Green belt


Ceinture verte

Grüngürtel

To give s’one the green light To be green with envy To see red Grey matter

Dát komu zelenou

Donner le feu vert à qu’un Être vert de jalousie

Jdm. grünes Licht geben Vor Neid grün sein

Vidět rudě Šedá hmota mozková/inteligence

Voir rouge Matière grise/ cervelle

Rotsehen Graue Zellen

Black spot Black look White sale

Místo častých nehod Nevraživý pohled Bílý týden (výprodej ložního prádla)

Point noir Regard noir Vente de blanc

Gefahrenstelle


L.1.2


L.1.2.1

Compound

L.1.2.2


a) The singular in one language against the plural in the other b) Different grammatical case or preposition, using reflexive verb in one language In black and white

Černé na bílém

Noir sur blanc

Schwarz auf weiß

White wedding

Svatba v kostele (nevěsta v bílém)

Marriage en blanc

Hochzeit in weiß

c)


d) Change in word order e) A different way of forming the corresponding part of speech f) L.1.2.3


a) A different structure (accompanied by e.g. a different verb) To be in a blue funk



Mächtig Bammel haben

401


L.2




Black death

Černá smrt

Peste noire

Schwarzer Tod

Bluebottle

Masařka


Schmeißfliege

d) Using hypernyms or hyponyms e) Idioms possessing a different number of lexical expressions To see things through rose-colored spectacles


Voir la vie en rose


White-collar worker

Duševně pracující/úředník/ pracovník v administrativě Tovární dělník


Angestellte

Col bleu

Arbeiter

Blue-collar worker f)


g) The whole idiom is expressed with different lexical means h) Idiomatic expression using a different color i)

L.3


Non Correspondence

a) Periphrasis A black day

Černý den

Ein schwarzer Tag

Zbabělost

Un jour triste/ de deuil Côté lâche

Yellow streak Black mark

Černý puntík

Mauvais point

Makel

To brown-nose

Lézt do prdele


Grey area

Mezera (v zákoně), bílé místo Výpověď (od zaměstnavatele) Být v červených číslech

Zone de flou/ d’incertitude Lettre de licenciement

Jdm. in den Arsch kriechen Grauzone

Pink slip To be in the red

Être à découvert

Feigheit

Kündigung In den roten Zahlen sein

402


Red-letter day

Památný den

Jour mémorable

Redbrick


To be in the black

Být v plusu (finančně)

Université de fondation assez récente Être créditeur

To be black and blue

Být samá modřina, celý modrý Zelený Anton


Grün und blau sein

Panier à salade

Grüne Minna

To be in the pink


To be tickled pink

Být radostí celý bez sebe Obřadní/slavnostní zacházení Okno, ztráta paměti

Tous les trente-six du mois Crier comme un putois/comme si on l’écorchait Se porter comme un charme Être heureux comme tout Accueil princier/ somptueux Trou de mémoire Partir à l’aventure

Alle Jubeljahre


Jednou za uherský rok Křičet, jako když koho na nože berou

Black Maria Once in a blue moon

Red-carpet treatment Blackout To go off into the blue Till one is blue in the face To brownbag one’s lunch To be as green as grass

Dokud není člověk celý modrý (vzteky) Nosit si vlastní jídlo do práce Být naprosto nezkušený, naivní

A white lie



White goods

Bílé zboží

Appareils ménagers

Im Kalender rot anzustreichender Tag Weniger traditionsreich Universität In den schwarzen Zahlen sein

Schreien als ob jdn. am Spieß steckte Kerngesund sein Sich wahnsinnig über etwas freuen Roter Teppich

Avoir le visage cyanosé Apporter son repas

b) Calque c)

One-word expression

Black ice

Náledí

Verglas

Glatteis

Green-eyed Red tape

Žárlivý Byrokracie, úřední šiml Holomráz Loajální, věrný Oblíbenec, protěžovaný

Jaloux Bureaucratie

Eifersüchtig Bürokratie

Gel Loyal Chouchou/chéri

Barfrost Hundertfünfzigprozentige Goldjunge

Black frost True-blue Blue-eyed boy

403

M Czech and German Color Idioms

M Czech and German Color Idioms M.1 Total Correspondence M.1.1

100% Correspondence

Black list

Černá listina

Liste noire

Schwarze Liste

Black death

Černá smrt

Peste noire

Schwarzer Tod

Blue blood

Modrá krev

Sang bleu/noble

Blaues Blut

Green belt


Ceinture verte

Grüngürtel

To be green with envy



Vor Neid grün sein

A black day

Černý den

Ein schwarzer Tag

In black and white

Černé na bílém

Un jour triste/ de deuil Noir sur blanc



Voir la vie en rose


To be in the red

Být v červených číslech

Être à découvert

In den roten Zahlen sein

Voir rouge

Rotsehen

M.1.2


M.1.2.1

Compound

To see red M.1.2.2

Vidět rudě

Schwarz auf weiß


a) The singular in one language against the plural in the other b) Different grammatical case or preposition, using reflexive verb in one language c)


d) Change in word order e) A different way of forming the corresponding part of speech f) M.1.2.3



M.2 Partial Correspondence a) Expressiveness versus neutrality b) Using lexically different words but keeping the semantic meaning

404


c)


Black Maria

Zelený Anton

Panier à salade

Grüne Minna

d) Using hypernyms or hyponyms e) Idioms possessing a different number of lexical expressions To give s’one the green light f)

Dát komu zelenou

Donner le feu vert à qu’un

Jdm. grünes Licht geben


g) The whole idiom is expressed with different lexical means h) Idiomatic expression using a different color Grey area

i)



Grauzone


Grey matter

Šedá hmota mozková/inteligence

Matière grise/ cervelle

Graue Zellen

Accueil princier/ somptueux

Roter Teppich

Mauvais point

Makel

M.3 Non Correspondence a) Periphrasis Red-carpet treatment

Obřadní/slavnostní zacházení

b) Calque c)

One-word expression

Black mark

Černý puntík


M.3.1


Blue film/movie

Porno

Porno

Porno

Green-eyed

Žárlivý

Jaloux

Eifersüchtig

Red tape

Byrokracie, úřední šiml

Bureaucratie

Bürokratie

Yellow streak

Zbabělost

Côté lâche

Feigheit

Black frost

Holomráz

Gel

Barfrost

To brown-nose

Lézt do prdele


Pink slip

Výpověď (od zaměstnavatele)

Lettre de licenciement

Jdm. in den Arsch kriechen Kündigung

405


M.3.2


Black ice

Náledí

Verglas

Glatteis

Black spot


Point noir

Gefahrenstelle

True-blue

Loajální, věrný

Loyal



Být podělaný strachy Památný den

Avoir une peur bleue Jour mémorable

Mächtig Bammel haben

Redbrick




White-collar worker

Duševně pracující/úředník/ pracovník v administrativě Svatba v kostele (nevěsta v bílém) Být v plusu (finančně) Být samá modřina, celý modrý


Angestellte

Marriage en blanc

Hochzeit in weiß

Être créditeur

In den schwarzen Zahlen sein Grün und blau sein

Blue-collar worker

Tovární dělník

Col bleu

Arbeiter

Blue-eyed boy

Oblíbenec, protěžovaný Jednou za uherský rok

Chouchou/chéri

Goldjunge

Tous les trente-six du mois

Alle Jubeljahre


Křičet, jako když koho na nože berou

Crier comme un putois/comme si on l’écorchait


Bluebottle

Masařka

Schmeißfliege

To be in the pink


To be tickled pink

Být radostí celý bez sebe Zčistajasna, znenadání

Mouche bleue/ à viande Se porter comme un charme Être heureux comme tout

Red-letter day

White wedding To be in the black To be black and blue

Once in a blue moon

Out of the blue


Im Kalender rot anzustreichender Tag

Kerngesund sein Sich wahnsinnig über etwas freuen Aus heiterem Himmel

406

N Czech and French Color Idioms

N Czech and French Color Idioms N.1


N.1.1

100% Correspondence

Black list

Černá listina

Liste noire

Schwarze Liste

Blue blood

Modrá krev

Sang bleu/noble

Blaues Blut

Green belt


Ceinture verte

Grüngürtel

To be green with envy To see red In black and white



Vor Neid grün sein

Vidět rudě Černé na bílém

Voir rouge Noir sur blanc

Rotsehen Schwarz auf weiß

N.1.2


N.1.2.1

Compound

N.1.2.2


a) The singular in one language against the plural in the other b) Different grammatical case or preposition, using reflexive verb in one language c)


d) Change in word order e) A different way of forming the corresponding part of speech f) N.1.2.3



N.2




A black day

Černý den

Black death

Černá smrt

Un jour triste/ de deuil Peste noire

Ein schwarzer Tag Schwarzer Tod

d) Using hypernyms or hyponyms e) Idioms possessing a different number of lexical expressions

407


To give s’one the green light Grey matter f)

Dát komu zelenou Šedá hmota mozková/inteligence

Donner le feu vert à qu’un Matière grise/ cervelle

Jdm. grünes Licht geben Graue Zellen


g) The whole idiom is expressed with different lexical means h) Idiomatic expression using a different color i)


To see things through rose-colored spectacles To be black and blue


Voir la vie en rose


Být samá modřina, celý modrý


Grün und blau sein

White sale

Bílý týden (výprodej ložního prádla)

Vente de blanc

N.3

Non Correspondence

a) Periphrasis Black mark

Černý puntík

Mauvais point

Makel

Black spot


Point noir

Gefahrenstelle




To be in the red

Être à découvert

Blue-collar worker

Být v červených číslech Duševně pracující/úředník/ pracovník v administrativě Tovární dělník

Mächtig Bammel haben In den roten Zahlen sein Angestellte

Black look Till one is blue in the face White goods

Nevraživý pohled Dokud není člověk celý modrý (vzteky) Bílé zboží

Regard noir Avoir le visage cyanosé Appareils ménagers

White-collar worker


Col bleu

Arbeiter

b) Calque c)

One-word expression

Bluebottle

Masařka


Schmeißfliege


408


N.3.1


Black ice

Náledí

Verglas

Glatteis

Blue film/movie

Porno

Porno

Porno

Green-eyed

Žárlivý

Jaloux

Eifersüchtig

Red tape

Bureaucratie

Bürokratie

True-blue

Byrokracie, úřední šiml Loajální, věrný

Loyal


Red-letter day

Památný den

Jour mémorable


To brownbag one’s lunch

Nosit si vlastní jídlo do práce

Apporter son repas

N.3.2


Yellow streak

Zbabělost

Côté lâche

Feigheit

Black frost

Holomráz

Gel

Barfrost

To brown-nose

Lézt do prdele


Grey area

Mezera (v zákoně), bílé místo Výpověď (od zaměstnavatele) Nově založená univerzita

Zone de flou/ d’incertitude Lettre de licenciement

Jdm. in den Arsch kriechen Grauzone



Marriage en blanc

Hochzeit in weiß

To be in the black

Svatba v kostele (nevěsta v bílém) Být v plusu (finančně)

Être créditeur

Black Maria

Zelený Anton

Panier à salade

In den schwarzen Zahlen sein Grüne Minna

Blue-eyed boy

Chouchou/chéri

Goldjunge

Tous les trente-six du mois Crier comme un putois/comme si on l’écorchait

Alle Jubeljahre


Oblíbenec, protěžovaný Jednou za uherský rok Křičet, jako když koho na nože berou

To be in the pink


Kerngesund sein

To be tickled pink

Být radostí celý bez sebe

Se porter comme un charme Être heureux comme tout

Pink slip Redbrick

White wedding

Once in a blue moon

Kündigung


Sich wahnsinnig über etwas freuen

409


Red-carpet treatment Blackout

Obřadní/slavnostní zacházení Okno, ztráta paměti

Accueil princier/ somptueux Trou de mémoire

To be as green as grass

Být naprosto nezkušený, naivní

A white lie



Roter Teppich

410

O English and German Color Idioms

O English and German Color Idioms O.1


O.1.1

100% Correspondence

Black list

Černá listina

Liste noire

Schwarze Liste

Black death

Černá smrt

Peste noire

Schwarzer Tod

Blue blood

Modrá krev

Sang bleu/noble

Blaues Blut

Green belt


Ceinture verte

Grüngürtel

To give s’one the green light To be green with envy

Dát komu zelenou

Donner le feu vert à qu’un Être vert de jalousie

Jdm. grünes Licht geben Vor Neid grün sein

A black day

Černý den

Ein schwarzer Tag



Un jour triste/ de deuil Voir la vie en rose


O.1.2


O.1.2.1

Compound


To see red

Vidět rudě

Voir rouge

Rotsehen

Grey area



Grauzone

O.1.2.2


a) The singular in one language against the plural in the other b) Different grammatical case or preposition, using reflexive verb in one language In black and white

Černé na bílém

Noir sur blanc

Schwarz auf weiß

White wedding

Svatba v kostele (nevěsta v bílém)

Marriage en blanc

Hochzeit in weiß

c)


d) Change in word order e) A different way of forming the corresponding part of speech f) O.1.2.3



411


O.2




Grey matter To be black and blue

Šedá hmota mozková/inteligence Být samá modřina, celý modrý

Matière grise/ cervelle

Graue Zellen


Grün und blau sein

d) Using hypernyms or hyponyms e) Idioms possessing a different number of lexical expressions To be in the red

Být v červených číslech

Être à découvert

In den roten Zahlen sein

To be in the black

Být v plusu (finančně)

Être créditeur

Red-carpet treatment

Obřadní/slavnostní zacházení

Accueil princier/ somptueux

In den schwarzen Zahlen sein Roter Teppich

f)


g) The whole idiom is expressed with different lexical means h) Idiomatic expression using a different color Black Maria Blue-eyed boy i)

Panier à salade Chouchou/chéri

Grüne Minna Goldjunge


Red-letter day

O.3

Zelený Anton Oblíbenec, protěžovaný

Památný den

Jour mémorable


Non Correspondence

a) Periphrasis Black spot True-blue To be in a blue funk To brown-nose Redbrick

Místo častých nehod Loajální, věrný Být podělaný strachy Lézt do prdele Nově založená univerzita

Point noir Loyal Avoir une peur bleue Lécher le cul de qu’un Université de fondation assez récente

Gefahrenstelle Hundertfünfzigprozentige Mächtig Bammel haben Jdm. in den Arsch kriechen Weniger traditionsreich Universität

412


Once in a blue moon To scream/cry blue murder

Jednou za uherský rok Křičet, jako když koho na nože berou

To be in the pink


To be tickled pink

Být radostí celý bez sebe Zčistajasna, znenadání

Out of the blue

Tous les trente-six du mois Crier comme un putois/comme si on l’écorchait Se porter comme un charme Être heureux comme tout

Alle Jubeljahre Schreien als ob jdn. am Spieß steckte Kerngesund sein Sich wahnsinnig über etwas freuen Aus heiterem Himmel

b) Calque c)

One-word expression

Black ice Blue film/movie Green-eyed Red tape Yellow streak Black mark Black frost Pink slip White-collar worker

Blue-collar worker Bluebottle

Náledí Porno Žárlivý Byrokracie, úřední šiml Zbabělost Černý puntík Holomráz Výpověď (od zaměstnavatele) Duševně pracující/úředník/ pracovník v administrativě Tovární dělník Masařka

Verglas Porno Jaloux Bureaucratie

Glatteis Porno Eifersüchtig Bürokratie

Côté lâche

Feigheit

Mauvais point Gel Lettre de licenciement

Makel Barfrost Kündigung


Angestellte

Col bleu Mouche bleue/ à viande

Arbeiter Schmeißfliege

413

Masaryk University Faculty of Arts. A Comparative Study of English, Czech, French, and German Idioms

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