Overheard at the ' Rakı Rendezvous' in downtown Cappadocia... What's an idiom, Marvin? It's a phrase or an expression with a meaning all its own, Mabel -- that's not immediately understandable from the words used in it. Like, ' sit your ass in a tub of butter' in English -- which means ' get yourself into a favorable situation'. Oh Marvin, why do you always have to push the envelope so? Guess it runs in the family... My old maid aunt, Mary, yusta scatter pearls like that at tea time on Sundays -- especially when we had high muckety muck guests. And you shoulda seen the blue noses quiver. It musta been like shootin' fish in a barrel... And since the high hats couldn't find shelter, I guess they just had to sweat it out... We know you've seen reference books written for English speakers about English and American Idioms. And you may have seen books for Turkish speakers on the same subject. You may even have seen books for Turkish speakers about Turkish Idioms -- all in Turkish. But have you ever seen a reference for English speakers about Turkish Idioms? Well, when we couldn't find one after looking for seven years, we decided to do-it-ourselves. Observe our sampling just for Turkish idioms that begin with the letter A. He was threatening us indirectly by saying that he would do this or that. Aba bulamaz etine, atlas yamar götüne. This proverbial idiom is considered just a little... He can't even find coarse wool for his skin, but he patches over his ass with satin. Even though he is poor, he likes to show off. May be used as shown... Abacı, kebeci; ya sen neci? He makes coarse wool and felt jackets. And you, what's your line of work? What concern of this is yours?! But what makes you think you know enough about it to butt in? Onu ilgilendirmeyen konulardan söz etmesini kızıp: ' Abacı, kebeci; ya sen necisin?! I got angry with her for talking about matters that didn't concern her and I said, ' So, who asked you?! It became as hard as a tree trunk. Your relative has no pride, he went, then settled in and stayed at another's place ; he just moved in. A poor shepherd boy fell desperately in love with the rich mans daughter. It was reported that they blockaded the city. İki ay sonra ablukayı kaldırdılar. Two months later they lifted the blockade. It's said that they battled heroically, and ran the blockade. Stop talking nonsensically, and listen well to what I say. Learn more about abuk sabuk konuşmak on the page. Abur cubur şeylerle karnını doyurmak do ğru de ğildir. It's not right to fill up your stomach with junk food. What sort of man is this, the things he does seem very strange to me. The things they say seem very odd. I'm not in a hurry, so don't do a quick and dirty job. Aceleye getirip istedi ği parayı benden kopardı. He took my money while he quickly did what he wanted. Note by AA: 'Acem' is the ancient Turkish proper noun for Persia. General Note: The Redhouse Turkish-English-Turkish CD Dictionary warns, ' Acem is a word to be avoided because it is resented by Iranians. Ona güvenme, acem kılıcı gibi, bir de bakarsın senin karşında yer almış. Don't trust her, she's two-faced and might oppose your position. And, 'acemi' see next entries also is a derived adjective which has an anectodal origin. To make a long story short, an Acemi, which formerly meant ' a Persian', later came to mean 'an inexperienced person' and after a while, was no longer capitalized as a 'Proper Noun'. An inexperienced and somewhat gullible too person. Ondan daha fazlasını beklemeyin, acemi çayla ğın biridir. He's a clumsy fellow, so don't expect too much of him. Click for, Acemi çaylak bu kadar uçar. That is how an inexperienced hawk flies. See 'acemi çaylak' above. I suffered from inexperience in the first three months of my new job. We didn't act thoughtlessly and we didn't expect that result. It was evident that the man suffered pain all the time. In Africa thousands of people are dying of hunger. I was hurt very deeply in those days, I don't think I can forget how things ended. They say he kept his sorrow to himself, and didn't talk about it with anyone. He is suffering in old age for the things he did in his youth. After the fire hundreds of families were reported to be homeless. He feeds and clothes the poor. Available on CD They attacked their food like hungry wolves. Haklarında idari soruşturma açılan memurlar, soruşturma sonuçlanana kadar açı ğa alınırlar. Those employees who are subject to an investigation are suspended from work, office until the investigation is concluded. Önce açı ğa almış, sonra yargılamışlardı. They reportedly laid him off first, and then tried him in court. The black box was found and the reason for the plane crash was discovered: It was 'Pilot Error'. Secondary meaning example: Açı ğa çıkarılan görevliler arasında ben de vardım. I too was among the officials who were let go. He was relieved when the secret he had concealed was revealed within a week. Because of the things you're concerned about, he gave some maneuvering room to the other side. If necessary, I'll also give you complete authority. Be sincere toward your friends, appear like you really are. He arranged an open panel discussion on the situation today, of our business. Kinky films are shown at that cinema house. Kim giyer dediler sonunda biri giydi! They said, 'Who'll wear it? Gözcü Gazetesi, 19 August 2003 See photo-article at left. The meaning of the article is very clear. They openly ridiculed the candidate. Madonna, who dresses immodestly for the sake of her sexy image, has been forbidden from wearing transparent clothes by her husband Guy Ritchie. Adapted from an article in Gözcü Gazetesi 23 November 2001... I can't describe the poverty during the war years. Korkan ve neye uğradığını şaşıran Tarkan, Bilge'ye açtı ağzını yumdu gözunü. The confused Tarkan who was startled and didn't know why he'd been roused flew off the handle at Bilge. Gözcü Gazetesi, 9 September 2003 Adam de ğilim! I'm not a man! It seems he's well brought up, he helped us a lot. You are a man too! The same phrase could be said to a man who has just returned from the barber where he had his long scraggily hair shorn. Just because you've got a few lira, do you think you're somebody? Thank God I fell into the hands of an expert! In a short time he started and finished my job. Adem baba kılı ğında dolaşıyordu. He was wandering around stark naked. He was wandering around in the appearance of ' Father Adam'. May be used as shown... Sınıfça onu aforoz etmiştik. We froze him out of the class activities. We waited and waited and waited for you here! We became trees waiting and waiting here for you! A ğaca çıksa pabucu yerde kalmaz. If he goes up in a tree, his shoes don't remain on the ground. Onu merak etmeyin, a ğaca çıksa pabucu yerde kalmaz. Dont worry about her, she's not easily led astray. Smart governing officials don't put naive novice-like children who are described as consultants between the parliamentarians and the ministers. Gözcü Gazetesi, 13 August 2003 A ğzı torba de ğil ki büzesin! You can't stop someone talking! May be used as shown... A ğzı var dili yok. He has a mouth, he has no tongue. May be used as shown... A ğzına sa ğlık! Health to your mouth! May be used as shown... A ğzına vur, lokmasını al! He's a real pushover! May be used as shown... When the police pressured the thief a little, he let the cat out of the bag and told where he had hidden the stolen things. He was just hollering, he wasn't realizing what he was saying. A ğzından yel alsın! Let wind take it away from your mouth! May be used as shown... Open your mouth to good omens! Don't say such a thing -- it is a bad omen! May be used as shown... The curse of the Turks finally takes effect! The weather is neither clear nor rainy, it's just been drizzling all day. What are you looking at so stupidly? What are you looking at, like Ahmet's ox? Stop asking these tiresome questions and say openly what you really want to say! The things you say and the way you clarify them are indisputable Flowing waters stop when confronted by your factual conclusions. Click for, akıl almaz Compare to. Citizens are up in arms about the desperation of AKP officials and their passive behaviour in such an inconceivable way against the taking prisoner of 11 of our soldiers by American forces and the 60-hour holding of them under observation. Gözcü Gazetesi, 8 July 2003 akıl doktoru an intelligence or mind doctor a psychiatrist Akıl işi de ğil. It is not reason ed work. May be used as shown... May all your work go as smoothly as water! May be used as shown... Kendisini çeken video ve fotoğraf kameralarına aldırmadan akla hayale gelmedik şeyler yapan kadın, polisin 'Yeter' ikazı üzerine toparlanıp gitti. When the police warned 'That's enough,' the woman who had been doing some unbelievable things with indifference for the video and still cameramen who had been filming her , gathered up her clothes and left. Gözcü Gazetesi, 25 July 2003 See photo-article at left. I'm confused to your mind! You're not making any sense! Let it be in your thought s! May be used as shown... Finance Minister Unakıtan says, ' It has never crossed our mind to reduce the Special Consumer Tax. Gözcü Gazetesi, 5 March 2005 Akmasa da damlar. And if it flows, it is by drops. May be used as shown... Aksi gibi cebimde beş para kalmamıştı! It was just my bad luck not to have any money on me! I have a hangover. Al Al benden de o kadar. May be used as shown. May be used as shown... Öyle açılardan çekilirdi ki, seyirci onu tamamen çiplak sanırdı... Sonraki yıllarda durum değisti, çamaşırın altı da gitti. Al takke ver külah durumlari oldu yani. In my earliest films I undressed completely, but the male actors always wore 'briefs'. And the scenes were shot at an angle, so the audience believed the men were completely naked. In the years that followed, the situation changed -- and the male actors stopped wearing briefs. After that, things got very sexually intimate indeed. After half an hour of hard bargaining and cursing at each other, they amicably agreed to sell the fish for 50 money units per 'oka' a weight of 1282 grams. Balikçısı Alan razı, satan razı. The buyer agrees, the seller agrees. Since the two parties agree on the deal, let them complete it without interference from others. May be used as shown... May be used as shown... Famous pop-star Tarkan had to sing his song called 'Dudu' which is also given to the name of his album 4 times complete on account of strong audience demand -- and he received thunderous applause. May be used as shown... Allah akıllar akıl, fikir versin. Also see: May God give intelligence. May be used as shown... Also see: God, God! Allah allah, böyle bir şeyi ilk kez görüyorum! Now that's amazing, it's the first time I've seen something like that! Besides, what would we do otherwise? May be used as shown... Also see: For the love of God! May be used as shown... Also see: May God refrain from killing someone. May God protect children, loved ones from accident and harm. May be used as shown... Allah bana, ben de sana. I don't have the money I owe you right now, but I'll pay you the minute I get it. May be used as shown... It's too damned hot! Also see: May God give abundance. May God return the generosity you show. For example, our marangoz; carpenter, Hilmi Usta, said this to us when we gave him a 10% bonus for the beautiful decorative doors he made for us... May be used as shown... Also see: God knows. May be used as shown... Allah cezanı cezasını versin! Damn you Goddamn her, dammit! May be used as shown... Also see: Let God destroy! Has same figurative meaning as Allah rahatlık versin. Also see: May God provide comfort. May be used as shown... Also see: May God be agreeable to you. God bless you for the kind act that you did, for the nice thought you had, etc. May be used as shown... Also see: May God not provide. May be used as shown... Also see: May God provide. I feel happy about it. May be used as shown... Allah'ın binasını yıkmak Also see: to demolish God's building to kill yourself or someone else Allah'ın günü Also see: God's day everyday, any day it is said that all days 'belong' to God Allah'ın günü aynı şeyleri söyledi durdu. He stopped and said the same things every day. Let God punish him! Let God punish him. If you love your God, then don't try to stop me! This is said angrily by someone about to take drastic action May be used as shown... Also see: We commend you to the care of God. Thank goodness I'm your daughter, you are saving my image. Attributed to Özlem Önal while speaking to her mother -- Hurriyet Gazetesi, 16 May 2004 allak bullak... It was an outfit that had an outlandish appearance.. It's not known what will emerge from underneath. The final result is uncertain. Do you really expect me to believe that? May be used as shown... He swore at all of us! Adam hepimize ana avrat dümdüz gitmesin mi? Would you believe how he that guy swore at all of us? The woman must have been crazy; she rushed out of the hamam Turkish bath completely naked. Halen yaz mevsiminin sürdüğü şehirde kimse mankenin anadan doğma olduğunu fark etmedi. No one in the city noticed the complete nakedness of the model, during the then present summer season. Gözcü Gazetesi, 2002 See illustrated article at left. In the city of Barcelona Spain, 7 thousand people undressed stark naked, stretching out in the middle of the road, and gave American photographer Spencer Tunick a pose. Gözcü Gazetesi, 9 June 2003 See illustrated article at left. It's not that important. She's clever, she knows her business! May be used as shown... May be used as shown... May be used as shown... Casus de ğilse Arap olayım. Is this similar to the American idiom, '... Everything will turn into a mess. Note the play on words and the nice rhyming quality of the phrase... Not a friend, just a backload of stones... He's supposed to be a friend -- but all he does is cause me worry, pain, and injury. May be used as shown... Arkasında yumurta küfesi yok ya! There's no egg basket behind him! Şimdi de tersini söylüyor, arkasında yumurta küfesi yok ya! There is a close friendship between Tayyip bey and Adnan bey Water doesn't trickle between Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan and the entertainer Adnan Şenses. Gözcü Gazetesi, 17 May 2003 aslan sütü lion's milk rakı the Turkish national alcoholic drink Astı ğı astık, kesti ği kestik. Hanged is the one she says 'hang', cut is the one she says 'cut'. May be used as shown... Aş Aşa ğı tükürsem sakal, yukarı tükürsem bıyık. If I spit down I'll hit my beard, if I spit up I'll hit my mustache. If I select the one, I'll reject the other. May be used as shown... Note: Serves both as an idiom and a proverb. For one who is in love, even Baghdad is not too far to go. No task is too difficult in the pursuit of love. May be used as is... Aşık alemi kör, dört yanını duvar sanır. Note: Serves both as an idiom and a proverb. A lover is blindly preoccupied with love. May be used as is... I don't want to get involved in an unnecessary controversy with anyone. Note: Serves both as an idiom and a proverb. Until you experience love, it's a mystery. May be used as is... See for an example sentence.
