1001 Essential Turkish Idioms
Transkript
1001 Essential Turkish Idioms
-- A sample of -- 1,001 Essential Turkish Idioms (for English Speakers) The ‘Best of’ Learning Practical Turkish Volume 2 Jim and Perihan Masters 2 1,001 Essential Turkish Idioms (for English speakers) The ‘Best of’ Learning Practical Turkish Vol. 2 1st Print Edition -- November 2003 1st Electronic Edition -- May 2006 Published by Habibullah Enterprises, SA P.K. 27 35480 Gümüldür İzmir, Turkey (Türkiye) WWW Website: http://learningpracticalturkish.com/ E-mail: jimmasters@practicalturkish.com Non-original illustrations from public domain sources via Hürriyet TARIH and Popüler TARIH (İstanbul) ISBN – Application submitted text and cover © Habibullah Enterprises cover and inside graphics by Patricia Rawlings Printed by Taşkın Matbaası, Gümüldür-İzmir, Turkey (Türkiye) Habibullah Enterprises, the Habibullah logo and Learning Practical Turkish logo are trademarks of four country computing, ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except brief extracts for the purpose of review, without the written permission of the publisher and copyright owner. 3 About the Authors Jim and Perihan Masters are a husband and wife team, living on the Aegean Coast of Turkey just 50 miles south of İzmir. Jim was born in Shanghai, China -- of American military parentage. Peri was born on the Black Sea coast of Turkey near Trabzon, of Turkish military parentage… First at Brown University and then at the University of North Carolina, Jim pursued studies in Mathematics and Computer Science. Upon graduation, he worked as a computer programmer/analyst on both US coasts before taking a position in London as Technical Director for a computer facilities management firm – during the late 60’s and early 70’s. Enticed by a Financial Times advertisement, he joined a NATO sponsored enterprise in Ankara in the 70’s where he met the beautiful and brainy Perihan, a rising young Turkish banking executive. It was uninhibited love at first sight, except that neither spoke the other’s language! So they embarked on a mad languagelearning scramble (which continues to this day) that culminated in their marriage -- now in its 20-something year. After spending fifteen working years Stateside (with numerous visitations to Turkey), the two opted to return permanently to Turkey in 1992 to take up residence in Gümüldür, a seaside resort town in the heart of what was once the ancient Ionian Empire. There they live an idyllic life by the sea -writing, drawing and painting, teaching English, and providing computing service support to local businesses. They also sponsor the MSNBC award-winning Learning Practical Turkish (LPT) website (located at http://learningpracticalturkish.com/) that has built an enthusiastic international following of devoted Turkophiles and inquisitive language students of all ages. 4 From the Authors The Authors wish to extend a special thanks to Taşkın Çalı, our dear pal and language-adviser (and Beşiktaş’s stoutest supporter south of the Golden Horn) -- whose invaluable help with the LPT website (and with this book too!) leaves us eternally in his debt. And, to Patricia Rawlings (our favorite ‘Girl of the North Country’) -- for her inspirational encouragement and increasingly accomplished assistance across the board -- we send the four warmest winds of our Aegean appreciation. color bar Visit our website soon and often… It’s dedicated to struggling Turkish language learners just like you -- and it’s loaded with authentic voice recordings too!! The Learning Practical Turkish website is located at: http://learningpracticalturkish.com/ 5 Table of Contents Introduction ................................................... 6 1,001 Essential Turkish Idioms ............................. 8 Acronyms, abbreviations, notations ......................... 9 The Best of the Idiom Stories ............................. 22 Sources and Acknowledgements............................. 25 Book Index ................................................... 27 Above page numbers relate to the full version of our Volume 2 ebook -- not this sample... Note: See the inside front and back covers for phonetic pronunciation guidance. color bar Visit our website soon and often… It’s dedicated to struggling Turkish language learners just like you -- and it’s loaded with authentic voice recordings too!! The Learning Practical Turkish website is located at: http://learningpracticalturkish.com/ 6 Introduction The weird and wonderful ways of Turkish expression As we’ve stated on previous occasions, we think that Turkish is a difficult language to learn if you come from an Englishspeaking background -- as some of us do. • The vocabulary is hard to remember (and can be ambiguous) • The tricky use of suffixes can drive you to drink • The word order in sentences is backwards to English, and • The way of expressing actions and ideas takes a lot of getting used to This, the second book in our series, The Best of Learning Practical Turkish, will (of necessity) address all four of those difficulties -- but with a primary focus on the ‘weird and wonderful ways’ of Turkish expression. Thus, the whole of its content is devoted to the essential Turkish idioms. If you've ever felt lost trying to follow a Turkish conversation, it may be because of these 'comprehension killers'. We know you've seen reference books written for English speakers about English and American idioms. But, although there are many fine books on Turkish idioms, they’ve all been written for Turkish speakers in Turkish. Until now. Those of you who know our WWW website may remember when our original Turkish idiom encyclopedia ‘hit the bricks’ in 1996. And you may have watched it growing over time, ever since. (As we write this Introduction, the online compilation has swelled to almost 1500 idioms.) Our online idioms encyclopedia is based on more than 12 years of personal in-country experience. And it reflects quite a wide 7 range of interests -- having been gleaned from A) conversations with our Turkish friends and neighbors, B) Radio and TV broadcasts, C) Turkish movies, D) the Turkish print media, E) Turkish pop-music lyrics, F) Turkish folk tales and histories and G) Turkish novels. The specific 1,001 essential Turkish idioms found in this book (along with several of their historical-origin stories) represent the crème de la crème of our online encyclopedia. Painstakingly selected, revised, and arranged for the printed page, these basic Turkish idioms are intended to meet the everyday needs of Beginners and Intermediate learners of the Turkish language. These are the idioms you’ll hear and see wherever you go, whoever you meet, whatever you read. But enough of this palaver! It’s time to kick back and send your Turkish language-learning skills into overdrive -- as you explore LPT’s 1,001 Essential Turkish Idioms. color bar Visit our website soon and often… It’s dedicated to struggling Turkish language learners just like you -- and it’s loaded with authentic voice recordings too!! The Learning Practical Turkish website is located at: http://learningpracticalturkish.com/ 8 LPT’s 1,001 Essential Turkish Idioms Visit our website soon and often… It’s dedicated to struggling Turkish language learners just like you -- and it’s loaded with authentic voice recordings too!! The Learning Practical Turkish website is located at: http://learningpracticalturkish.com/ 9 Acronyms, abbreviations, notations AB ABD AKP Br CHP coll. DEHAP DSP DYP example [example] (example) EU Fig. IMF Lit. MHP sb sth US YSK The European Union – Turkish abbreviation The United States – Turkish abbreviation 'Justice and Development Party' [Turkish political party] - the ruling governmental party when it swept national elections in November 2002 to rule for 6 years. British English The 'Popular Democratic Party' [Turkish political party] colloquial Democratic People's Party [a minor Turkish political party] Democratic Left Party [Turkish political party] True Path Party [Turkish political party] Underlined words indicate a cross-reference. Bracketed words supplement the original entry. Parenthetical words explain the original entry. The European Union – English abbreviation Figuratively The International Monetary Fund Literally National Movement Party [Turkish political party] somebody/someone something American English Supreme Election Committee of Turkey 10 Turkish Idioms beginning with the letter A The Turkish The Literal English Meaning The 'Plain' English Meaning Comments and Examples aba altından değnek (sopa) göstermek to show a stick (bat) under the cloak · to speak softly but carry 'Şöyle yaparım, böyle a big stick ederim' diye bize aba · to cause fear, indirectly altından değnek gösteriyordu. He was threatening us indirectly by saying that he would do this or that. Even though he is poor, Aba bulamaz etine, at- He can't even find coarse wool he likes to show off. las yamar götüne. for his skin, but he patches over This proverbial idiom is considered just his ass with satin. a little off-color. May be used as shown. Abacı, kebeci; (ya) sen He makes coarse wool and felt neci? jackets. And you, what's your line of work? Onu ilgilendirmeyen konulardan söz etmesine kızıp: ‘Abacı, kebeci; ya sen necisin?’ dedim. I got angry with her for talking about matters that didn’t concern her and I said, ‘So, who asked you?!’ · Where do you come in?! What concern of this is yours?! · It's all right for him/her to talk about this subject, because he/she's got firsthand knowledge. But what gives you the right to butt in? abayı sermek to spread out the to make yourself at home coarse wool coat someplace where you’re not wanted; move in on somebody abayı yakmak to burn the to give your heart to sb; to Yoksul bir çoban zengin coarse wool coat fall desperately in love adamın kızına abayı yakmış. A poor shepherd Sizinkinde onur yok, gitti, yerleşip kaldı; abayı serdi. Your relative has no pride, he went, then settled in and stayed (at another’s place); he just moved in. 11 boy fell desperately in love with the rich man’s daughter. Abbas yolcu 'Abbas' traveler · "I'm taking off, and that's that!" · One cannot detain one who has to go. · "He/she's about to die." Abbas yolcuyum! I’m outta here! abuk sabuk konuşmak to talk nonsensi- same meaning cally Böyle abuk sabuk konuşmayı bırak da, beni iyi dinle. Stop talking nonsensically, and listen well to what I say. abur cubur same meaning · junk food · haphazard, confused speech · ordinary, common-place Abur cubur şeylerle karnını doyurmak doğru değildir. It's not right to fill up your stomach with junk food. acayibine gitmek to go to strange · to find (sb or sth) very strange/odd · to seem strange Bu nasıl adam, çok acayibime gitti yaptıkları. What sort of man is this, the things he does seem very strange to me. aceleye gelmek to come hurried · for a job not to be done carefully because of time limitations · to do a job hastily and carelessly Aceleye geldi, yoksa daha iyi olurdu. We would have done [a] better [job], but time ran out. aceleye getirmek to bring hurried · to do a job haphazardly -- without caring · to deceive sb while acting or doing sth quickly · Zamanım var, aceleye getirmeyin. I’m not in a hurry, so don't do a quick and dirty job. · Aceleye getirip istediği parayı benden kopardı. He took my money while he quickly did what he wanted. 12 Acem kılıcı gibi... ...like a Persian sword (ie., a double-edged sword) two faced, double dealing Ona güvenme, acem kılıcı gibi, bir de bakarsın senin karşında yer almış. Don't trust her, she's two-faced and might oppose your position. acemi çaylak an inexperienced 'kite' (the hawklike bird) · a raw or clumsy or awkward or inexperienced person · a "rookie" in all senses of the word. An inexperienced (and rather gullible) person. Ondan daha fazlasını beklemeyin, acemi çaylağın biridir. He's a clumsy fellow, so don't expect too much of him. Acemi çaylak bu kadar uçar. That is how an inexperienced hawk flies. · That's all you can expect from a clumsy person (or an immature youth). See acemi çaylak above. acemilik çekmek to tow inexperience to suffer from inexperience Yeni işimde ilk üç ay çok acemilik çektim. I suffered from inexperience in the first three months of my new job. acemilik etmek to do/make inexperience · to behave in an 'inexperienced' way (not necessarily thoughtlessly) · to behave thoughtlessly Acemilik edip sonunu beklemedik. We didn't act thoughtlessly and we didn't expect that result. acı çekmek to pull or bear pain/ bitterness · to feel long-lasting pain · to feel distress, unhappiness, sorrow sadness Adamın acı çektiği her halinden belliydi. It was evident that the man suffered pain all the time. acından ölmek to die of hunger · to be very hungry or poor · to fall into poverty Afrika'da binlerce insan acından ölüyor. In Africa thousands of people are dying of hunger. 13 acısı içine (yüreğine) çökmek (işlemek) for pain to pene- · for (sth) to hurt deeply, trate inside to hurt (sb's) feelings very much · to give sb cause to be distressed or grieving · to cut (sb) to the quick O günlerin acısı içime çöktü, olup bitenleri unutacağımı sanmıyorum. I was hurt very deeply in those days, I don't think I can forget how things ended. acısını bağrına basmak to press pain to the breast/heart to bear sorrow without complaining Acısını bağrına basmış, kimseye bundan söz etmemişti. They say he kept his sorrow to himself, and didn't talk about it with anyone. acısını çekmek to pull the pain · to suffer the consequences (for bad behavior) · to pay the penalty for · to suffer for Gençliğinde yaptıklarının yaşlılıkta acısını çekiyor. He is suffering in old age for the things he did in his youth. aç açık kalmak hunger, to remain open · to be left homeless · to lose everything Yangından sonra yüzlerce aile aç açık kalmıştı. After the fire hundreds of families were reported to be homeless. aç doyurmak to fill up a hungry person to help and nurture the poor Açları doyur, yoksulları giydir. He feeds and clothes the poor. aç kurt gibi hungry as a wolf with great desire, inclination, appetite (related to eating, gathering together, attacking) -- Intentional Blank Pages Here -- Yemeklere aç kurt gibi saldırdılar. They attacked their food like hungry wolves. 14 Turkish Idioms beginning with the letter N The Turkish The Literal English Meaning The 'Plain' English Meaning Comments and Examples ne oldum delisi olmak what I (for sb lucky) to became to start to think be crazy he's/she's sth special Zenginleşince ne oldum delisi oldu. When he became rich, he thought he really was something else. ne olur ne olmaz what it becomes, what it won't become just in case Ne olur, ne olmaz; yanımıza fazla para alalım. Just in case, let's take extra money with us. ne olursa olsun what if be, let it be come what may, whatever the consequences Yüzünü bir dağıtayım sonra ne olursa olsun. Let me punch this guy, and live with the consequences afterwards. May be used as shown. Ne sen sor, ne What you Adds positive or ben söyleye- ask, what negative emphasis I'll say! to the preceding yim! statement or question -- most often negative. But as in English, an exaggerated negative can end up being a positive. For example, in English we might say, "Do you think Sharon Stone is attractive?" and the answer might come back, "Ooo, she's bad!" (Ne sen sor, ne ben 15 söyleyeyim!) 1. neme lazım 1. neces2. neme lasary to my what? zımcı 2. a 'necNote: also essary to seen as the my what' single word: person nemelazımcı. 1. a. He/she/it doesn't concern me. b. What need have I of ...?; What good is ... to me? c. I still think ...; I don't care about that, I still think ... 2. sb who has an I-don't-give-adamn attitude · Amerika acayip bir memlekettir, bakarsınız gelecek sene seçim olur, neme lazım deyip projeden vazgeçer. America is a strange country, you'll see next year there'll be an election. [America] will say, 'What good is this to me?' and drop the project. In an article questioning the USA's staying power in the Middle East. · Neme lazım, iyi çocuktur. I don't care about that, I still think he's a good kid. nerede/nerde akşam orada/orda sabah where he is in the evening is where he is in the morning · Said of one who doesn't appear to have home; who just spends the night where he/ she happens to be. · one who has no known residence · one who is an idler · one who's out of work · one who's distracted, confused numara yapmak to make/do number · to pretend, fake Hiç kimse bana böyle nu· [-a/-e] to make a mara yapamaz! Nobody fool out of, pull a can pull a fast one on me! fast one on sb Similar to ayak atmak. Çok sorumsuz bir adam, nerde akşam orda sabah. He’s an unreliable man, he has no place to call his own. -- Intentional Blank Pages Here -- 16 Turkish Idioms beginning with the letter T The Turkish The Literal English Meaning The 'Plain' English Meaning Comments and Examples tabanları yağlamak to oil the sole · to get ready to hoof it a long way · to run fast, run like anything; to make tracks, beat it Tabanları yağlayalım, gideceğimiz yer uzak, zamanımız az. Let's make tracks! Our destination (the place that we'll go to) is far and we don't have much time (our time is little). [-ın, -in, -un, -ün] tadını çıkarmak to remove the flavor from · to make the most of · to get the utmost enjoyment out of (sth) · to luxuriate in (sth) · Yirmi yaşındaki Cem Adler, "Başınç yok, stres yok" diyerek, boşanmanın tadını çıkardığını söyledi. Saying, "I don't have any pressure or stress," twenty-yearold Cem Adler [Bulent Ersoy's former toy-boy 'husband'] explained that he's trying to make the most of his divorce. · See another example sentence at gözden kaçmak. [-ın, -in, -un, -ün] tadını kaçırmak to let flavor escape to spoil (sth), cast a damper on (sth) Plakların birini kaldırıp birini koyuyordu, sesler beynimizde zonkluyordu; dayanamayıp, "Yeter!" dedim, tadını iyice kaçırdın! Someone was removing the records and someone else was putting them back on; the noise was making my brain throb with pain; I couldn't stand it anymore, so I said, "Enough, you're ruining everything." tahsil etmek to make/do education 1. be educated, get an education, to Onbir milyar dolarlık hortumun sadece 235 milyon doları tahsil edilebildi... Of 17 study 2. with a preceding [-ı/ -i/-u/-ü] suffix - study a subject 3. with a preceding [-ı/ -i/-u/-ü] suffix -- collect or recover (money or taxes) the eleven billion dollarsworth that was embezzled only 235 million dollars can be recovered... talep etmek to make/do wanting to want, demand, require, request tamtakır; tamtakır kuru bakır; tamtakır kırmızı bakır completely empty, a completely empty dry copper, completely empty red copper completely empty · Sandığın içi tamtakır kuru bakırdı, belli ki açmış, içindekileri alıp götürmüşlerdi. The inside of the trunk was completely empty, it was obvious that it had been opened and the contents had been taken away/removed. · Tamtakır kırmızı bakır bir yazlıkta tatil geçirmek insana zevk vermez. It's no fun to have a vacation in a completely empty summer cottage. to be able to run rings around (sb), to be far superior than (sb) Mankenlere taş çıkarttı! Törene hayli çekici bir elbiseyle gelen Serena, sporcudan çok bir mankene benziyordu. Headline: She's better than the fashion models! (Pro Tennis star) Serena (Williams) who came to the ceremony wearing a very attractive dress, looked very [-a/-e] to cause to taş çıkarmak remove (çıkartmak) stone 18 much the fashion model compared with the other players. taş kesilmek to cut stone to be dumbfounded Salonun içinde kimse kımıldayamadı. Hepsi olduğu yerde taş kesildi. No one in the salon could make a move. Everyone in the place was dumbfounded. tek başına to a single head · on one's/its own, by one's self alone · apart, at a distance from other people/things Sezer tek başına ana muhalefet partisi gibi! Cumhurbaşkanı'nın Orman Yasası'nı ikinci defa veto etmesi siyasi havayı iyice gerdi. (Turkish President) Sezer is like a main opposition party all by himself! The President's vetoing of the Forests Bill for the second time has caused the political air to be rather tense. tekeden süt çıkarmak to remove milk from a billy goat to do the [seemingly] impossible, to be very skillful in getting what one wants Ustam, tekeden bile süt çıkarır. My master-craftsman can do the impossible. (...even get milk from a billy goat.) tepeden inme don't send from a hill or sending from a hill 1. an order that comes from a high official -one of the 'big guns' 2. very sudden and unexpected Tepeden inme bir emirle müdürün tayini durduruldu. His appointment to manager was stopped by an order from on high. -- Intentional Blank Pages Here -- 19 Turkish Idioms beginning with the letter Z The Turkish zam gelmek (yapmak) The Literal English Meaning The 'Plain' Comments and English Mean- Examples ing (for a) price in· for a price Ekmeğe zam geldi! crease to occur (be increase to oc- There's been an increase made) cur (be made)... in the price of bread! · for a salary increase to be earned (given) zaman bırakmak to leave time to set time aside (for sb/sth) Konuşmaya zaman bıraksaydın seni suçlamadığımı görürdün. If you'd given me time to speak, you'd have seen that I didn't accuse you. zaman kazanmak to earn time to save time, to Kısa yoldan giderek gain time zaman kazanabiliriz. We can save time by going the shorter way. zaman kollamak to watch out for time to be on the lookout for a suitable opportunity, to bide one's time. Zaman kollayıp uygun ortamın doğmasını bekleyeceksin. You should bide your time and wait for a better opportunity. zaman öldürmek to kill time to spend time on inconsequential things · Seni bilmem ama benim to set time aside for sb · Eğer zaman verirseniz başaracaktır. Also see vakit öldürmek. (birisine) zaman vermek to give time zaman öldürecek durumum yok. I don't know about you, but I'm in no position to just kill time. · Benimkisi zaman öldürmek, iş değil. This isn't work, I'm killing time. 20 (for some purpose). He'll succeed if you'll give him time. · Sana burayı terketmen için bir dakikalık zaman veriyorum! I'm giving you one minute's time to get outta here! zaman zaman time time from time to · Ünlü İnternet sitesi time, occasion- DeansPlanet zaman ally zaman düzenlediği ilginç anketler ve yayınladığı fotoğraflarla ilgi çekiyor. Famous Internet website DeansPlanet attracts attention with the photos that it publishes and the interesting polls that it arranges from time to time. · Bize gelir zaman zaman, eski günleri anarız. He visits us now and then, we remind him of the old days. zamana uymak to fit to time to conform to the age one lives in, keep in step with the times Eskiler: Zaman sana uymazsa sen zamana uy, demişler. The old ones say: If the times don't fit you, fit the times. zamanı geçmek to pass time to be out of date, (for sth) to expire, become void (due to time passage), (for a fruit of vegetable) to no longer be in Bu ilacı kullanmamalısın. Zamanı geçmiş. You mustn't use this medicine. It has expired. (The expiry date has passed.) 21 season. zamanlı zamansız with time without time (doing sth) without considering whether it's suitable Zamanlı zamansız bana uğrar. He drops in to see me, any old time he feels like it. zan altında bulmak/ bırakmak to find/be left under supposition to be under suspicion · Televizyonda adımı o hırsızın adıyla birlikte andınız ve beni zan altında bıraktınız. You mentioned my name together with that thief's name and you left me under suspicion. · Sözlerinizden dolayı zan altındayım. I am under suspicion because of what (the things) you said. zangır zangır (titremek) (shaking) with a rattle, shaking/trembling same meaning Zavallı kız! Kocaman köpeği aniden bahçede gördü ve şimdi korkudan zangır zangır titriyor. Poor girl! She saw the huge dog in the garden suddenly and she is trembling violently with fear now. zar atmak to throw membrane, to throw a die to gamble zar zor unwillingly, reluc- same tantly, with difficulty, forcibly, at the last minute Otobüse zar zor yetiştik. We made the bus (departure) with difficulty (at the last minute). 22 The Best of the Idiom Stories Historical origins of selected Turkish idioms Visit our website soon and often… It’s dedicated to struggling Turkish language learners just like you -- and it’s loaded with authentic voice recordings too!! The Learning Practical Turkish website is located at: http://learningpracticalturkish.com/ 23 The Best of the Turkish Idiom Stories -- beginning with the letter A Ağaca çıksa pabucu yerde kalmaz. Literal meaning: If he/she goes up in a tree, his shoes don't remain on the ground Idiomatic meaning: She/He's crafty, not easily fooled. The story… One day, Nasreddin Hoca went out walking in his pair of brand new shoes. A gang of youthful pranksters saw him and set out to trick him and steal the new shoes. As they approached him on the footpath, they pretended to enter into a deep discussion among themselves -about the Hoca's ability in the 'art' of tree climbing…But the Hoca was suspicious of their behavior and sensed that they meant to trick him. So when the leader of the gang asked the Hoca slyly whether or not the old fellow was still capable of climbing a nearby tree, the Hoca replied, "Of course, I am." And, with that, he jumped up on it and began climbing -but not before tucking his new shoes safely in his breast coat. The gang members all shouted out at once, "Wait Hoca, leave the shoes down here on the ground. What use will they be in the tree?" By now the Hoca understood the gang's intention very well, and with a glint in his eye, replied, "Oh, who knows…Perhaps from the tree, I'll have to journey to the next village by yonder road." And so, the idiom has become associated with people who are intelligent and alert in the face of tricky dealings. color bar Altından çapanoğlu çıkmak Literal meaning: for Çapanoğlu to pop up Idiomatic meaning: for an 'activity' or 'job' to meet with an undesired or unexpected difficulty, problem, or danger The story… For a time, Çapanoğlu Ahmet Pasha and his two sons, Mustafa and Süleyman, ruled like feudal lords over wide territories encompassing the city/towns of Amasya, Yozgat, Ankara, Niğde, and Kaysarı (until 1808 when Sultan Mahmut II had all three executed). But although the Çapanoğlu's were tough rulers during their reign, they 24 also listened carefully to the problems of their people, and, where possible, they tried to ease the lot of the underdog. According to one account, at the time of Çapanoğlu Süleyman Bey, in Yozgat, there lived a pretty widow woman…And, a married man with a large family kept after her for sexual favours. The woman, who grew tired of the aggravating man, applied to Çapanoğlu Süleyman Bey for help. At the Bey's command, she went one night to the married man's house and confronted him. When she declared, "I am a woman of honor, don't bother me anymore," the man attacked her, and Çapanoğlu (who had witnessed the entire event from a nearby hiding place) had the man hanged the same night -- in the Yozgat town center! But the episode that actually gave birth to the idiom has a rather humble old donkey to thank. It seems that said old donkey was seen nibbling from hunger on the bellrope in front of a grand mansion. When citizens reported to Çapanoğlu that the donkey was weak and in poor condition, he initiated a search for the donkey's owner. And when the owner was found, justice was swift and harsh. For failing to care for the donkey, Çapanoğlu gave the owner 100 lashes of the long whip -- at a public flogging! On top of that, the man was ordered to feed the donkey five bushels of barley a day, to give it a daily washing and grooming, and to report in person once a week with the donkey for inspection by Çapanoğlu. The old donkey (because of all this special treatment) gained quite a bit of weight in very short order, apparently. And when citizens questioned the owner about the reason behind the old donkey's vigorous new appearance, the owner (remembering well the sting of the long whip) replied, "Semirir elbet; arkasında Çapanoğlu var." (Well, of course he's gained weight; Çapanoğlu is behind it.) And, over the years, the idiom has gradually evolved from 'arkasında Çapanoğlu var' to 'altından çapanoğlu çıkmak' -- as a sort of warning to those who think no one is watching… -- Intentional Blank Pages Here -- 25 Sources and Acknowledgements Visit our website soon and often… It’s dedicated to struggling Turkish language learners just like you -- and it’s loaded with authentic voice recordings too!! The Learning Practical Turkish website is located at: http://learningpracticalturkish.com/ 26 Sources Source of idiom, idiom-origin, or sentence example; or of significant help in understanding same Source title Publication details Aksoy, Ömer Asım Atasöz ve Deyimler Sözlüğü İnkilap Kitabevi (İstanbul), 1995 Ali, A. Yusuf The Holy Qura'an - Text, Translation and Commentary Printing by Amana Corp. (Maryland USA, 1983) -from the original 1934 Lahore Edition Arsel, Semahat, Project Director Timeless Tastes, Vehbi Koç Vakfı, Turkish Culinary (İstanbul), 1996 [ISBN 975-94957-1-6] Culture Aslandaş, Alper Sedat and Bıçakçı, Baskın Popüler Siyası Deyimler Sözlüğü İletişim Yayınları (İstanbul), 2002 Bardakçi, Murat Various articles Hürriyet Gazetesi Belachemi, Jean-Louis (Nihal Önol, translator) Barbaros Kardeşler Doğan Yayın Holding A.Ş. (İstanbul -- October 1995) Bilkent University University archives Bilkent University, Ankara Çizmeciler, Osman Ünlü Deyimler ve Kastaş A.Ş. Yayınları Öyküleri (İstanbul), 1989 -- Intentional Blank Pages Here -- 27 Book Index 28 Index Lovers of book indexes may find this one useful as an aid in identifying Turkish-English idiom (and common expression) ‘equivalents’ -- and in helping to establish ’memory hooks’ for the Turkish idioms and expressions. Special Note: Page numbers below refer to the beginning of an idiom entry. So, in a few cases the named item (eg. DEHAP, 36) may actually appear on the page following. That is, although the named item DEHAP is actually found on page 37 – the beginning of its associated idiom entry (arapsaçına dönmek) is on page 36. Page numbers relate to the full version of our Volume 2 ebook -- not this sample. Missing Index Entries Below Are Intentional Page numbers relate to the 40 days and nights, 255 a 'certain sth', 205 a lot of money, 98 a lot of pressing work, 96 a rather small number, 218 a significant amount, 44 a small difference, 218 AB, 10, 60, 148 abandon hope, 216 ABD, 10, 52, 85, 93, 120, 199, 201, 219 able to, 163, 173 able to do, 105 about to, 174 about to die, 13, 70 about to happen, 105 above one’s station, 197 Absolutely!, 134 abundantly, 61 accept, 147 accept a bribe, 185 accept help from anyone, 215 accident(s), 31, 113, 238 according to Hoyle, 232 account(s), 29 achieve desired results, 90 acquiesce, 147 acquire sth very valuable, 213 act flirtatiously, 132 act like that, 160 act thoughtlessly, 15 Adam, 22 add 'salt to the wound', 220 addicted to gambling, 173 Adnan Şenses, 38 adorn with care, 202 29 advance one's situation, 29 afraid, 42, 219 after a fashion, 158 after a patient wait, 97 after a short time, 70 after careful consideration, 135 after today, 203 age on a pillow, 59 aged but still good-looking, 69 agenda, 125 agree, 147 agreement between rivals, 170 Ahh. That's better, 98 aid from a flying bird, 215 AKP, 10, 26, 36, 41, 83, 114, 128, 136, 152, 196, 212, 230 Aleppo, 264 All is OK, 135 All right, 187 all the time, 15, 127, 141 Allah idioms, 29 allow for, 227 allow sth to happen, 167, 227 almost, 44 along with, 224 Am I so innocent looking?, 53 Amasya, 252 amend, 122 American women, 128 amusement, 119 anchor, 90 And how!, 134 Andabalis, 260 Anger is sweeter than honey, 178 angry at a Christian, 115 Ankara, 252, 262 annoy, 47, 75 Antalya, 153, 201, 227, 262 Antalya Fluted-minaret Theological School, 227 anticipate correctly, 163 anxiously awaiting, 144, 158 any old people, 175 any old reason, 175 any old things, 198 any old time, 236 any old whatever, 175 apologize, 182 apparent, 17, 201 appear, 177 appear in, 227 appear unmoved, 155 appearance(s), 93, 96 apprehensive, 184 approximately, 218 apricot in Damascus, 63 Arab-hair, 36 Arabic alphabet, 80 Arabic idiom, 249 Arabic language, 166 Arabic word, 60 Are you depressed?, 149 Are you upset about sth?, 149 arithmetic book, 135 around the corner, 105 arouse (a group), 41 arrogant, 102 arsenic, 244 as a favor, 131 as for me, the weather's fine, 48 as mentioned, 199 as old as the hills, 212 as soon as requested, 144 as you wish/like, 195 Aslan, 222 at ease, 49 Intentional Missing Entries with regard to style, 219 with respect to, 232 with scrupulous care, 196 withdraw from, 100 within an ace of, 105 within one's power, 45 without a hitch, 46 without bulgur at home, 94, 259 without ever stopping, 127 30 word is all over town, 169 work behind the scenes, 159 works by itself, 104 world's money, 98 worried, 184 worry, 217, 248 worse than, 181 worst possible thing, 55 worthless, 79, 139 worthwhile, 21 Wouldn't you know it?, 27 wrap around the tongue, 94 wreck, 231 wreck altogether, 229 wretched and poor, 184 write on ice, 67 write one's signature, 142 Page numbers above relate to the full version of our Volume 2 ebook -- not this sample. Missing Index Entries Above Are Intentional. -- End of Sample --