Archive for May, 2012
Saol an Mhadaidh Bháin — The (Good) Life of the White Dog Posted by róislín on May 8, 2012
(le Róislín) Last blog we looked at the expression “ar muin (ar dhroim) na muice” (being “on the pig’s back,” i.e. well off). The blog before that also referred to several other examples of figurative speech, including “madraí bána.” As with the ‘dromanna muc” (or “muiní muc”), that general reference to “madraí bána” was in…
Ar Dhroim (Ar Muin) na Muice: Not Quite The Same as “High on the Hog” Posted by róislín on May 5, 2012
(le Róislín) You might remember a passing reference in the last blog to “dromanna muc” (backs of pigs) in the discussion of caint mheafarach (fhíortha) in general. The only real reason I pluralized it was to emphasize the point that lots of people use lots of figurative speech in lots of situations. So over the…
Between a Rock and a … May Day Fire? (or Life on the Horns of a Dilemma — as Gaeilge) Posted by róislín on May 1, 2012
(le Róislín) Amongst the numerous phrases in English for being, essentially, stuck between two difficult choices, we have “between Scylla and Charybdis,” “between the devil and the deep blue sea,” and, perhaps most widely used of all, “between a rock and a hard place.” Irish, natch, has its equivalents. One is, fairly straightforwardly, “rogha an…