Hey, don’t brag!
Welcome to another edition of SoundCzech, our long-running language series which looks at popular Czech sayings through song lyrics. The expression in today’s episode is Hele, nemachruj (Hey, don’t brag) featured in a song of the same name by 1980s Czech pop icon Michal David.
When would you use the expression Hele, nemachruj or hele, na mě nic nemachruj?
Most often with a friend who might be going on a bit, showing off their knowledge on a subject or bragging about recent success. You’d say it to give them a bit of a nudge, to bring them down a notch. In the song, which was featured in the teen film Discopříběh (Disco Story), David sings hele znáš to, na mě nic nemachruj implying Hey, you know the score, don’t try that on me or don’t pretend you’re a big shot who’s better than the rest of us or some kind of “expert” !
There’s a world of difference, of course, between some who’s showing off a little bit or bragging – dělat machra– and someone who is telling tall tales, making big claims or trying to pull a fast one. If you tell someone nemachruj, it’s in jest, it’s a friendly nudge, but if someone is talking nonsense or worse, tries to pull the wool over your eyes, you’d say something a little different.
To vykládej tvé babičce, go tell such that to your Gran; or, to ti nezbaštím, don’t take me for a sucker (I won’t ‘swallow’ – nezbaštím - that story); or, to vykládej někomu jinému, go tell that to somebody else. That’s how you might react if someone is talking BS, trying to gain an advantage. Trying to, say, sell you concert tickets for more than they’re worth or some such scam. Far removed, though, from nemachruj.
I’ve heard people use the expression hele, nemachruj fairly often, often in groups where girls cut their boyfriends down just a little bit, or among friends where someone, say a natural leader, oversteps his or her bounds just a little. Be warned, if you try to impress or fuel your ego a little too much, your friends will always be waiting to pounce and bring you back down to Earth!
