Knee-deep in Czech

We are approaching the end of the series and this time we focus on idioms containing the word knee - koleno, or its plural - kolena.

This word means both the joint in the middle part of the leg or anything that resembles it, such as all kinds of bends.

Kneeling is generally associated with humiliation or devotion. So the phrases být na kolenou - to be on one's knees, padnout na kolena - to sink down on one's knees or srazit někoho na kolena - bring someone to his knees, do not need further explanation.

More interesting perhaps are those expressions which are unique to the Czech language. One favourite is má hlavu jako koleno, meaning he is as bald as a knee. Or this one: pro korunu by si nechala koleno vrtat, which means she is so greedy that she would rather have a hole drilled in her knee than spend one crown. You will often hear Czechs planning their activities for when they retire. They will use the expression na stará kolena - or "on my old knees", such as in the sentence na stará kolena si koupím dům na venkově - I will buy a country house when I'm old. Sometimes when people feel too old to learn new things they say na stará kolena se už nic nebudu učit.

Another frequently used idiom is lámat něco přes koleno - to break something over the knee. It is used in situations when something doesn't work and we would have to force it - in other words, break it over the knee. To naughty children Czech parents say já si tě přehnu přes koleno - meaning I'll bend you over my knee and give you a good spanking.

The word koleno or "knee" has another meaning in Czech. It is used in the sense of generation or lineage. In this respect, Czech is similar to Latin where the word for lineage sounds almost identical to the word for knee. So if anyone is referred to as bratranec z druhého kolene - he is a cousin once removed.