Take a bite of Czech
Welcome to Radio Prague's weekly programme in which we examine the Czech language from head to toe, or in other words we look at idioms which refer to parts of the body. Today's topic is - teeth. The Czech word for tooth is zub and the plural is zuby.
In idioms, teeth often symbolise aggression, such as "to fight tooth and nail" - zuby nehty. When animals bare their teeth, they usually want to demonstrate how strong and dangerous they are. In Czech, to bare your teeth - ukázat zuby - means to let other people know you can bite. An internationally recognised idiom which needn't be explained is oko za oko, zub za zub or an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Another phrase that is similar in both Czech and English is po zuby ozbrojený or armed to the tooth. The expression dát nìkomu do zubù means to punch someone in the mouth. If that happens to you and you do not want to show you are in pain, you have to zatnout zuby - grit your teeth, or keep a stiff upper lip. You may also want to dr¾et jazyk za zuby - literally to hold your tongue behind your teeth, or simply keep your mouth shut.
But teeth idioms are also connected with eating. So if you are looking for nìco na zub, you want to find a bite to eat. Another idiom originally connected with eating or food is mít nìèeho plné zuby or to be fed up to the back teeth (of something). The Czech expression brousit si na nìco zuby means to "sharpen" your imaginary teeth in order to sink them into something.
Languages also use teeth idioms to refer to health, age or quality. Darovanému koni na zuby nehleï means don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Podívat se nìèemu na zoubek, literally "to look something at its little tooth", means to look deeper into something, to examine it. When talking about something very old and falling apart, like buildings or works of art, Czechs say they have been damaged by zub èasu - the "tooth of time" or ravages of time. For living things, the ultimate impersonation of the "tooth of time" is zubatá, literally a large-toothed person, better known in English as the Grim Reaper.
And on that rather macabre note we end today's Czech language programme. Until next time na shledanou, take care.
See also Living Czech.
