Sweeten up your life

Hello and welcome to the ABC of Czech in which this season we discuss words and expressions related to Czech food and cuisine. Earlier this year we looked at some food-related idioms and I promised you "second helpings".

So today we'll be looking at some other Czech sayings connected with food.

If someone is very choosy about their food and likes all the best things, we say he or she is mlsný - finicky, picky about one's food. We can say such a person has mlsný jazýček - a finicky little tongue. We can even say chlupatý jazýček - a hairy little tongue.

If someone is very picky indeed, we say the person is mlsný jako koza, picky as a goat. Are goats really choosy? Please let me know if you think it's true.

If you're hungry or looking forward to a meal to the extent that your mouth is watering, you can say sbíhají se mi sliny - literally my saliva is running together.

If you want to describe in an expressive way that you really enjoyed your meal, you can say dělaly se mi boule za ušima - bumps grew behind my ears. Don't ask me where that saying comes from but it's still alive and widely used. Maybe it's to say that you chewed too eagerly -- which brings us to another idiom:

If you are looking for a bite to eat, preferably something yummy, you can say you are looking for něco na zub - something for the tooth.

Our wise ancestors came up with an educational saying to prepare young brides for what married life is all about, and that is láska prochází žaludkem - the way to the heart is through the stomach.

When the initial billing and cooing is over, in Czech cukrování (literally sugaring), we need to find other things to sweeten up our life with - osladit si život.

And that's all for today but we'll bring you more in next week's lesson. Until then dobrou chuť, bon appetit!