Of ploughed-up mice

Hello and welcome to a fresh edition of SoundCzech, in which you can learn Czech phrases with the help of song lyrics. Today’s song, called OK, is by the band Alkehol, and it is literally packed with interesting idioms and phrases:

Photo: 4028mdk09, CC BY 3.0 Unported

I was conceived without being asked and I was thrown into the world, says the singer in the first lines of the song. But I want to draw your attention to the following line – jak vyvoraná myš, which literally translates as a ploughed-up mouse. The phrase koukat jak vyvoraná myš is used to describe a look of surprise on somebody’s face.

The next line – vejral jsem jak vejr, which translates word for word as I stared like a horned owl, is also used to express surprise and astonishment. The verb vejrat (which only exists in its colloquial form) is derived from the noun výr, or, colloquialy, vejr– and points out to the bird’s huge eyes which give it a permanent expression of wonder.

The singer continues by saying jde to se mnou rychle z kopce, or things go downhill for me pretty fast. The closest English equivalent of this phrase would be going from bad to worse. And he goes on singing: sometimes I am down at the mouth or hubou drhnu o zem, but sometimes, he adds, I am also flying in the clouds, lítám v oblacích. And I am afraid that’s all for today. Thank you for listening to our Czech lesson and until next time, na shledanou.