Using Expressions Day-to-Day: Water P.3

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Using Expressions Day-to-Day: Water P.3
Find the second instalment to the Using Expressions Day-to-Day: Water here

English

Persian

Audio

To clear s.th up; to give it to someone straight
آب پاکی روی دست کسی ریختن
Someone has come along (well); grown up
 از آب و گِل در آمدن
Someone is full of hot air
آبی از او گرم نشدن

دسته گُل به آب دادن

One of the most common occasions for using this expression is when speaking to children as a softer and sweeter way of saying that they have made a mistake or messed up something they were supposed to do.

This expression finds roots in a love story gone wrong, wherein an unlucky man, known for always getting into sticky situations, falls in love with a girl from his village.

His reputation, however, precedes him and the girl’s family refuses a match to take place, arranging for her a marriage to another suitor.

The love-struck boy, not wanting to see the wedding, seeks refuge in the mountains. There, the snow has melted and formed a river that the young man knows passes his lovers house. So he decides to make a bouquet and send it to her by placing it in the river.

As the bouquet is taken by the current, many see it pass and attempt to jump in to take it. As it reaches the Bride-to-be’s house, it is, however, the bride’s sister who sees the bouquet and rushes into the river to take it. Alas, in her attempts, she drowns.

The young man, upon return, sees the signs of mourning in the village. At the local coffee house, he hears about the tragedy. Hearing what happened, he confessed to the villagers in the coffee house that it had sent the bouquet via the river. From that day on, the people would say, ‘Ah, so it was you who gave the bouquet to the water’.

آب پاکی روی دست کسی ریختن

This expression has a religious root that has slowly transformed into an idiom. In Islam, water is considered the most effective cleanser of impurities. Anything considered impure should be cleansed with water multiple times (depending on the type of impurity) to achieve the desired religious standards of cleanliness.

The religious term for the water that is used in the final stage of cleansing is referred to as “āb-e pāki” (clean water) because the last time the water is poured, there is no longer any trace of the impurity (so this water poured is completely clean).

Now, “āb-e pāki” in its idiomatic use, means to have the last word or final say in clarifying a situation. It is similar to the English equivalent to “clear something up” or “to give it to someone straight”. Because it is often used in situations where the one receiving the “final say” is also disappointed, it has parallels with the idiom “to have one’s hopes dashed”.

به معنای رو راست بودن با کسی. حرف زدن با کسی بدون تعارف

To be truthful with someone. To speak without Tārof.

آب از آب تکان نخوردن

از آب و گِل در آمدن

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

.به معنای رشد كردن٬ بزرگ شدن، از پس خود برآمدن

 This is used when discussing how someone has grown up or become independent.

آبی از کسی گرم نشدن

Meaning:-

Lit: your drum is empty: طبل تو خالی

To exaggerate:.لاف زدن

آبی از کسی گرم نشدن is used for someone who exaggerates their capabilities. Someone who is ‘all talk’ or ‘full of hot air’. 

Photo by Kevin Quezada on Unsplash

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