VÄSTNĂK
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SoundCzech
Monday, May 10, 2021
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Welcome to SoundCzech - Radio Pragueâs language series in which you can learn useful phrases through song lyrics. Todayâs selection is a popular 1960s song by the much-loved duo JiĹĂ SuchĂ˝ and JiĹĂ Ĺ litr of the Semafor Theatre, who produced playful and lighthearted songs that were an instant hit with a public bored with so called âsocialist realismâ.
The song is called âBabeta ĹĄla do svÄtaâ- or âBabeta went out into the world.â And the phrase to focus on today is krk za to dĂĄm - literally - I will wager my neck or bet my life that this is so. âBabeta has gone out into the world and left me all alone. But Iâll bet my life she has no idea I canât do without her,â Jiri Suchy sings. Krk za to dĂĄm meaning that you are ready to put your neck on the line about something - is just one way of expressing certainty about a given state of affairs. You can also say - za to dĂĄm hlavu na ĹĄpalek - I am ready to put my head on the block over this - and may it get chopped off if it is not so. Other ways of expressing certainty about something are na to vem jed or to je na beton. Na to vem jed means you can be as certain of the result as if you
were to take poison - it is dead certain this will turn out in such a way. The phrase na beton refers to concrete; in other words, itâs a hard, rock-solid fact. And finally, if you are ready to vouch for someone then the expression to use is dĂĄm za nÄj ruku do ohnÄ or âI am ready to put my hand in the fire for him or her.â The singerâs lament goes on throughout the song - as SuchĂ˝ considers how long it may take his girl to tire of the world and come back to him. âBabeta has gone and left me all alone. But I know Babeta, and Iâm ready to wager my neck that she will be back home by the summer maybe in seven years, maybe in eight and maybe in fifty. No matter I will be here waiting,â JiĹĂ SuchĂ˝ sings. I certainly hope you are not left
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waiting for anything that long - least of all your next SoundCzech. Until then, na shledanou . . . ~ Daniela LazarovĂĄ https://english.radio.cz/soundczech-8610985
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