SOME BULGARIAN AND ENGLISH IDIOMS WITH ...

SOME BULGARIAN AND ENGLISH IDIOMS WITH MILITARY TERMS Valentina I. Georgieva, Pettina Vicheva “N.Y.VAPTSAROV” NAVAL ACADEMY – VARNA ABSTRACT: The paper presents a contrastive study of some Bulgarian and English idioms, which include as key words military-related terms, but are used in everyday interactions. Some of the idioms contain names of weapons used in the past or nowadays; others originate from military tactics, traditions, drills, and daily routine. The paper also underlines the hidden verbal aggression which such idioms express as well as the preferred military terms in each language. KEY WORDS: idiom, metaphor, military terms, verbal aggression

Introduction As terminology and phraseology are subdivisions of lexicology, and this paper is focused on idioms (phraseological units), which contain military-related terms, we consider it unavoidable to explain briefly that military terminology is an “aggregate of terms used in military language. It is an essential medium of military command, communication and control.” [5] In addition, terminology is “the skeleton of linguistic communication, which forms the national-psychological component of everyone's outlook” [5]. Respectively, military terms are characterized by a specific cultural component because since a weapon has been invented it replaced the club law not only in real life, but also in language expressions. Furthermore, in the long history of developing and enriching languages, lots of military terms entered in everyday interactions for expressing meanings far away from their specialized usage. The paper is focused on analyzing some Bulgarian and English idioms (from Greek idioma - a group of words whose meaning is different from the meanings of the individual words), which, though containing military-related terms, are not used in military communications, but in everyday life. Thus, being genetically related to the military terminology, such idioms became part of respectively Bulgarian and English phraseology and are significant for the national culture and historical past of their native speakers in their meaning and expresiveness. Classification Comparison, analysis and classification of Bulgarian and English idioms that have as their components military-related terms is not based on the morphological character of their components, but on key words, which are part of the military terminology. Military terms in the analyzed idioms are the most important words semantically; they are not used with their literal meaning but figuratively as the semantic relations among the components of these idioms are based mainly on a metaphor. The analysis of these idioms helps us reveal our conceptual system, in terms of which we both think and act, as metaphors provide “the only ways to perceive and experience much of the world. Metaphor is as much a part of our functioning as our sense of touch, and as precious.” [2] 1. Idioms with names of weapons In this very broad category we can include idioms containing names of weapons, used at different times. The analysis shows that these idioms reflect the historical and economical state of the countries. 1.1. Idioms with “knife”, “dagger” and their Bulgarian equivalent This group includes idioms with a variety of meanings, as since our ancestors invented this tool, it became necessary not only in everyday housework, but also for defense or attack. What is surprising, however, is the fact that in the consulted dictionaries [6], [7], [8], and [9] only the English idiom  like a knife through butter “easily, without any difficulty” refers to a housework. The meanings of all the rest express

readiness to use this tool as a weapon for attacking physically or verbally. (The idioms from the two languages are divided in two columns for better visualization though the contrasted idioms are not absolute synonyms in meaning):

 без нож коля някого измъчвам някого без това  put/ stick the knife in/ into sb to be very да се забележи  на нож съм с някого в лоши отношения съм, враждувам с някого  вадя нож на/срещу някого 1. правя опит да убия някого, заплашвам го с убийство 2. готов съм да се бия за нещо  на нож 1. в ръкопашна схватка чрез мушкане с нож 2. посрещам и под. враждебно, неприязнено  опря/ допря ножа до/о/в кокала настъпи решителният момент за действие, за разплата, крайният предел, който повече не може да се търпи  точа ножа подготвям се за въоръжена борба  Дай му нож да те заколи/да ти избоде очите - за неблагодарник, който на добрината отвръща със зло  забивам нож в гърба постъпвам подло спрямо някого, като предателски го нападам  под нож/ под ножа на някого на сеч  прекарам под нож някого избивам, изколвам, посичам (много хора)

unfriendly to sb and try to harm them  get one’s knife into/ have one’s knife in sb to bear ill feeling towards (a person); wish to harm or hurt sb  daggers drawn// at daggers’ points quarrelling or fighting (with an opponent)

 the knives are out (for sb) the situation has become so bad that people are preparing to make one person take the blame

 the night of the long knives a time when an act of great disloyalty is done, esp. when several people meet together to arrange the dismissal of a friend from a high office //  stab in the back

 under the knife 2. In the act of being destroyed, made less, ruined

Some more idioms with the word “knife”, which is used metaphorically, are:  In Bulgarian:  Като нож в сърцето ми е/ Сякаш с нож ми прободе сърцето внезапно изпитвам силна мъка от нещо;  тегля/ ударя ножа някому // удрям балтията/ сатъра на някого заколвам, убивам;  забивам нож в гърдите унищожавам, премахвам някого;  нож ми виси над главата намирам се в смъртна опасност;  нож с две остриета нещо, което може да въздейства и благотворно, и лошо, да бъде и полезно, и вредно (cf. English  be double-edged sword/ weapon);  отърва ножа успявам да се спася от смърт; оцелявам;  In English:  turn/ twist the knife (in the wound) =  add insult to injury to say or do sth unkind deliberately; to make sb who is unhappy feel even more unhappy (cf Bulgarian  бутам пръст в раната);  on a knife-edge (of a person) very worried or anxious about the result of sth;  at knifepoint while being threatened, or threatening sb, with a knife;  before you can/could say knife immediately;  look daggers at to give fierce or angry looks to (a person), esp. without speaking;

 cloak-and-dagger like or concerning stories about spies, secret plans, or secret political affairs between countries. As seen from the examples, the above mentioned idioms reflect social aggressive models reproduced by the language. There is a widespread belief that most of the social phenomena are result of the hidden aggressiveness of the human nature. Psychology professor Mark Weichmann [5] explains that everybody has sadistic tendencies that derive pleasure from other people's pain. Humans like to feel that they are better, or smarter than the next person, and they usually have no problem voicing these feelings. That is why verbal aggression is more interesting from a linguistic point of view. Everyone can remember a time when he or she was made to feel uncomfortable by the way someone spoke or shouted or screamed at him/her, or even remember actually being scared because of the anger and hostility aimed towards him/her. In the military and police verbal aggression management is often called tactical communications. Some people's lifestyle puts them at risk and others exist in relative safety. Some people never worry about abuse; others deal with it on a daily basis. What exactly is verbal aggression? According to one of the most popular definitions, it is a “message behavior that attacks a person's self-concept with the purpose of delivering psychological pain. This includes such feelings as inadequacy, humiliation, depression, despair, hopelessness, embarrassment, and anger” [1]. Aggressive patterns of behaviour have been reflected in the idioms with military terms in particular, as seen from the examples below. Most of them express meanings, connected with the desire to harm and hurt. 1.2. Idioms with names of weapons, used in the past 1.2.1. Idioms with “sword” and Bulgarian equivalents “меч” and “сабя”

 огън и меч пълно разорение, жестоко  to flesh one’s sword // to put sb to the sword to унищожение на хора и материални блага  покорявам с огън и меч завладявам насилствено  кръстосвам меч/ шпага за словесен двубой  вадя / изтегля / вдигам меч започвам, повеждам въоръжена борба против някого или за нещо  точа меча/ точа меч подготвям се за въоръжена борба

kill  at the point of the sword/ bayonet със силата на оръжието, (cf. Bulgarian  с огън и меч)  to cross swords to argue (with a person)  draw/ unsheathe one’s/the sword ready to fight  draw the sword and throw away the scabbard be ready for a drastic and stubborn struggle  at swords’ points ready for fighting  come to points to begin fighting

The above idioms can be categorized as having the general meaning of “ready to fight and attack; behaving in a threatening or violent way”. This meaning derives from the metaphorical use of the key word “sword”. Apparently, in most of the cases in both languages this weapon was associated with aggressive behaviour. However, there are the following idioms in Bulgarian, which are completely different in meaning:  каквото сабя покаже както се случи, какъвто ми е късмета;  на гол корем сабя подигр. когато някой няма най-необходимото, а иска или има нещо, без което може.

In English the following idioms are with a different from the above mentioned meaning:  to eat sword/ iron to get a blow;  throw one’s sword into the scale to sustain and reinforce one’s claims with weapons;  be double-edged sword/ weapon to be sth that has both advantages and disadvantages (cf Bulgarian  нож с две остриета). 1.2.2.Idioms with names of other weapons, used in the past There are only a few idioms, containing names of old-fashioned weapons, that remain vivid nowadays:  In Bulgarian:  отровна стрела неприятни думи, намеци за нещо, отправени към някого;  на щита, сядам диал. най-напред, начело сядам;  In English:  come down the pike to happen; to become noticeable;  (as) plain as a pikestaff very obvious;  to have an axe to grind to be trying to gain personal profit or advantage // with/ without an axe to grind;  lay the axe to the root of sth// set the axe to sth to begin destroying (from the Bible);  hang up one’s axe to give up;  battleaxe 1. a heavy axe used as a weapon 2. a fierce and unpleasant older woman;  free lance mercenary;  under shield to fight a battle;  be shield and buckler to provide a reliable and safe defense;  buckle on one’s armour to get ready to fight.  In addition, there are some more English and Bulgarian idioms with the ‘neutral’ words “оръжие” and “arms”. All they express aggressive meanings:

 грабвам оръжие //  вдигам (се) на  beat to arms //to fly to arms//  to appeal to оръжие//  прибягвам до оръжие повеждам arms to appeal to fight въоръжена борба, въставам  bear/ take up/ take arms (against sb) to prepare  вадя оръжие на/ срещу някого правя опит да //  to raise in arms against to fight убия някого, заплашвам с убийство  (be) up in arms (about/over sth) (of a group of people) be very angry about sth and ready to  обръщам /насочвам оръжието си срещу някого започвам борба

protest strongly about it

1.3. Idioms with names of ‘modern’ weapons 1.3.1. Idioms with “bullet” and Bulgarian “куршум” Idioms with this military term that are recorded in the dictionaries are not many. The key word in both languages is used metaphorically.  In Bulgarian:  отърва куршума успявам да се спася от застрелване, спасявам живота си;  тегля куршума някому застрелвам;  тегля си куршума застрелвам се;  гроша с куршум меря зле съм с парите;  с един куршум два заека двойна цел или голяма облага, постигната с минимум усилие.  In English:  to bite the bullet to face sth unpleasant with courage;  to give the bullet to dismiss sb from his job;  to get the bullet to be threatened in this way. 1.3.2. Idioms with “pistol” and “gun” and their Bulgarian equivalents

The comparison between both languages shows that English idioms with these key words are greater in number than Bulgarian ones. The explanation could be sought in the historical past: while this weapon became widely used by English speakers in Bulgaria its usage was impossible due to political (the Ottoman rule) and economical (poverty) reasons. Respectively, this word did not become a source for many idiomatic expressions in Bulgarian. Moreover, some of the Bulgarian idioms are sarcastic:  На гол корем/ тумбак пищов подигр. когато някой няма най-необходимото, а иска или има нещо, без което може;  гол като (арнаутски) пищов/ пушка/ фишек беден;  курдисал съм се като ръждив/ цигански/ строшен пищов диал. 1 сиромах съм, а се големея 2. нищо не правя, седя по цял ден без работа; разполагам се някъде. The next two refer directly, yet figuratively, to the usage of the referent-key word:  налапам пистолета/ дулото самоубивам се, застрелвам се;  вземам на мерник/ мушка/ нишан/ щик/ прицел 1. прицелвам се за да убия, застрелям някого 2. нарочвам някого и започвам да го преследвам, тормозя или да си отмъщавам. English idioms vary in meaning and emotiveness. They can be grouped in accordance with their meaning as follows:  “to injure, shoot or kill with a pistol/ gun; to threaten or attack”  gun sb down to shoot sb, esp. killing or seriously injuring them;  to put a pistol to one’s head// to admit/ knock/ let/ shoot daylight into sb// to pump lead into sb to shoot and kill sb;  hold/ put a gun/ pistol to sb’s head to attempt to force sb do sth by threatening him;  pistol-whip to hit sb with the butt of a pistol many times;  at gunpoint while threatening sb or being threatened with a gun;  bring out/ up the/ one’s big gun to make a special effort to defeat sb’s opponent by using sth powerful that has been held back;  be gunning for sb to be looking for an opportunity to blame or attack sb.  “ be be successful”  big guns important people cf. the top brass;  go great guns to do very well; be successful, act with all one’s efforts and energy;  spike sb’s guns spoil sb’s plans or cause his actions to be ineffective. Referring to making an old type of gun, impossible to fire by hammering a spike (a kind of nail) into the hole though which fire is passed to the gunpowder.  other meanings  stick to one’s guns to continue to support a particular course of action, belief; to refuse to change sb’s opinion;  barking/ shooting iron Am. sl. for a gun;  discharge one’s pistol in the air cf. Bulgarian  бия се с ветрени мелници. 1.3.3. Idioms with “bomb” in English The following English idioms contain the word for the most powerful weapon, associated with shock and surprise:  go down like a bomb to be a great shock;  go down a bomb to be very successful, to be very much liked or admired;  go (like) a bomb to be popular. In Bulgarian there are not recorded idioms with this military term yet. 1.3.4. Idioms with “топ” in Bulgarian

This group of Bulgarian idioms can be opposed to the previous one, as in English there are no idioms with the word “cannon”, while there are the following Bulgarian ones:  С топ не можеш < да> ме разбие намирам се в много сигурно положение; напълно неуязвим съм;  срещу устата на топа в положение, при което трябва да се поеме риска и отговорността за нещо. 2. Idioms connected with military tactics, rules, drills, courtesy, and orders There are a few idiomatic sentences from Latin and from famous philosophers that became widely spread and used as they formulate not only the philosophy of war and military tactics, but also can be interpreted personally: If you wish for peace, be prepared for war (Latin); Better a lean peace than a fat victory cf Bulgarian И най-лошият мир е по-добър от война; God is for the big battalions/ God (Providence) is always on the side of the strongest battalions (Voltaire); God defend/deliver me from my friends; from my enemies I can/will defend myself. 2.1. Idioms connected to military tactics and fighting The following idioms derived their figurative meanings from originally based on military tactics situations and activities.  In Bulgarian:  гърди срещу гърди в ръкопашен бой, един срещу друг;  тежка артилерия лица, поставени по-високо служебно в дадена среда; началства;  отпускам/охлабвам фронта намалявам съпротивата си почвам по-слабо да се съпротивлявам;  обръщам/ давам гръб на някого бягам от противника; отстъпвам;  бия отбой отказвам се от някакво свое упорито защитавано твърдение, мнение;  димна завеса книж. думи или дела, които служат за прикритие на нещо;  бойно кръщене първо участие в нещо;  на предна линия съм върша най-отговорната, най-важната и тежка част от някаква работа, дейност;  в плен съм намирам се под влиянието, властта на някакви идеи, схващания.  In English:  go to war to begin attack, or use weapons;  mask one’s batteries to mask, conceal sb’s hostile intentions;  carry the war into the enemy’s country to charge accusations against sb who has accused me;  meet sb’s Waterloo to suffer a ruinous defeat;  turn sb’s battery against himself to fight the enemy by his means cf. Bulgarian  с неговите камъни по неговата глава. 2.2. Idioms, connected to military drills and daily routine The roots of the meanings of this group of idioms can be traced to military drills and daily routine.  In Bulgarian:  удрям крак вървя със стегната, енергична стъпка; марширувам;  влизам в крак навлизам в работата;  държа на крак някого заставям някого да бъде готов да действа;  влизам/ връщам се в строя 1. ставам годен за работа, за използване 2. отново ставам годен;  изваждам/ изкарам от строя 1. някого отстранявам някого от някаква работа, дейност 2. нещо прекратявам дейността на нещо, правя го негодно;

 оставам вън от строя не се включвам, не участвам в някаква работа;  бия/ вдигам тревога предупреждавам за нередност, опасност;  девета разкладка изобилно и богато угощение. 

In English:

 be given marching orders to be made to leave sth, i.e. a job, a relationship;  fall short of the mark// miss/ shoot beside/far from the mark 1. to miss the target 2. fig. not to manage to succeed. In connection with the last idiom we can refer to Lakoff, who, when explaining his Contemporary Theory of Metaphor [3] states that “traditional methods of getting things to eat are hunting, fishing, and agriculture. Each of these special cases can be used metaphorically to conceptualize achieving (or attempting to achieve) a purpose. The model for “mapping” or transferring knowledge from the more concrete to the more abstract domains of experience is: TRYING TO ACHIEVE A PURPOSE IS HUNTING. The typical way to hunt is to use projectiles (bullets, arrows, etc.) e.g. I'm shooting for a promotion; I'm aiming for a career in the movies, I'm afraid I missed my chance. ” 2.3. Idioms with reference to military rituals There are idioms in both languages, connected with past war/ fighting traditions and rituals.  In Bulgarian:  главата ми е в торбата / влязла ми е главата в торбата изложен съм на смъртна опасност, засташен ми е живота. Свързва се с обичая в миналото отсечена глава да се носи в конска торба;  да/ ще ми духа кон на/ зад/по врата да/ ще вървя пред конска стража, да/ще съм арестуван.  In English:  bow the knee before to show defeat or respect. Refers to the custom of showing a defeat or respect by assuming this posture before somebody of a higher rank or social position;  shoot down in flames to show (an opinion, suggestion) to be wrong, esp. in an argument. Refers to an aircraft being destroyed by enemy bullets;  bound/ tied hand and foot completely unable to move or act;  with flying colours completely or very successfully. Refers to a victorious army leaving a battle;  show/ run up the white flag to admit defeat. Probably the following idioms developed their meaning based on the military idioms with “colours”/ “flag”:  keep the flag flying to continue to support;  show the flag to make clear what sb’s opinions are, and the Bulgarian  държа високо знамето на нещо книж. боря се в името на нещо. Conclusions The analysis of the idioms with military-related terms in Bulgarian and English can be summarized as follows: 1. Military terms became a source for many idiomatic expressions with everyday usage in both languages. The explanation of this fact can be linked to the dramatic and eventful historical past of both nations, abundant of wars, victories and defeats, triumphs and losses. 2. Most of the examined idioms express aggressive meanings, which fact can be explained with the very character of the key words in the idioms, i.e. names of weapons and military rules. 3. The fact, that there are idioms with similar meanings, based on similar key words (i.e. military terms) in both languages can prove the Nietzschean theory of the irrational, yet irreducible and basic metaphoricity of thinking and language. As Lakoff points out “the locus of metaphor is not in language at all, but in the way we conceptualize one mental domain in terms of another”[3]. Examples include the following idioms with similar meanings:  под нож //  under the knife;  грабвам оръжие // fly to arms etc.

4. On the other hand, though there are similar idioms with similar metaphors to conceptualize the same notions in both languages, there are also idioms with metaphors that are unique for each language. This supports the theory, which acknowledges the metaphor as having creative, heuristic, and orientational functions. Idioms like:  гроша с куршум меря,  гол като пушка,  срещу устата на топа,  to bite the bullet,  go great guns,  with flying colours, etc. enrich Bulgarian and English languages with their vividness and expressiveness. References: 1. Infante, D. Teaching Students to Understand and Control Verbal Aggression. Communication Education, 44, 1995, pp 51-63 2. Lakoff, G., Johnson, M. Metaphors We Live By Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1980 3. Lakoff, G. The Contemporary Theory of Metaphor in Ortony, Andrew (ed.) Metaphor and Thought (2nd edition), Cambridge University Press, 1992 4. Weihmann, M. Personal Interview. October 30, 1998 5. Olynyk, Stephen D. Analysis: The status of Ukrainian military terminology The Ukrainian Weekly, February 16, 1997, No. 7, Vol. LXV; on-line: http://www.ukrweekly.com/Archive/1997/079719.shtml 6. Dictionary of English Idioms. Longman, 1979 7. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. OUP, 2000 8. Англо-русский фразеологический словарь. Под ред. А. Кунина, т. 1-2, Москва, 1967 9. Фразеологичен речник на българския език. том 1-2, Издателство на БАН, София, 1975