liškou podšitý
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Czech[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From liška (“fox”) + podšitý (“lined”). In the past animal fur used to be sometimes sown inside coats. At the same time there was a prejudice that some animal characteristics can be transferred to people by touching them. People wearing coats with lined fox fur were expected to have acquired characteristics like cunningness or slyness.[1] Compare Polish tchórzem podszyty.
Pronunciation[edit]
Idiom[edit]
- (idiomatic) sly as a fox
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:podšitý
- 1888, Josef Kajetán Tyl, Alchemista[1]:
- „Tys chytrák liškou podšitý!“ odpověděl radní pán, „a rád bysi zákony nadešel, nežli tě samy k soudu popoženou […]“.
- "You are a cunning person, sly as a fox!" answered the town councillor, "and you would like to get round the laws before you get to court because of them […]"
Related terms[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Machek, Václav (1968) “šíti”, in Etymologický slovník jazyka českého [Etymological Dictionary of the Czech Language], 2nd edition, Prague: Academia