Fezsaurus #6

At yarağına kelebek konmuş - A butterfly that's landed on a horse's cock

I was in the barber's the other day. Since I told him I'm writing this blog, he's always got a new pearl of wisdom for me whenever I pay him a visit. As I was enjoying my massage by a 9 year old boy called Ahmet (a sentence that would have me wearing an electronic tagging device before you could say 'name and shame' back in Blighty), Ozkan (the owner) shouted excitedly "have you heard this one? have you heard this one?". He then launched the above phrase.

I was a little embarrassed to ask the meaning of this particular gem as the shop was full of children and not wanting to corrupt their innocent minds, I simply shrugged my shoulders. He left the half-shaved face of his customer and brushed Ahmet aside.

"Look at this air conditioner" he said pointing at the wall "see how I've jammed newspaper in it to stop it moving about?". I hadn't noticed, but he was right. "Now it's like a butterfly that's landed on a horse's cock".

"I understand", I lied.

"Can the horse fuck the butterfly?" he asked.

"Erm, not really"

"But the butterfly can fuck the horse!". With that he tapped me on the shoulder and with a knowing wink, he resumed his business.

So there you have it (or like me, you don't), anything that's been bodged is like a butterfly sitting on a horses cock. If anyone can help me out with understanding this one, please do.

Pre-Intermediate Turkish - Unit 1

I learned a new phrase last night. It's one I've heard quite a bit and probably used without really knowing what it really meant. The phrase is: 'farkinda misin?' and it means 'do you realise?'. It can also be used as 'farkindayim' or 'I realise'.

I love learning new phrases because they enrich my conversation and give me a direct route to explain things I'd normally have to circumnavigate.

This nugget was taught to me by my friend while we were sitting having soup at a restaurant in the early hours of the morning. I asked him to give me an example of it's usage in a sentence. Before I'd even finished my request, he gave the following example:

"Ne kadar at yaragi oldugunun, farkinda misin?" ("Do you realise what a horse cock you are?")

So much more than I bargained for. An example usage of the target language plus an opportunity for a moment of self-reflection. Farkindayim.