Русская версияHello and welcome to another edition of SoundCzech, Radio Pragueâs Czech language course in which you can learn idioms through song lyrics.
Today, weâll be listening to a tune by Lucie VondrĂĄÄkovĂĄ â the niece of one of this countryâs biggest pop stars, Helena VondrĂĄÄkovĂĄ. The song is called âVĂtrâ (meaning âThe Windâ) and you might recognise it as a Czech reworking of Bonnie Tylerâs âHolding Out For A Heroâ. The phrase to listen out for is âKam vĂtr, tam plĂĄĹĄtââ.
âKam vĂtr, tam plĂĄĹĄtââ literally translates as âwhere the wind is, thereâs his capeâ. If someone is âKam vĂtr, tam plĂĄĹĄtââ, then it means they have a knack for landing on their feet, or backing the winning side, more unflatteringly perhaps, they are spineless. I suppose the corresponding English idiom is âthey know which way their bread is butteredâ. There might be a slight difference in the two, however, because âKam vĂtr, tam plĂĄĹĄtââ does not always suggest a certain amount of admiration, whereas âto know which side your bread is butteredâ perhaps does at least a bit. Listen to the phrase again:
âKam vĂtr, tam plĂĄĹĄtââ is a phrase that politicians seem to like slinging at each other. In my research for this SoundCzech, I came across a lot of instances of senator A saying that senator B âje kam vĂtr, tam plĂĄĹĄtââ (I suppose in this case meaning âis without principlesâ or âwill jump on any bandwagonâ). Now, any good politician should be equipped with a number of ways to say the same thing, and a synonym for taking your cape where the wind blows is âotĂĄÄĂ se jako korouhviÄkaâ.
âOtĂĄÄĂ se jako korouhviÄkaâ translates as âhe turns like a weathervaneâ, and again means that someone does not hold all that fast to any set of principles, and will gravitate towards where the going is good.
From what I can see, English maybe has a few more idioms which contain reference to the wind than Czech does â but I suppose that given the blustery-ness of the British Isles that is not such a big surprise. Still, there are a couple other Czech phrases which hinge upon âvĂtrâ - the wind. If someone breathes new life into something in the Czech Republic, then they âpĹinĂĄĹĄĂ ÄerstvĂ˝ vĂtr do nÄÄehoâ â they âblow a fresh windâ into it.
And, just as in English, you can, on a wander, end up wherever the wind blows. âOn ĹĄel tam, kam ho vĂtr zavĂĄlâ means âhe went where the wind blew himâ. Fate, or âosudâ in Czech, can blow you somewhere too. But anyway, the wind is blowing me out of this studio now, and back to the newsdesk, and so until the next time, na shledanou, goodbye!
(radio-Prague)
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