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rolig commented on the word držati svečo komu
lit. "to hold a candle for someone": to expect that someone who is sick will die soon: "… so mati tako oslabeli, da smo jim že držali svečo" (A. Ingolič, "Splavar Franc Vitužnik") / "… Mother had gotten so weak, we knew she didn't have long to live."
May 10, 2011
Prolagus commented on the word držati svečo komu
In Italian, to hold a candle for someone refers to when you are alone with two lovers (and you are therefore the candle holder for their romantic moment)
May 10, 2011
ruzuzu commented on the word držati svečo komu
It's funny how familiar that looks--in Latvian, svečo is sveci.
May 10, 2011
rolig commented on the word držati svečo komu
That's interesting, Pro. Since the Slovenes and Italians are neighbors, and there are a lot of Italian and Friulian expressions that have made their way into Slovene, I would not have expected the same idiom to have such radically different meanings. I wonder how many faux pas have been committed in the border regions around Trieste and Gorizia.
Ruzuzu, the similarity is not surprising; the Baltic and Slavic languages are fairly close cousins.
May 10, 2011