Prostořeký, prostohubý

I am „hubatý“. This means I have what we call in English, „a smart mouth“. I am frequently guilty of „prostořeký“, or saying things just for the sake of sounding clever. I have a big „huba“, using it to talk all the time, making me „prostohubý“ as well. Back home, I was called a „smart ass“, or „chytrá prdel“. Nowadays this is a good thing. Being the official „prostořeký“ for Slovodne has made me famous. We now have over a thousand visitors everyday. So it’s better to be a smart ass „chytrá prdel“ than a dumb ass „blbej jak ho…“.

5 odpovědí na “Prostořeký, prostohubý”

  1. I always thought that „prostoreky“ meant rude, offensive, someone who does not mince their words, huba nevymachana.

  2. Humor is one of the most difficult things in the world to transmit from one culture to another. A “smart aleck” (as I prefer) is not the same as “hubatý” or “prostořeký.” These two words do indeed mean simply rude and offensive, and generally not in a clever or humorous way. I find that it’s often easier to give an example of a “smart aleck” than to try to define or translate the term. Here is one I like, from the website http://www.sitepoint.com/article/caffeinate-hypertext

    I once asked a wise programmer for the definition of hypertext. The programmer sighed.
    „That’s a hard one,“ he replied. „Ask me something simple next time, like the definition of love.“ He folded his hands and meditated for hours. Then he spoke. This is what he said:
    „Hypertext? It’s just text on caffeine. Lots of it. That’s why it’s hyper, you see.“

    Here is another one, from the website http://homepage.mac.com/hodelas/tar/C1214382596/E20060131080752/

    Our pastor, Dr. Al Jackson, indicated that [tithing] is the one approved way that churches should raise money. He then gave some examples he deemed to be inappropriate methods for fundraising. That’s when the smart-aleck appeared.
    Example 1: People going door to door selling Krispy Kreme doughnuts. „I like Krispy Kreme doughnuts, but that’s not how God intended churches to raise their money“ he said, or something like that. I leaned over to my wife and said, „That’s right. If they were following proper Biblical practice, they’d keep 90% of the proceeds for themselves.“

    Another example comes from the Communist era. A Czech army sergeant was lecturing his men on the evils of the West. He quoted a statistic to try to prove his point, and then proudly emphasized that his data came from a Swedish source, not an Iron Curtain source. A muffled voice from the ranks responded: “We don’t trust those capitalists!”

    An “oslí můstek,” as discussed in this forum, is a mnemonic device.

    I have not heard the term “chytrej vosel.” Can you give an example of one?

  3. The term „chytrej vosel“ is just a suggestion of an alternative translation of „smart ass“ to the one used by Fred. I wonder how the term „smart ass“ originated. Perhaps it has something to do with Balaams ass?

    Also, I have my doubts about the explanation for „osli mustek“. If the term indeed means a mnemonic device in Czech, then we use it in a completely different way than the rest of the world.

  4. Elena, you are tempting me to violate one of the basic premises of all my work…complete lack of research.

    I am devoted to confusing people. I am committed to propogating misinformation. I will exert every effort to continually mislead the gullible.

    My highly trained team of associates, who can often be found face down in a puddle of spilled beer, assist me in this crucial endeavor.

    Yet you have piqued my interest. I did a quick search (see the upcoming vyguglovat entry) and found very little about the origin of „smart ass“. There is some speculation that it originated with the term „smart alec“ and was then made more vulgar by changing alec for ass, which sounds about right.

    But I prefer the biblical explanation put forward by good ole Lahvak, even though I’m pretty sure it’s not correct…

    For a complete definition, see:

    http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=smart+ass

    BTW: I used to have a good mnemonic device, but I’ve forgotten it.

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