Serbs are pretty
religious people and that is why it is no wonder to find phrases related to God
in colloquial language. I will list ten very common ones and remember that
there are also variations of them in accordance to different part of Serbia.
Every phrase is followed by an explanation and examples.
1. koštati Boga i oca - exactly the same meaning as in English
„to cost an arm and a leg“; something that is very expensive, maybe more than
one could imagine.
Komšija je kupio nov auto. Kaže da košta Boga i oca.
2. pričati, ostati, šetati... Bogu i svetu - to talk, stay somewhere, walk
for a very long time;
Ne volim da ga sretnem. Priča o politici Bogu i svetu.
3. uhvatiti Boga za bradu - to consider yourself invincible, privileged,
better than others; maybe something like „to think someone is God's own cousin“
Viđam ga često po kafanama. Ponaša se bahato prema svima - kao da je
uhvatio Boga za bradu.
4. dar od Boga - gift from above; something very hard or impossible to get
or obtain unless hire forces help you out a bit;
Nakon nekoliko godina su dobili ćerku, kao da je dar od Boga.
5. Bogu iza nogu - to be very distant;
Hoćemo li da odemo peške do tamo? - Ma, ne! Oni su Bogu iza nogu, na drugom
kraju grada.
6. Bog zaboravi na nekoga - something very distant in time, so distant that
even God has forgotten about it;
Mama, odoh do drugara. - Dobro, samo nemoj da Bog zaboravi na tebe!
7. biti Bogom dan - similar meaning as phrase number 3, but the slight
difference is that in this case you are very special right from the beginning
whereas in phrase number three you had to make an effort to achieve something
great, but you have too idealistic perception of yourself; a God-given right
Leži i ništa ne radi po ceo dan, kao da je Bogom dan.
8. ~ do Boga - same as „do neba“, which means in great quantity, for example
to love or to be dumb; it might be compared with „to the moon and back“;
Volim svoju decu do Boga!
Objašnjavam mu nekoliko puta i ne vredi. Glup je do Boga.
9. Bog zna - God only knows! what, when, how something will happen or how
long might something last;
Moj muž je otišao na poslovni sastanak. Bog zna koliko će ostati tamo.
10. pokazati nekom Boga - to reprimand, to beat someone up as a substitute
for explanation or discussion in a dispute, row, misunderstanding etc; usually used
with possessive pronoun (his/her/their God);
Deca su slomila prozor. Pokazaću im njihovog Boga.
Mostly, they represent something of higher level, great amount, quantity,
quality using God as suprime being and bearing in mind that there is no
better/higher/nicer/more beautiful than him. These phrases are commonly found
in everyday speech and literature.
