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The Daltaí Boards » Archive: 1999-2004 » 2004 (October-December) » Archive through October 30, 2004 » Is maith sin! « Previous Next »

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Jimnuaeabhrac
Member
Username: Jimnuaeabhrac

Post Number: 19
Registered: 08-2004
Posted on Monday, October 25, 2004 - 01:20 pm:   Edit Post Print Post

Tá cúpla ceist agam, ma’s é do thoil é.

1. I thought I read here that “Is maith sin!” might be the Irish origin for “smashing!”


Is “Is maith sin!” actually grammatically correct? Does it mean “That is the best!” ? Perhaps “tá sé go maith” is closer to the meaning of “smashing?”

(The American tradition of putting punctuation marks within quotation marks is really not working for me here.)


2. I‘ve been trying to read this article in Irish in the Irish Echo:


http://www.irishecho.com/newspaper/story.cfm?id=15414

I‘ve been having a hard time with it. It seems to be using “cú” as a metaphor for truth or
for seekers of the truth. Cad is brí “cú”? An bhfuil sé “hound?” Are there alternative meanings?

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(Unregistered Guest)
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Posted on Monday, October 25, 2004 - 02:59 pm:   Edit Post Print Post

I've heard that theory but I'm not sure how accurate it is.
Like the one that says that 'jazz' came from the irish word 'deas'.

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Alevans
Member
Username: Alevans

Post Number: 137
Registered: 08-2004
Posted on Monday, October 25, 2004 - 03:41 pm:   Edit Post Print Post

1. "Is maith sin" is a standard idiom. Since it would normally be said "'s maith sin", it seems to me to be the most likely origin of "smashing".

2. In the first paragraph, the article sets up a metaphor of the search for truth being like a hare (an giorria) that is chased by a hound (an cú).

Hope that helps!

--Al Evans

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Fear_na_mbróg
Member
Username: Fear_na_mbróg

Post Number: 207
Registered: 08-2004
Posted on Monday, October 25, 2004 - 05:58 pm:   Edit Post Print Post

Is maith liom é sin

Firstly, "é sin" is commonly abbreviated to "sin".

Is maith liom sin.

Secondly, the free verb (autonomous form) of "is" is gotten by removing the "le", giving:

Is maith sin.

Thirdly, the "is" would either be removed (which gives the rule: if there's no verb in a sentence, then "is" is the verb):

Maith sin

Or said very quickly, like "should have" becoming "shuda":

'S maith sin.


Also, Jim, in the above you said:

An bhfuil sé "hound"?

Wrong verb, should be "is":

An "hound" atá ann?
An é "hound"?
An "hound" is ea é?

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Jimnuaeabhrac
Member
Username: Jimnuaeabhrac

Post Number: 20
Registered: 08-2004
Posted on Monday, October 25, 2004 - 06:04 pm:   Edit Post Print Post

Go raibh maith agaibh,

Each reply was very helpful.



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