Making Light :: May the state bird land on your head :: comments

May the state bird land on your head

Selections from The Plain English Meanings of Turkish Idioms, part of the Learning Practical Turkish website: cami yIkIlmIs ama mihrabI...

May the state bird land on your head -- comment #1 from Chris Quinones

Tue, 18 Jun 2002 23:29:10 -0500

I just sent E-mail to my MIT roommate Deniz, who hails from Izmir. I want her to verify the literal translations for me, just because. Have I ever mentioned that I can count to ten and say yes and no in Turkish? It has never benefited me, but maybe it'll come up on the next game show I try out for.

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Posted June 18, 2002 11:29 PM by Chris Quinones

May the state bird land on your head -- comment #2 from Beth

Wed, 19 Jun 2002 10:20:51 -0500

If only I still had that menu from the pizza restaurant in Pamukkale. The back of the menu had a list of handy Turkish to English phrases, starting out with innocuous phrases ("Hello, my name is..."), moving on to pick-up lines ("What is your sign?"), then verging into the ominous ("We need a doctor" and "Call an ambulance").

The pizza was good, too, even with the pickles.

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Posted June 19, 2002 10:20 AM by Beth

May the state bird land on your head -- comment #3 from Steven

Wed, 19 Jun 2002 11:13:51 -0500

Let me get this straight.

In the vicinity of New York, a bluebird lands on my head. The natives tell me I'm lucky.
(Concerns about avian hygiene notwithstanding, I'll run with this)

In Louisiana an Eastern Brown Pelican lands on my head.
(I'm getting nervous...)

In Alabama a Yellowhammer lands on my head.
(...runs away back to England where we don't have state birds)

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Posted June 19, 2002 11:13 AM by Steven

May the state bird land on your head -- comment #4 from Teresa Nielsen Hayden

Wed, 19 Jun 2002 11:27:03 -0500

Steven, you probably want to stay away from New Mexico, too.

What *is* the state bird of Turkey, anyway?

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Posted June 19, 2002 11:27 AM by Teresa Nielsen Hayden

May the state bird land on your head -- comment #5 from Steven Cain

Wed, 19 Jun 2002 16:29:24 -0500

OK Teresa. Admit it. You set me up.

The answer to your question is *turdus iliacus*, and I'm not letting that on my head.

For readers who find Latin distressing (and today that includes me) the national bird of Turkey is also known as the redwing.
For listeners tuning in from Alabama, your other state bird is the turkey.

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Posted June 19, 2002 4:29 PM by Steven Cain

May the state bird land on your head -- comment #6 from Teresa Nielsen Hayden

Wed, 19 Jun 2002 16:38:10 -0500

Did not! I had no idea that was the bird, or that that was its scientific name. It was a freebie.

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Posted June 19, 2002 4:38 PM by Teresa Nielsen Hayden

May the state bird land on your head -- comment #7 from Bob Webber

Thu, 20 Jun 2002 00:55:04 -0500

Thanks for emptying my mainspring.

I do in fact have a co-worker who is both bald and vain, and that could well be a pumpkin fastened to his tail.

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Posted June 20, 2002 12:55 AM by Bob Webber