Just returned from the Czech language forum and suprizingly learned a new idiom: "Zabrouisit" -- moderator inviting English speaking Czechs to try the English language forum --(skate on over, I assume is the translation? That is what my Czech is missing;" coloquial idioms", which at times can lead to a severe failure to comminicate! Is there a publication with "Czech idioms" available? Viktor PS. Not long ago, I understood "kobliky" as a horse race (as going to), but since found out, that in a converstion, the "person" is asking about your "hobby/hobbies" (as what are they?)... Confusing!..
BTW "Zabrouisit" can be also "zabrousit" which is created from English "to browse" (of course, this is not a "literary" Czech in this meaning ). An example of the use: "Včera jsem zabrousil na její (webové) stránky." - I looked at her new (web) pages yesterday.
I'm inclined to Ladis's explanation of "(za)brousit". "Brouzdat" is another czech word used in the same way. I think "kobliky" should be "kobylky". "kobyla" = "mare" "kobylka" = diminutive of "kobyla" IMHO, , no idioms.
Victor, I believe that the moderator was inviting the Czechs to "sharpen "(as in improve by practice) their English language skills by trying this forum. The czech word "zabrousit" means literally "to sharpen." Chcete si zabrousit Angličtinu? The word "hobbies" translated as konicky is correct, although the literal translation of "koníčky " are "little horses". So for instance one would say: Jake máš koníčky? =What are your hobbies?
No, no, no, althought zbrousit really means to sharpen, you can't use it with it. You can't zbrousit language skills.
brousit (derived from brus = whetstone, grindstone, not from English to browse) means to sharpen (knife, teeth), to grind, to cut (diamonds, glass) You can brousit/vybrousit or pilovat/vypilovat a style (a language skill). It is no idiom, but a metaphore: to cut a style like to cut a diamond. Hence: vybroušený styl (literally cut style like cut glass) brusič českého jazyka (the Czech language cutter) Brus jazyka českého (Lima linguae Bohemicae, 1667) But it is still possible that the original context was zabrousit někam (also not derived from the English to browse!) = to wander into, to find way to. Nothing in common with bruslit to skate.
kinda off-topic but here's an (IMO) interesting idiom - i wonder if anyone has an idea how it originated: -"Byt blbec az na pudu." - to be incredibly stupid ("to be an idiot all the way to the loft")
