[88953] in tlhIngan-Hol
"nargh tar DatlhISmeH 'eb"
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Lucifuge Rofocale)
Tue Jul 12 12:24:55 2011
Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2011 17:19:22 +0100 (BST)
From: Lucifuge Rofocale <fiat_knox@yahoo.co.uk>
To: tlhingan-hol@kli.org
In-Reply-To: <CALPi+eRvs+sztydpcJinA83Y=24_HFEggv1qcU5vGkdn_hO-rg@mail.gmail.com>
Errors-to: tlhingan-hol-bounce@kli.org
Reply-to: tlhingan-hol@kli.org
I stumbled upon this sentence:-
nargh tar DatlhISmeH 'eb - "It is too late for you to spit out the poison."
Two things.
One, I got a chill up my spine at the nargh ...-meH 'eb "too late" construction which is new to me. How and where did this come about, and can someone give me an attribution?
Two, why do I find myself thinking that, apart from its literal "The poison's taken effect, so spitting what remains from your mouth will serve no further use so you might as well swallow the damned stuff and endure it" meaning, that same sentence could also carry the metaphorical sense of "Your insult was clearly heard, and noted by vengeful parties, so attempting to deny that you have spoken will not change the consequence" in a social context?
