# A jako komfort hlavu



## mrocek

In the song Pasážová revolta, Karel Kryl has the lines:
Na obou nohách vietnamku 
a jako komfort hlavu 

I understand the first--"on both feet, flip-flops" (vietnamky is slang for flip-flops, plastic sandals, cheap shoes more generally).
but am baffled by the second line. Any help would be appreciated.


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## bibax

We wear
...
 thongs on both feet
and head (brain) as a luxury (wastefullness),
...


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## mrocek

[...]

So "komfort" is slang for luxury? It still seems a bit of an odd construction.
[...]


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## Hrdlodus

mrocek said:


> So "komfort" is slang for luxury? It still seems a bit of an odd construction.



Luxus, komfort, bohatství - synonyms. Not slang.



mrocek said:


> So is this right?


Nice translation, I think.


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## mrocek

Dekuju vám všem!


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## bibax

mrocek said:


> So "komfort" is slang for luxury? It still seems a bit of an odd construction.


In Czech the word _*komfort*_ has slightly different meaning than the French/English cognate confort/comfort.

[We have] flip-flops on both feet and head as a pointless luxury (as we do not think anyway).

I have found that _*placka *na klopě_ = _lapel pin *badge* _in English.

On the lapel a badge as a dog-tag.


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## mrocek

Thanks again! Great help. I've been translating Kryl's songs in singable form -- so far 8 done -- but of course before I do that
i need to make a literal translation and make sure that I understand the subtleties.


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## Enquiring Mind

> In Czech the word _*komfort*_ has slightly different meaning than the French/English cognate confort/comfort.


 
I think bibax has hit the nail on the head here. Although Czech 'komfort' *can* mean 'comfort', it can also mean 'convenience' or 'benefit'. I think  the meaning in the Kryl song is more like "an appendage", "an add-on", "a nice-to-have", "a bolt-on" - a mere convenience which serves no useful purpose.

Here are some examples from the net:
 "Snadno nastavitelný a perfektně vyvážený oblouk C-ramene umožňuje precizní nastavení do nejsložitějších pozic při všech operacích. Počítačem řízené orgánové programy nabízejí optimální poměr dávky a kvality obrazu, stejně tak jako *komfort* při všech typech operací."  (source: aura-group.cz)

"Jenže ony existují i free wifi sítě většinou dotované městem jako nabídka návštěvníkům, turistům - prostě jako *komfort*." (source: lupa.cz)

"Jak vnímáte počítače? (1. ...) 2. Berete počítač jako *komfort*, bez kterého byste se obešli, ale pro budoucnost je chápete jako důležité? (source: digitcz.net)

It's clear from these examples that the meaning in these contexts is more to do with 'convenience' or 'benefit' or 'amenity', rather than physical 'comfort' - pohodlí.


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