# δώστου/dhwstou



## avalon2004

Γεια σας φίλοι!

I am currently reading Kostas Mourselas's superb 'Βαμμένα Κόκκινα Μαλλιά' and I came across the following:
*Δώστου λοιπόν να μας λέει ο Πέπας και δώστου να πίνει και να κλάει.

*What does δώστου mean in this sentence? I am guessing it isn't the imperative "give him", so I can't decipher what the actual meaning is!

I would be grateful for any help whatsoever!

Thanks/Ευχαριστώ πολύ.


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## Kevman

Γεια σου, Άβαλον!

My Pocket Oxford Greek Dictionary gives *δώσ' του* as "go to it!"


I tend to think of it as an interjection that functions similar to *να σου*, which means something like "look now!" or "check it out!" or (in olden times) "lo!", but I'm not exactly sure if that's an apt comparison or not.


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## ireney

Kev is right and you are right!

The literal meaning of "Δως του" (often written as one word) is "give to him"
It is also used as "go to it" or "go at it" to egg or cheer someone on.
In this case I would say the best translation is would however have to do with its thirs meaning which is that something is going on and on.

I would probably translate it (on the fly you understand) "And on and on Pepas was talking about these things and on and on he was drinking and crying. (meaning "And Pepas kept on relating (it? them? depends) to us and kept on drinking and crying")

Not the best translation possible I'm sure but I hope it helps with the meaning of DWSTOY in this case.

With the same meaning, it can some times be translated as "more". Eg. Το κέφι είχε ανάψει και δώστου χοροί και δώστου τραγούδια (The spirits were hight and there were more and more dances and moreand more songs)


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## avalon2004

Thanks for your comments.
So from what I gather from your explication, Ειρήνη, it could equally be phrased like this:

*Ο Πέπας συνέχισε να μας λέει και δε σταμάτησε να πίνει και να κλάει.

*Is that right/the conveyed meaning?


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## ireney

Yes, absolutely right  As an aside, another way of phrasing it would be 

Ο Πέπας όλο μας έλεγε και όλο έπινε και έκλαιγε.


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## alfie1888

I am very glad I have found this thread. I have been wondering about it for the longest time. I am reading Κυρία Ντορεμί and I recently came across this sentence:

_Και δος του εμένα να τρέχει ο ίδρωτας. _

I asked one Greek girl I know... and, well, let's just say I don't think she's very well read. Her answer did not help me one bit and just said it was a typo. After all, what did I expect from someone who said "I can teach you very bad Greek - you write too well!"

Anyway, I would like to know if my translation (or rather, the understanding) of the above sentence is correct (albeit loose - but so many forget how much Greek and English DO NOT go together idiomatically and colloquially):

_Well, leave it to me _*OR  *_trust me to start sweating like crazy. _

I deduced that from the context while I was reading as I don't think _"More and more sweat dripped down me"_ or something would really fit. If you'd like the entire paragraph, I'll happily provide it. 

Just would like to point out that I try to keep that word "me" in my translations somewhere due to the presence of "εμένα". 

Χίλια ευχαριστώ.


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## cougr

_Και _δώστου_ εμένα να τρέχει ο ίδρωτας_

Hi alfie, 

your interpretations seem to be ok. Another interpretation could  be "and there I was sweating madly" or something to that effect, but if you feel that this doesn't fit the context it might be best if you supplied us with the paragraph.


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## alfie1888

cougr said:


> _Και _δώστου_ εμένα να τρέχει ο ίδρωτας_
> 
> Hi alfie,
> 
> your interpretations seem to be ok. Another interpretation could  be "and there I was sweating madly" or something to that effect, but if you feel that this doesn't fit the context it might be best if you supplied us with the paragraph.



Unfortunately I need to provide you with more than just the paragraph, looking at it. So, here it goes:

Δεκάδες μάτια με κοίταζαν περιγελαστικά. Κι ο μαθητής που του κρατούσα το χέρι για να βαστά το χρόνο ήταν ένα παληκάρι ως εκεί πάνω, ένα μέτρο κι ογδόντα. Κι αυτό το μικροσκοπικό γυναικάριο που ήμουν εγώ, που ίδρωνε και ξίδρωνε για να τους μάθει τις νότες, θα τους φαινότανε σίγουρα πολύ γελοίο.

- Είντα κοπελιά μας στείλανε για δασκάλα; Μια πιθαμή!... θα λέγανε και θάσκαζαν στα γέλια. 

Και *δος του εμένα να τρέχει ο ίδρωτας*. Μόλις έβγαινα απ΄ την τάξη, έπρεπε να πάω τρεχάλα στο δωμάτιό μου ν' αλλάξω πουκάμισο, γιατ' ήμουν μουσκίδι. Κέρδιζα δηλαδή το ψωμί όχι απλώς με τον ίδρωτα του προσώπου μου, όπως λέει το ρητό, αλλά με ποτάμι από ίδρωτα. 

I'm loving this book right now. It's so good for my Greek. I do have a lot of trouble when it gets very colloquial with insults amongst Cretans in the story... but I will be posting all of those once I've finished the book. 

Has anyone else here read it? I highly recommend it! Η Κυρία Ντορεμί της Λιλίκας Νάκου (1955 - and it is its age that helps my Greek, too. Writing conventions have changed quite a bit in such a short time!)


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## Perseas

> _
> Και δος του εμένα να τρέχει ο ίδρωτας. _
> 
> _Well, leave it to me _*OR  *_trust me to start sweating like crazy. _
> 
> I deduced that from the context while I was reading as I don't think _"More and more sweat dripped down me"_ or something would really fit. If you'd like the entire paragraph, I'll happily provide it.
> 
> Just would like to point out that I try to keep that word "me" in my translations somewhere due to the presence of "εμένα".


Hi alfie1888,

If _leave it to me _*OR  *_trust me _are used with their natural meaning and not as idioms (I think  the former applies), then they don't fit as meanings of _δος του εμένα_. _Δος του_ is a colloquial expression  and yet a set phrase denoting that something _persists/insists on doing something. _In this context the sweat insists/keeps on flowing on me.As a matter of fact, this expression is used for emphasis reasons. 
With the use_ of εμένα _we are informed of who is sweating i.e. _me_ _.  
_The sentence _Και δος του εμένα να τρέχει ο ίδρωτας _is not an out of date expression. It is very common in the oral and written speech (dialogues)


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## alfie1888

Perseas said:


> Hi alfie1888,
> 
> If _leave it to me _*OR  *_trust me _are used with their natural meaning and not as idioms (I think  the former applies), then they don't fit as meanings of _δος του εμένα_. _Δος του_ is a colloquial expression  and yet a set phrase denoting that something _persists/insists on doing something. _In this context the sweat insists/keeps on flowing on me.As a matter of fact, this expression is used for emphasis reasons.
> With the use_ of εμένα _we are informed of who is sweating i.e. _me_ _.
> _The sentence _Και δος του εμένα να τρέχει ο ίδρωτας _is not an out of date expression. It is very common in the oral and written speech (dialogues)



Ευχαριστώ για την απάντησή σας. Ήταν η πρώτη φορά που έχω βρει τέτοια φράση - χαίρομαι να μάθω που δεν είναι "εκτός μόδας" όλα αυτά τα καινούργια πράγματα που μαθαίνω απ' αυτό το βιβλίο.

Να σας πω κάτι: the sweat insists/keeps on flowing on me δεν είναι ακριβώς πώς θα το λέγαμε στ' αγγλικά. Καλύτερα "dripping down me" ("the sweat kept dripping down me" or even this expression which gives a whole lot more emphasis of persistence: "the sweat kept pouring off me"). 

Να 'στε καλά.


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