# οποιος εχει τη μυγα μυγιαζεται



## iyavor

I'm lost here... bees? stinging? there must be a deeper meaning here...


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## Δημήτρης

It's a phrase we say when someone overreacts to a comment because he thinks he is "guilty" but the comment wasn't actually directed to him.



> -Όποιος έχει τη μύγα μυγιάζεται.( Μυγιάζεται- προδίδεται, αυτός που νομίζει ότι τα σχόλια κάποιου τον αφορούν προσωπικά και ανταποκρίνονται στην αλήθεια)


http://www.platon.gr/nipiagogeio/insect/page6.htm


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## iyavor

I see. And how would you translate it literally- just for the fun of it?


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## Δημήτρης

From a chain mail containing many greek proverbs "translated" in English


> Whoever has the fly is flied


Of course, that "flied" has no relation with fly the verb.


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## antimatter

Δημήτρης said:


> From a chain mail containing many greek proverbs "translated" in English
> 
> Of course, that "flied" has no relation with fly the verb.



But how to explain μυγιάζεται in english??
I'm trying to think of a similar word and I can't


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## iyavor

maybe they mean "fled"- the past of "to flee"???


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## antimatter

iyavor said:


> maybe they mean "fled"- the past of "to flee"???



No, I think there is no equivalent word in english, for μυγιάζεται.
It's a verb which is derived from word fly (the insect, not the verb) and has only this specific meaning, like in the sentence.
That you think that everything refers to you (while it doesn't!)


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## Akritas

I agree that there is not a precise equivalent. The nearest expression I know is: 'A guilty conscience needs no accuser'.


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## iyavor

antimatter said:


> No, I think there is no equivalent word in english, for μυγιάζεται.
> It's a verb which is derived from word fly (the insect, not the verb) and has only this specific meaning, like in the sentence.
> That you think that everything refers to you (while it doesn't!)




that's probably why I didn't find it in my dictionary...


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## shawnee

I wonder if 'fly blown - to be infested with fly eggs', might serve as a translation of μυγιάζεται.


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## antimatter

Here's what I found in Tegopoulos-Fytrakis dictionary about this term

ρ. (για ζώα) με πιάνει μύγα, οιστρηλατούμαι | (μτφ.) θεωρώ ως υπαινιγμούς εναντίον μου ακόμη και λόγια που δεν με αφορούν, παρεξηγώ εύκολα, με το παραμικρό: φρ. όποιος έχει τη μύγα, μυγιάζεται

[about *οιστρηλατούμαι* it mentions:

-είσαι, -είται ρ. (μτχ. οιστρηλατημένος) κυριεύομαι από οίστρο, από παράφορο ενθουσιασμό ]

That is, μυγιάζομαι, metaphorically means (according to the dictionary), that I consider as allusions against me, even words that don't have to do with me, I easily misunderstand even the slightest thing/comment.

So as you can see, this term you mention ('fly blown - to be infested with fly eggs') does not apply.
We just use the stem of the word to create the verb, which as a matter of fact, has no semantic relation with the stem itself.


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## gabriel.montello

The closest English non-literal translation (i.e., to capture the essence of the phrase) is probably, "he who carries guilt, shame, or fear inside their psyche is the one who will get most bothered, annoyed, hurt, angry, or otherwise overreact to any communication that even tangentially touches upon the truth he knows inside him mind, but which he does not want others to know about."

Example: An employer calls a meeting about theft that has been occurring in the company.  The thief has come prepared with PowerPoint slides and ready to discuss ways to detect and prevent theft in the office, along with safety devices for all his fellow co-workers.  That sort of behavior is not normal.  Other employees didn't exactly have the same reaction to the mere mention of an employee meeting about theft.  But, when someone has such a strong reaction to something (flied), it's because they have inner guilt, shame, fear, or other insecurities in their mind (fly).

Example: A man, who just wants sex, is part of a conversation where women are talking about how men just want sex.  Although many guys are part of this conversation and either dismiss it, ignore it, or laugh, this guy takes it seriously.  In fact, he starts participating by making sarcastic comments, speaking with an angry tone, creating straw-man fallacies in order to attempt to attack the logical reasoning of the conversation, etc.  This extraordinary behavior simply evinces the presence of some large-enough insecurity the man has inside him, one that haunts him, and one that feels like an open wound having salt rubbed over it aggressively.

I hope that helped


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## cougr

There's an adage which says: "*only the guilty get defensive*", which I think comes very close to the Greek saying.

PS: Welcome to the forum gabriel.montello. Hope to be reading more of your posts in the future!


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## Αγγελος

I have always taken μυγιάζεται to mean 'tries to shoo away the flies' (which may only exist in his imagination).
 In French there is a saying "Qui se sent morveux se mouche" (literally, "he who fells snotty wipes his nose").
A comparable English expression might be "he who smelt it, dealt it" -- or, to raise the level, "the lady doth protest too much".


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## cougr

Αγγελος said:


> .........A comparable English expression might be "he who smelt it, dealt it" ......



More aptly, the equivalent to this in Greek would be "πρώτος έκλασε, πρώτος μύρισε " and variations thereof.


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