# φαγώθηκε να...



## Aelialicinia

Any ideas on the best way to translate this Greek idiom into English for example:  φαγώθηκε να του πω που είναι;

Thanks!


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## cougr

He was pushing/hell-bent that I tell him....


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## Aelialicinia

cougr said:


> He was pushing/hell-bent that I tell him....


hell bent ---Perfect!  Thanks!


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## velisarius

hell-bent = πάση θυσία
Επέμενε να τον παντρευτεί, πάση θυσία. -  She was hell-bent on marrying him. There is an element of recklessness that doesn't seem to exist in <<φαγώθηκε να του πω που είναι>>. Sorry cougr, but the construction is "to be hell-bent on doing something", so it would not fit that sentence

In the OP sentence (which lacks context) I might say: "He kept on at me to tell him where..." or "He kept pestering me to tell him where..."


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## Aelialicinia

Velisarius---pester is the word I could not remember...thanks!


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## cougr

velisarius said:


> .......There is an element of recklessness that doesn't seem to exist in <<φαγώθηκε να του πω που είναι>>.  Sorry cougr, but the construction is "to be hell-bent on doing something", so it would not fit that sentence



Inarguably, that is by far the most common construction in usage but that's not to say that other constructions aren't possible. I'm also aware that "recklessness" is often cited in definitions of the term but I don't think that it necessarily constitutes a defining element in all cases.

A few examples:
_
He was hell-bent that he knew how to do this.
......but she was hell-bent that I should see a lot of Brian.
.....and Aimee was hell-bent that it was all a misunderstanding
I was not anxious to come here, but Gooley was hell-bent that I should.
......why are you so hell-bent that he's innocent?_


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## velisarius

I think it's worth discussing "hell bent" in the English Only forum, as none of those examples look good to me, cougr.


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## cougr

That was quick! 

I'll just say that they all seem okay insofar as my experience of the term's usage is concerned.


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## velisarius

Well for a start, _Cambridge Dictionaries Online_ give the idiom as:  "be hell-bent on something", which would make the versions with "that" unorthodox - to say the least. Maybe this is peculiar to BE, but I don't think so.

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/be-hell-bent-on-sth


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## cougr

velisarius said:


> ....Maybe this is peculiar to BE.....



I had my suspicions that that may indeed be the case and for what it may be worth, the examples I provided above were all from American writers and novelists.


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## velisarius

I've posted on the thread "hell-bent" in the English Only forum:
http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/hell-bent.2758393/#post-15444141


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## cougr

_Hankering _could also work here. In some cases, the term _itching_ may also be apt for _φαγώθηκε._


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