# säkki päähän



## Gavril

Terveppa,

What does the expression _säkki päähän_ mean? Does it describe the same motion as "_pää säkkiin_" (and therefore have the same metaphorical meaning)?

Kiitos


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## fennofiili

Yes, _säkki päähän_ means the same as _pää säkkiin_, literally meaning putting one’s head in a bag, metaphorically (and much more often) referring to turning to a state of ignorance, non-perceptivess, or not caring.

_Säkki päähän _follows an old idiomatic pattern. People (even native speakers) often find it illogical, since they think of the illative case as expression only a simple spatial or other relationship: _panna A B:hen_ normally means putting A inside B, but here it expresses the reversed relation, putting B inside A. There are many other contexts where the relationship is reversed in the same sense. They generally involve wearing something, e.g. _panna kengät jalkaan_, _pukea käsineet kätee_n, etc. People who find this illogical may use a construct they find more logical, like _panna pää säkkiin_, possibly imitating expressions like _työntää pää hiekkaan_. I think I have never heard anyone extend such “logical” language so that they would say e.g. _panna jalat kenkiin._


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## Mordong

I´ve also heard people use this expression with a very depressed undertone: "_Ei musta ole mihinkään, pitäis vaan laittaa säkki päähän_"  (=tappaa itseni), even though it might ofcourse be a question of  idiolect and for example I don't tend to use this expression in any  meaning. I think this use I mentioned might have its roots in the way of  putting a bag on someone's head when i.e. kidnapped or hung but I don't  know how common it is.

Fennofiili made an interesting point about the illogicality of the expression!


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## fennofiili

Mordong said:


> I´ve also heard people use this expression with a very depressed undertone: "_Ei musta ole mihinkään, pitäis vaan laittaa säkki päähän_"  (=tappaa itseni)



Yes, it seems to have such usage, too. I can’t find any description of this saying in general dictionaries or in phrase dictionaries. I have intuitively taken it as referring to getting non-perceptive, like you get with your head in a bag, and I still think (after checking some Google hits with "säkki päähän") this is the most common meaning (though it is not always possible to infer the intended meaning).


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