# pana mea



## margareta9

I'm confused by the expression "pana mea", which I've encountered several times in the novel Pervertirea (Cristina Nemerovschi). Here's an example where one character asks about a girl who has disappeared: 
"Bă, tu ai făcut ceva cu Amalia?! Ai răpit-o?! Unde pana mea e Amalia? Ai omorât-o, nenorocitule?"


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## farscape

It's a slang expression, something like "Where the frack is Amalia?" Let me know if you want all the details (expletive, only a man should use it) and I'll send them to you in a PM.

Later,
.


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## margareta9

farscape said:


> It's a slang expression, something like "Where the frack is Amalia?" Let me know if you want all the details (expletive, only a man should use it) and I'll send them to you in a PM.
> 
> Later,
> .



Hi there, if you say only a man should use this expletive, then I can guess that it's short for another expression beginning p*** m**. No further explanation needed! Thanks for your help.


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## irinet

I use "pana mea", and other females do so, farscape. It seems to me that this slang expression is milder than the explicit one you mentioned above.


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## farscape

Sure you do and so are many other women, without truly grasping where it's coming from. Same thing happens with _băga-mi-aş... picioarele_, right? 

Later,
.


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## irinet

Cam aşa ceva, însă, te īntreb dacă te gândeşti că 'pana' e în strânsă legătură cu 'cocoşul' care cântă în casă?
Eu cred că tocmai de aceea a apărut acest sinonim, sā-i zicem, ca să-l putem folosi şi noi fără a avea remuşcări prea mari în privința vulgarității neexplicite.


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## farscape

That's a good one, thanks! 

I think we're mixing a few things here:

1. There is a very specific context, given by the OP, in which _pana mea_ is used by a male. It's very likely that the author has used it to circumvent using the expletive, for editorial reasons. 
2. A rose by any other name is still... a rose: if you look up _darn_ in a dictionary you'll see that the meaning is what it is and the prudes will be offended in exactly the same way as if damn was used
3. I'm all for gender equality and absolute truth  but let's keep things in their "historic" perspective  (we should probably stop here).

As a side note, whenever possible, please try to reply in the language of the first post in a thread.

Best,
.


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