# kuivat ämmän käppänät



## Extra Virgin Olive Oil

I was reading this reply from a news article about a Finnish model:

Tottakai kuivat ämmän käppänät on kateellisia.

Only that sentence in that reply.

I have no idea what that means, perhaps it's some saying?


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## Grumpy Old Man

Just colourful Finnish, not a saying or a proverb.  The meaning is roughly: Of course old women are jealous.  _Kuivat_ doesn't have its literal meaning in the sentence.  It suggests that the women are unimaginative, boring, not fun to be with.


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## Gwydda

And _käppänä_ refers to an old, small person, usually used of men: _äijänkäppänä_. It's the first time I see _ämmänkäppänä _being used.

To me the word _käppänä_ sounds as though the person has been left too long outside. Imagine a piece of bread that's left on the table and dries out. 
Old people go through a similar process, and I think that's where the acoustic imagery wells from.


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