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Search results for gamma,279 in Adler number:
Headword:
Γλαῦκα
εἰς
Ἀθήνας
Adler number: gamma,279
Translated headword: an owl to Athens
Vetting Status: low
Translation: In reference to those importing useless merchandise. [A phrase coined] because this creature is a prominent local feature in
Athens.[1]
Also "Owl egg."[2]
Greek Original:Γλαῦκα εἰς Ἀθήνας: ἐπὶ τῶν ἀχρήστους ἐμπορίας ἀγόντων: ἐπειδὴ τὸ ζῷον τοῦτο σφόδρα ἐπιχωριάζει ταῖς Ἀθήναις. καὶ Γλαύκειον ᾠόν.
Notes:
[1]
Zenobius 3.6. For the phrase see e.g.
Aristophanes,
Birds 301 (Web address 1). It is customary (e.g. LSJ s.v.
γλαύξ ; Dunbar ad loc.) to adduce the English saying "coals to Newcastle"; but non-UK readers should be warned that since the collapse of the once-proud English coal industry in the 1980s and 90s the modern phrase is now just as much of an historical curiosity as the ancient one. For
Athens' owls see also
gamma 282
[2] Unattested outside lexicography.
Reference:
Aristophanes, Birds, edited with introduction and commentary by Nan Dunbar (Oxford 1995)
Associated internet address:
Web address 1
Keywords: comedy; daily life; proverbs; zoology
Translated by: David Whitehead on 9 August 2001@06:17:29.
Vetted by:
No. of records found: 1
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