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Βὴξ ἀντὶ πορδῆς · a cough instead of a fart (β 261) · Suda

Letters

Α Β Γ Δ Ε Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν Ξ Ο Π Ρ Σ Τ Υ Φ Χ Ψ Ω

Near β261

β257platform, podium, rostrum
β258platform, podium, rostrum
β259Bemarchius, Bemarchios
β260Bene
β261a cough instead of a fart
β262Beria, Veria
β263Verina
β264Verus
β265Berounion, Virunum

Suda/Β beta/β261

← Previous entry,β260 Next entry,β262 →

Βὴξ ἀντὶ πορδῆς

a cough instead of a fart

Translated by William Hutton23 Feb 2001Vetting: high8 revisions

daily life
medicine
meter and music
proverbs
religion

2 notes · 42 words

Translation

[sc. A proverbial phrase] in reference to those who, in a predicament, pretend to do something; since when people fart they pretend to cough in an attempt to avoid detection.¹
And [there is] a new proverb: 'a cough [is] a harpist's predicament'.²

Greek original · Adler’s text

Βὴξ ἀντὶ πορδῆς· ἐπὶ τῶν ἐν ἀπορίᾳ προσποιουμένων τι πράττειν. παρ' ὅσον οἱ πέρδοντες λανθάνειν πειρώμενοι προσποιοῦνται βήττειν. καὶ νέα παροιμία· Ἀπορία ψάλτου βήξ.

Betacode

*bh\c a)nti\ pordh=s: e)pi\ tw=n e)n a)pori/a| prospoioume/nwn ti pra/ttein. par' o(/son oi( pe/rdontes lanqa/nein peirw/menoi prospoiou=ntai bh/ttein. kai\ ne/a paroimi/a: *)apori/a ya/ltou bh/c.

Notes (2)

On farting (pordh/ and its cognates) see generally J. Henderson, The Maculate Muse (New Haven 1975) 195-99.
1Diogenianus 3.62. ↩
2cf. Michael Apostolius 3.33. On harps see generally M.L. West, Ancient Greek Music (Oxford 1992) 70-75. There is no reason why harpists, more than others (including other instrumentalists), should have had the farting "predicament"; rather, as Apostolius' gloss has it, this second proverb applies to inadequacy more generally. Or perhaps (CR) ya/lths has the later sense "cantor, psalm-singer" (see Lampe s.v.).

Neighbouring entries

β259ΒημάρχιοςBemarchius, Bemarchios β260ΒήνηBene β261Βὴξ ἀντὶ πορδῆςa cough instead of a fart β262ΒηρίαBeria, Veria β263ΒηρίνηVerina

Revision history8 revisions · last 11 Oct 2021

11 Oct 2021tweaked tr and a note; one more keyword — David Whitehead
20 Sep 2015cosmetics — David Whitehead
2 Jun 2012expanded note — Catharine Roth
28 May 2012tweaked and expanded notes — David Whitehead
20 Dec 2002added note; cosmetics — David Whitehead
23 Feb 2001modified translation; added note and keyword — David Whitehead
—
—
23 Feb 2001Translated — William Hutton

Cite this entry

Suda On Line, s.v. Βὴξ ἀντὶ πορδῆς (Adler number beta 261), trans. William Hutton, 23 Feb 2001. https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/beta/261

Translation by William Hutton for Suda On Line, revised by David Whitehead, Catharine Roth, , licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Shown unchanged, under the same licence, non-commercially. Original on SOL ↗