[Tlhingan-hol] "Today is a good day to be that guy"

[Felix Malmenbeck]

"*that* guy" is a difficult concept to pin down; in fact, I don't think I can translate it even into my native tongue.

I believe that "*that* guy" normally refers to "somebody who fits the description of a person you will inevitably run into in a certain context, thus fulfilling the prophecy that 'there always has to be *that* guy'".

It seems there's usually a negative connotation, sometimes with the implication that *that* guy is "why we can't have nice things".

Going to a party where wine is served? You just know there's gonna be *that* guy who has too much.

Famous actor? You just know there's gonna be *that* guy who calls out to you across the room by the name of a character you played once.

Want to sleep, but your neighbors are playing loud music? Well, you could go over there and ask them to turn the volume, but ... it would make you *that* guy.


I wonder if the closest equivalent in Klingon may actually be {vIl}: Something which is just *there*. Certainly not a perfect translation, though.

________________________________
From: Bellerophon, modeler [bellerophon.modeler at gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, September 10, 2013 00:09
To: tlhingan-hol at kli.org
Subject: Re: [Tlhingan-hol] "Today is a good day to be that guy"

I get that "that guy' overdoes things to get attention. Like Will Wheaton didn't do when he refrained from saying "Qapla'" to the guy with the tattoo, or the guy with the tattoo was admitting to being for having it. When Will Wheaton said "Today is a good day to be that guy," he was saying it can be cool to be that guy. There are degrees of being that guy, and the tattoo was cool. Lampshade over the head, not cool.
~'eD


On Mon, Sep 9, 2013 at 5:26 PM, Alan Anderson <qunchuy at alcaco.net<mailto:qunchuy at alcaco.net>> wrote:
Is "be that guy" supposed to imply "act like a jerk"? I always thought
it referred to someone doing or saying something that most people
already were thinking.

If "act like a jerk" is the intended idea, don't we have a verb for
it? I'm thinking {nguq} "be arrogant", or {Qaq} "behave in a falsely
honorable fashion". {Qaqlu'meH QaQ jajvam}

-- ghunchu'wI'

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