со кротце, со благо и со малко кютек

Bulgarian

Alternative forms

• съ кротцѣ, съ благо и съ малцѣ кютекъ (s krotcě, s blago i s malcě kjutek) (Pre-reform orthography (1945))

Etymology

Catch-phrase of the early 20th-century Bulgarian Prime Minister Andrej Ljapčev in his native West Macedonian dialect (nowadays, part of Macedonian).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [so ˈkrɔtt͡sɛ, so ˈbɫaɡo i so ˈmaɫko kʲo̟ˈtɛk]

Phrase

со кро́тце, со бла́го и со ма́лко кюте́к • (so krótce, so blágo i so málko kjuték)

1. (literally) with calmness, with gentleness, and with a little brawling

   → (in politics and interpersonal relations) [to conduct oneself] with tact and consideration but [when that does not work] to fight for your beliefs