kezét-lábát töri

Hungarian edit

Etymology edit

kéz (“hand”) +‎ -e (“his/her”, possessive suffix) +‎ -t (accusative suffix) +‎ láb (“leg/foot”) +‎ -a (“his/her”, possessive suffix) +‎ -t +‎ tör (“to break”) +‎ -i (“he/she”, personal suffix). Literally, “to break one’s hand [and] leg/foot”, normally understood as plural (“hands, legs/feet”).

Pronunciation edit

IPA^(key): [ˈkɛzeːt ˈlaːbaːt ˈtøri]

Verb edit

kezét-lábát töri

(idiomatic) to bend over backwards, go to great lengths (to make a great effort; to take extraordinary care)

Usage notes edit

It can be supplemented with the word igyekezetében (“in one’s effort”).

Conjugation edit

For the verb, see tör.
The nouns kéz (“hand”) and láb (“leg/foot”) take the appropriate possessive suffix according to the subject of the sentence plus the accusative case suffix (optionally omitted, especially in the singular): kezem(et)-lábam(at), kezed(et)-lábad(at), kezét-lábát, kezünk(et)-lábunk(at), kezetek(et)-lábatok(at), kezük(et)-lábuk(at).