Hungarian

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Etymology

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From méreg (poison) +‎ -et (accusative suffix) +‎ vesz (to take) +‎ -het (can, may, potential suffix), literally one can take poison on it. Compare German auf etwas Gift nehmen können; see also the explanation in its etymology.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): [ˈmeːrɡɛtvɛhɛt]

Verb

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mérget vehet[1]

  1. (idiomatic, with -ra/-re) to (be able to) bet the farm, bet one's bottom dollar, bet one's boots, take to the bank (to be absolutely sure about it, to have no doubt about something)
    Nem vennékmérget.I would not count on it.
    • 1952 (Hungarian translation: 1972), Isaac Asimov (translator Gyula Baranyi), Foundation and Empire (Alapítvány és Birodalom)[1][2]:
      És beszéltek. Mérget vehet a szavukra.
      They talked. You can believe them.

Usage notes

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Arra mérget vehetsz.You can bet the farm on that.
Erre mérget vehetsz.You can bet on this.

Other variations:

Mérget mernék venni rá, hogy ez így történt.I’d bet this is how it happened. (literally, “I would dare to take poison on…”)
Ha ő kezeskedett érte, akkor mérget lehet rá venni.If he guaranteed it then you can bet on it.

Conjugation

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  • For the verb, see vesz.
  • The inflected noun mérget remains unchanged.

References

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  1. ^ Given as mérget lehet rá venni (one can take poison on it; poison can be taken on it) in méreg in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh: A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“An Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN and in Pusztai, Ferenc (ed.). Magyar értelmező kéziszótár (“A Concise Explanatory Dictionary of Hungarian”). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2003. 2nd, expanded and revised edition →ISBN. Online searchable version (under development).