přijít na buben

Czech edit

Etymology edit

Literally, come to the drum.

When somebody went bankrupt in the past and their property was to be sold in an auction, it used to be announced to the public by drummers, who first beat the drums to acquire the attention and then read the announcement.[1]

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): [pr̝̊ɪjiːt na bubɛn]

Phrase edit

přijít na buben

  1. (idiomatic, colloquial, of a person or company) go bankrupt, lose all money. Compare go bust
    Synonym: přijít na mizinu
    • 2015, Eva Brindová, Je tam, je tam, je tam čert!, E-knihy jedou, page 10:
      Kdyby se takový handlíř nevyznal v účetnictví, za chvilku by přišel na buben.
      If such a horsetrader did not know the accounting, he would go bust in a while.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ František Čermák et al., editors (2009) Slovník české frazeologie a idiomatiky, volume 3. Výrazy slovesné, page 61