vágja a centit

Hungarian

Etymology

Literally, “to cut the measuring tape”. In the days of compulsory military service in Hungary, it was common practice for soldiers to buy a 150 centimeters long measuring tape and cut one centimeter off it every day to keep track of how many days they have left until discharge.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈvaːɡjɒ ɒ ˈt͡sɛntit]

Verb

vágja a centit

1. (idiomatic) to count down to a greatly anticipated event

   Synonym: visszaszámlál

Conjugation

• For the verb, see the definite conjugation of vág.
• The inflected noun centit remains unchanged.

Further reading

• centi in Ittzés, Nóra (ed.). A magyar nyelv nagyszótára (‘A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published A–ez as of 2024)