‘Hold my beer’

[Theseus]

"Hold my beer" is an informal phrase used to signal that someone is about to attempt a reckless, foolish, or surprisingly daring action. Formerly the idiom was “hold my coat!”
It implies, "Watch this," often preceding a stunts or a challenge, and acts as a humorous prelude to a potentially disastrous or impressive feat. Suggestions from various internet websites are the literal κράτησε την μπύρα μου και δές. Οr Έλα να δεις" "Wait till you see this". Also the common phrase "κάτσε να δεις": Just you wait and see" to a person who has challenged you to execute something daring or reckless.
The sentiment goes back as far as the Greek of Hipponax of Ephesus' famous threat to the sculptor Bupalus (Fragment 12) :-

<< λάβετέ μεο ταἰμάτια, κόψω Βουπάλου τὸν ὀφθαλμόν.
ἀμφιδέξιος γάρ εἰμι καὶ οὐχ ἁμαρτάνω·»
“Hold my coat while I belt Boupalos in the eye.
I am ambidextrous and never miss a punch.”

But there are several Greek versions of the above text.

 

[m_a_a_]

In my experience, this one has more or less made its way into worldwide chat and messaging jargon as is…

But AFAIK it’s not just an alternative to Watch this / Wait till you see this…
It’s more of a somewhat playful response to an unsubstantiated boast, coming from someone who actually is superior at the quality in question…

Examples:

Apple released the iPhone Air last fall, pitching it as their thinnest phone to date, but in the cellphone market as a whole, it was actually the 21st thinnest phone out there… Hence, one could comment something along the lines of:
Apple: This is our thinnest phone
Rest of the market: Hold my beer

Or, if, say, Germans are known for their punctuality, Swedes be like, Hold my beer, meaning that they are in fact far more punctual…

Or, if I was to present myself as a seasoned linguist, most of the members of this forum would be like, Hold my beer…

Possible (albeit imperfect) ways of conveying this nuance in Greek could be:
Μίλησε κανείς για [λεπτό ντιζάιν / συνέπεια στα ραντεβού / γλωσσικές γνώσεις];

…or (provided that the rest of the context allows for some liberty) far more opaque variants such as:
Εδώ γελάμε…
Δεν πα’ να δεις αν έρχομαι;
Πού πα(ς) ρε Καραμήτρο;

Disclaimer: My answer is subject to revision, and is mostly provided just to get the ball rolling…

 

[cougr]

For some of the further examples provided by m_a_a, perhaps you could also use expressions such as σιγά το πράγμα and σιγά καλέ.

 

[Theseus]

What marvellous answers! It may be to start the ball rolling [για να βάλω το νερό στ’ αυλάκι?] but to me they are a mine of information as I follow them up.
(I had a terrible Greek lesson today, trying to communicate on all sorts of subjects with speakers at all levels of spoken Greek. It was an experiment but, under pressure, stuff I could normally easily cope with produced brain fog and brain ache! A salutary but necessary humiliation, as αυτό το μάθημα ήταν για τα πανηγύρια, I thought, like a deer at bay! These replies are a real antidote to my downheartedness.
Thanks, as usual, to cougr but special thanks to m_a_a for all the examples given and all the illustrations. I’m glad slang.gr is up and running again, for the detailed background to Πού πα(ς) ρε Καραμήτρο; except that that πάρτον κάτω puzzled me as in English ‘take him down’ is the phrase that judges use to prison officers in court to take a guilty man down to the cells!

 

[Duke_of_Waltham]

except that that πάρτον κάτω puzzled me as in English ‘take him down’ is the phrase that judges use to prison officers in court to take a guilty man down to the cells!

I didn't expect such a literal interpretation… Good thing we don't say "φόρεσα μαύρη μαντήλα" or "σπάω το στυλό μου"!

Πάρ' τον κάτω = down he goes (he fell)

 

[Theseus]

Η Εξοχότητα σας, νιώθω ότι σπάζετε την πλάκα, αλλά δεν καταλάβαινα τις αποχρώσεις των φράσεων ή «φόρεσα μαύρη μαντήλα¨ ή ¨σπάω το στυλό μου». Σας ικετεύω, η Εξοχότητα σας, να εξηγήσετε στον ταπεινό σας δούλο τι σημαίνουν αυτές τις φράσεις.

 

[Theseus]

Sorry, Duke, I know exactly what you meant, fool that I am! Of course, the judge used to break a pen before announcing a death sentence and the traditional garb of English & Welsh judges is the black scarf.
I knew this but thought you were giving me two Greek metaphorical expressions to exercise my knowledge of idioms in Greek to show my ignorance as I hadn’t understood παρ´ τον κάτω.
Πόσο άθλιες είναι οι σκέψεις μας, των κοινών ανθρώπων!

 

[Duke_of_Waltham]

You're right about the pen, but regarding the other phrase, I was thinking more of the black cap worn on the head before passing the sentence. I thought "κάλυμμα (κεφαλής)" sounded too clunky, so I changed it… But I thus turned the reference into something too obscure to be readily understood, so that's on me. Don't beat yourself up over it, Theseus!

For those who don't know, it looks like this:

(And there's that scarf, too!)

For a more humorous version:

I also have a note on the Greek: we never use an article with "σπάω πλάκα", and I don't think people use the form σπάζω with it, either. It is a colloquial phrase, after all, and "σπάτε πλάκα" or "κάνετε πλάκα" would be the expected way to hear it.

 

[Theseus]

Thanks on both counts, Δούκα. Traditionally the ‘cap’ which the judge wore in sentencing someone to death was called ‘the tricorn’. It’s hard to translate this into Greek. In England and Wales it was a piece of black cloth placed over the wig but in Scotland it was a full-blown tricorn ceremonial hat. It is traditionally known as ‘the black hat’, so I suppose in Greek it would best be called το μαύρο καπέλο (?ύφασμα). It is still worn by judges on ceremonial occasions. In Scotland perhaps the best term would be το τρίκοχο or τρικαντό.
Thanks for the Greek note. As Solon said Γηράσκω δ' αἰεὶ πολλά διδασκόμενος!

 

[m_a_a_]

I also have a note on the Greek: we never use an article with "σπάω πλάκα", and I don't think people use the form σπάζω with it, either. It is a colloquial phrase, after all, and "σπάτε πλάκα" or "κάνετε πλάκα" would be the expected way to hear it.

+1

Σπάζω πλάκα (with or without the article) sounds, well… toilsome! As if you're breaking some kind of slab!

Also, η Εξοχότητά σας is nominative clause, and if followed by a weak possessive pronoun, it would need an additional accent on the ending -ά, but in your case, you're not just referring to his excellence, but actually addressing him, so you need vocative clause (in both instances), which is normally just Εξοχότατε…

Needless to say, there is a forum:

Στο Εγχειρίδιο πρωτοκόλλου – εθιμοτυπίας του Σωτήρη Τριαντάφυλλου (Αθήνα, 2001, σ. 206), ημιεπίσημη έκδοση (ο συγγραφέας διετέλεσε επικεφαλής εθιμοτυπίας στο Υπουργείο Άμυνας) γίνεται η εξής χρήσιμη διάκριση που διαλευκαίνει το ζήτημα. Υπάρχουν:
το αξίωμα (η επίσημη εκφορά του τίτλου του προσώπου),
η επίσημη προσφώνηση, που επιγράφεται σε οτιδήποτε απευθύνεται στο πρόσωπο αυτό (επιστολή ή μήνυμα),
η προσφώνηση, όταν απευθύνεται κανείς προφορικά προς το πρόσωπο (εννοείται ότι το πρόσωπο είναι παρόν)
και η φιλοφρόνηση, με την οποία κλείνει κάθε επιστολή ή μήνυμα.Παράδειγμα, για τον πρόεδρο της δημοκρατίας:
ο τίτλος του είναι: ο Πρόεδρος της Δημοκρατίας
η επιγραφή του είναι: Η Αυτού Εξοχότης ο Πρόεδρος της [Ελληνικής] Δημοκρατίας, κύριος Τάδε (άρα στην αιτιατική, «Προς την Α.Ε. τον Πρόεδρο της Δημοκρατίας, κύριο Τάδε»)
η προσφώνηση (παρόντος του προέδρου) είναι: «Εξοχότατε» ή «Κύριε Πρόεδρε της Δημοκρατίας», ή απλά «Κύριε Πρόεδρε»
η φιλοφρόνηση με την οποία κλείνει μια επιστολή: «Με σεβασμό», ή «Με εκτίμηση».

Lastly, παρατατικός sounds slightly awkward when you say δεν καταλάβαινα (literally: I was not understanding). A native would go for either αόριστος (δεν κατάλαβα), or ενεστώτας (δεν καταλαβαίνω) if the intention is to emphasize that you still don't understand.

 

[Theseus]

As always thanks both to Δούκα and m_a_a, and to Earion for the long note. I was led astray in the Duke’s title because in Britain often, though not always, we use the third person singular when addressing a person of rank, e.g. ‘Does Your (or His) Grace want another glass of wine’. My confusion and very great thanks for the article on protocol.So thanks for that. Also I don’t know why I wrote δεν καταλάβαινα because I am aware of the difference between tenses in Greek and those in English. As, Germans might say: “ I am not learning English for a long time’. I would have used the aorist but I plead a slip of memory since I have had a very tiring week.

 

[Duke_of_Waltham]

I was led astray in the Duke’s title because in Britain often, though not always, we use the third person singular when addressing a person of rank, e.g. ‘Does Your (or His) Grace want another glass of wine’.

Α, μα υπάρχει κι αυτό.

Does Your Grace want another glass of wine? = Θα ήθελε η Εξοχότητά Σας ακόμα ένα ποτήρι κρασί;

Ή μπίρα, για να επανέλθουμε στο θέμα του νήματος.

Δεν ξέρω, βέβαια, κατά πόσο θα μιλούσε κανείς έτσι αν είχε τον άνθρωπο μπροστά του, αλλά υπάρχει αυτή η σύνταξη, έστω στον γραπτό λόγο. Βρίσκω μάλιστα φύλλο της Εφημερίδας της Κυβερνήσεως όπου διπλωματική επιστολή μεταφράζεται κάπως έτσι:

Θα ήμουν ευγνώμων αν η Εξοχότητά Σας επιβεβαιώσει την έγκριση της Κυβέρνησής σας για το περιεχόμενο της παρούσας επιστολής, με την οποία η παρούσα επιστολή και η απάντησή σας θα θεωρηθούν ως συμφωνία για την παράταση της διάρκειας της Σύμβασης για ένα έτος από τις 10 Ιουλίου 2016.

Παρακαλώ δεχθείτε, Εξοχότατε, την διαβεβαίωση της υψηλής εκτίμησής μου.

Οπότε το αίτημα του Θησέα θα το διόρθωνα κάπως έτσι:

«Ικετεύω την Εξοχότητά σας να εξηγήσει στον ταπεινό σας δούλο τι σημαίνουν αυτές οι φράσεις».

Απλώς ξενίζει λίγο αυτός ο τρόπος, όχι μόνο για τη δουλικότητα που αποπνέει για τα ελληνικά δεδομένα, αλλά επειδή έτσι μπλέκουμε τα πρόσωπα: η Εξοχότητα και ο δούλος είναι «σας», αλλά ικετεύω «την Εξοχότητα». Αν μη τι άλλο, στη σύγχρονη ιταλική, όπου για τον πληθυντικό ευγενείας χρησιμοποιείται το τρίτο ενικό πρόσωπο (και συγκεκριμένα θηλυκές αντωνυμίες) ακριβώς επειδή προέκυψε από τέτοιες έμμεσες προσφωνήσεις, η χρήση είναι συνεπής.

 

[Theseus]

A very full answer. Thanks for all the trouble. Only a beer! Perhaps here a double whisky…