Πού είσαι, ρε μαλάκα;

I haven’t recently been in the forum because I’m trying to get fluent in Greek comprehension and speaking (even harder for one who has spent his life in teaching ‘the slow languages’ of Ancient Greek and Latin. I‘m getting on well but have come across many colloquial phrases most of which I now understand but this reply to ‘Πού είσαι ρε μαλάκα? Κύμα που βράζει είσαι, ρε μαλάκα;‘ I don’t understand. I know idioms with βράζω, like να σε βράσω [get stuffed!] But Κύμα που βράζει είσαι, ρε μαλάκα; puzzles me. Can any colleague throw any light on this or have I misheard it or failed to understand? Or is it just a one-off phrase peculiar to the speaker I heard. Many thanks!
 

m_a_a_

Well-known member
Κύμα που βράζει είσαι, ρε μαλάκα; puzzles me. Can any colleague throw any light on this or have I misheard it or failed to understand? Or is it just a one-off phrase peculiar to the speaker I heard.
Sounds like a one-off to me.
Plausibly conveying some half-unacknowledged admiration for the addressee's ostensibly audacious vagabond lifestyle…

Edit: On a side note, I believe you should have it followed by an exclamation (not question) mark: Κύμα που βράζει είσαι, ρε μαλάκα!
 
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cougr

¥
I don't think it's a standard idiom, Theseus, but to me at least, to suggest that someone is a "κύμα που βράζει" (ie.a boiling/simmering wave) evokes the idea that the person to whom the phrase has been directed is possibly agitated and ready to boil over.

Edit: Hadn't seen the above post. Was writing when it was posted.
 
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