dar ao demo

Galician

Etymology

From dar (“to give”) + ao (“to the”) + demo (“devil”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈdar ɔˈðɛmʊ]

Verb

dar ao demo (first-person singular present dou ao demo, first-person singular preterite dei ao demo, past participle dado ao demo)

1. (idiomatic, intransitive, dated) to go to hell
2. (idiomatic, transitive, dated) to send to hell; to abhor; to renounce
   • 1555, Hernán Núñez, Refranes o proverbios en romance:

     Cregos, frades, pegas e choyas, do a demo tas quatro joyas (proverb)

     Priests, friars, magpies and choughs, I abhor these four jewels

   • 1807, anonymous author, Segundo diálogo dos esterqueiros:

     ben dicen alí que cando un home ten un bocado, nunca lle marran amigos. Dou ó Demo a casta deles Si non sirven para máis.

     wisely they say that a man which has food is never short of friends. I send to hell their kind if they are good for nothing else

Derived terms

• dou ao demo (“in no way”)

References

• “demo” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
• “dar ao demo” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
• “dar aos demos bastos galludos” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.