jàp ให้
hâi มั่น
mân คั้น
kán ให้
hâi ตาย
dtaai
Vocabulary
jàp = [to] catch ; seize ; hold
hâi = to ; for ; so that (marker that makes the following adjective into an adverb)
mân = certain ; secure
kán = [to] squeeze ; press ; compress
hâi = to ; for ; so that (marker that makes the following adjective into an adverb)
dtaai = [to] die ; pass away
Literal Meaning
To catch (or hold) firmly, to squeeze to deathEnglish Proverb
To catch (or hold) firmly, to squeeze to deathExplanation
Taken literally, this saying does not sound very pleasant. Grabbing something and squeezing it till it dies. But the idiom of doing something to death or until it dies is commonly used in many languages just to mean very much, as in the English saying ‘to laugh yourself to death’. And so the whole saying has more the meaning of taking something and applying pressure until something (e.g. information) comes out. To persevere until successful. A policeman captures a suspect and by applying the pressure of interrogation until the person gives up and gives the information needed. They are proven guilty.
There is not a directly equivalent English saying. We talk of squeezing until the pips squeak. Literally to crush a lemon so hard that all the juice has gone and the pips (seeds) rub against each other and squeak. This though has more of the meaning of applying pressure way beyond the point when it give any return. ‘The chancellor is determined to tax the businesses until the pips squeak’ Or we can hear the slang expression ‘Squeeze him till he coughs (or squeaks, squeals, spills the beans)’ in a cop film.
Example
แฟนของฉันชอบแอบไปเที่ยวบ่อยๆ วันนี้จะต้องจับให้มั่นคั้นให้ตาย เขาจะได้ไม่แอบทำอีก
faen kŏng chăn chôp àep bpai tîeow bòi bòi wan née jà dtông jàp hâi mân kán hâi dtaai kăo jà dâai mâi àep tam èek
My boyfriend likes to sneaks out very often. Today I have to to catch him firmly, to squeeze to death. Then he won’t do it again.
