Bones Will Crow: An Insider's View

Posted by Arc, 17th October 2012

Bones will Crow comes from Moe Zaw's poem Moonless
Night. Co-editors ko ko thett and James Byrne thought the
Burmese idiom fitting for their anthology of '15
Contemporary Burmese Poets.' Bones will Crow means
chicken comes home to roost - whatever you give, you get
back. The Burmese use it to express their resentiment, the
resentment against injustice. To be honest I did not find it
very tasteful when I heard it for the first time. Since then I
have acquired a taste for Bones. My ears have been
tamed. My lips got used to saying it.
• Bones will Crow means chicken comes home to roost -
whatever you give, you get back. The Burmese use it to
express their resentiment, the resentment against injustice.
• ko ko thett describes himself as 'a poet by choice and a
Burmese by chance', yet The Burden of Being Burmese is
predominantly characterised by a Burmese subjectivity.
• James Byrne is the founder and editor of the
international poetry journal The Wolf, which has been
publishing regularly since 2002. As a translator and editor, he
contributed to several anthologies, including Bones Will
Crow (a collection of poetry from Myanmar), which he co-
edited with Burmese poet ko ko thett.
 Idiom
•  (also called idiomatic expression) is
an expression, word, or phrase that has a
figurative meaning conventionally
understood by native speakers.
• This meaning is different from the literal
meaning of the idiom's individual elements.
Idiomatic Expressions and Their Meanings
• Hit the books : to study; to begin to study in a serious and
determined way.
Our examination is coming near. Thus, we should hit the
books now.

• Keep an eye on someone/something : to watch someone or

something or stay informed about the person’s behavior, esp.
to keep someone out of trouble.
You better stay good, I will keep an eye on you.
Idiomatic Expressions and Their Meanings
• Pull someone's leg/ You're pulling my leg : to make
someone believe something that is not true as a joke; to
trick .
I think he was just pulling your leg when he said you’ve failed
in the exam.

• Cat got your tongue: what to say to someone who is unable

to speak due to guilt, fear or is simply lost for words.
“What's the matter Lucy, cat got your tongue?”
Idiomatic Expressions and Their Meanings
• Button your lips/Zip your mouth/Zip your lip/Zip it!:
Keep your mouth shut; Don’t say anything (usually because it
is a secret);
Keep quiet about … (something. Again, often a secret);
Close your mouth and be quiet!

Just zip your lips when you see something.

Idiomatic Expressions and Their Meanings
• Cold turkey : when somebody quits doing something
abruptly, without much preparation; People often use this
idiom when they decide to abruptly quit doing something
that is considered bad for them, such as smoking.

He quit soda cold turkey.

Due to recent health problems, he quit smoking cold turkey.
Idiomatic Expressions and Their Meanings
• Wear your heart on your sleeve : to display one's feelings
openly and habitually, rather than keep them private.

John always has his heart on his sleeve so that everyone

knows how he feels.
Because she wears her heart on her sleeve, it's easy to
hurt her feelings.
Idiomatic Expressions and Their Meanings
• In the doghouse : in a situation in which someone is angry at
you for something you did or did not do.
If I don't do something for Mother's Day, I'll really be in the
doghouse. 

• When Pigs Fly : something that is highly unlikely to ever

happen.
“I might wake up early tomorrow to clean my room”. “Yes, you'll
do that when pigs fly.”
Idiomatic Expressions and Their Meanings

• to put your foot in your mouth - to accidentally say

something inappropriate that causes distress or
embarrassment to yourself or others.

I really put my foot in my mouth – I asked her if Jane

was her mother, but she said Jane is her sister. 
Idiomatic Expressions and Their Meanings
• On pins and needles : to be nervously waiting to find out
what is going to happen.
Nervously anxious, as in He was on pins and needles, waiting
for the test results . 

• I'll be there with bells on :  happy and delighted to attend.

"Are you coming to Paul's tonight." "Sure, I'll be there - with
bells on.”
Idiomatic Expressions and Their Meanings
• Bite off more than one can chew : to take on more than one
can deal with; to attempt to do something that one is not
capable of accomplishing.
Don't bite off more than you can chew, meaning don't take
too much work or responsibility upon oneself.

By accepting two part-time jobs, he is clearly biting off more

than he can chew.
Idiomatic Expressions and Their Meanings
• Toss your cookies : to vomit a lot, to be very sick.
If your getting ready to toss your cookies then you should go
to the bathroom.

•  It's Raining Cats and Dogs : A heavy downpour, rain coming

down very quickly and hard.
“There's no way they'll be playing at the park, it's raining cats
and dogs out there!”
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