a cipész maradjon a kaptafánál

Hungarian

Alternative forms

• (a) suszter maradjon a kaptafánál
• cipész/suszter/varga, maradj a kaptafánál (literally “…stay with the last [imperative]”)
• varga, ne tovább a kaptafánál (literally “…no further [don’t go futher] than the last”)

Etymology

From a (“the”) +‎ cipész (“cobbler, shoemaker”) +‎ marad (“to stay”) +‎ -jon (personal suffix) +‎ a (“the”) +‎ kaptafa (“last”) +‎ -nál (“at”), literally “the cobbler should stay with the last”. (The sentence-initial article may be omitted.) Calque of Latin ne suprā crepidam sūtor iūdicāret (“Let not the cobbler pass judgment beyond the shoes”) or sutor, ne ultra crepidam; compare also ultracrepidarian.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɒ ˈt͡sipeːs ˈmɒrɒɟːon ɒ ˈkɒptɒfaːnaːl]

Proverb

a cipész maradjon a kaptafánál

1. cobbler, keep to your last

Further reading

• Paczolay, Gyula: 750 Hungarian Proverbs. Veszprém: Veszprémi Nyomda. 1991. →ISBN