kas lācītim vēderā

Latvian

(1) Kāds gribēja noskaidrot, kas lācītim vēderā

Etymology

Literally “that which is inside a teddy bear’s belly;” compare the first (literal) example below.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kas.ˈlaːtsiːtim.ˈvæːdæraː]

Noun

kas lācītim vēderā

1. the inner workings of something, the nitty-gritty (but unlike "nitty-gritty", this expression does not necessarily imply "rolling one's sleeves up" or "getting one's hands dirty" but rather acquiring conceptual/theoretical knowledge about the inner workings of something)

   Noskaidrosim, kas lācītim vēderā! ― Let's get to the nitty-gritty!

2. something said when citing childish interest as reason for taking something (usually, but not limited to, toys) apart, often with catastrophic results

   puisēns uzšķērda māsas lelli, jo gribēja redzēt, kas lācītim vēderā ― the little boy ripped open his sister's doll to see what was inside (lit. what is inside the teddy bear's belly)

3. seeing the inner workings of something

   iznākusi jauna datorprogramma! Paskatīsimies, kas tad lācītim vēderā! ― new software has been released! let's see how it works! (lit. let's see what is inside the teddy bear's belly)

4. trying to fix something by trial and error with catastrophic results