kezét-lábát töri

Hungarian

Etymology

kéz (“hand”) +‎ -e (“his/her”, possessive suffix) +‎ -t (accusative suffix) +‎ láb (“leg/foot”) +‎ -a (“his/her”, possessive suffix) +‎ -t +‎ tör (“to break”) +‎ -i (“he/she”, personal suffix). Literally, “to break one’s hand [and] leg/foot”, normally understood as plural (“hands, legs/feet”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈkɛzeːt ˈlaːbaːt ˈtøri]

Verb

kezét-lábát töri

1. (idiomatic) to bend over backwards, go to great lengths (to make a great effort; to take extraordinary care)

Usage notes

It can be supplemented with the word igyekezetében (“in one’s effort”).

Conjugation

• For the verb, see tör.
• The nouns kéz (“hand”) and láb (“leg/foot”) take the appropriate possessive suffix according to the subject of the sentence plus the accusative case suffix (optionally omitted, especially in the singular): kezem(et)-lábam(at), kezed(et)-lábad(at), kezét-lábát, kezünk(et)-lábunk(at), kezetek(et)-lábatok(at), kezük(et)-lábuk(at).