spela allan
Swedish
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Literally "play allan." Believed to be from the tough guy roles often played by actor Alan Ladd (1913 – 1964).
Verb
[edit]spela allan (present spelar allan, preterite spelade allan, supine spelat allan, imperative spela allan)
- (idiomatic, colloquial) to act tough or superior (with implied ridiculousness)
- En kille i bar överkropp kom in på baren och skulle spela allan
- A shirtless guy walked into the bar and wanted to act tough ("was going to play allan")
- Han sparkade sönder baklyktan för att spela allan för polarna
- He kicked out the taillight to act tough in front of ("play allan for") his buddies
Conjugation
[edit]| active | passive | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| infinitive | spela allan | spelas allan | ||
| supine | spelat allan | spelats allan | ||
| imperative | spela allan | — | ||
| imper. plural1 | spelen allan | — | ||
| present | past | present | past | |
| indicative | spelar allan | spelade allan | spelas allan | spelades allan |
| ind. plural1 | spela allan | spelade allan | spelas allan | spelades allan |
| subjunctive2 | spele allan | spelade allan | speles allan | spelades allan |
| present participle | — | |||
| past participle | — | |||
1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.