Marash Girl's mother-in-law, an Armenian woman who survived the genocide, taught Marash Girl much, as mother-in-laws are wont to do, and often with the simple expressions that she had carried with her from Marash. One of her oft-repeated aphorisms was, (upon sitting down at the dinner table), "Yapan yemez," which means in English, "The person who makes it doesn't eat it." Now why is that? Marash Girl often wondered, until one day she found herself sitting down for dinner with no appetite and saying those very words: "Yapan yemez!" As with all such expressions, the phrase has multiple meanings, and is often meant to be humorous or ironic.
Why does the person who makes it not eat it?
1) The cook has been 'tasting' the meal while preparing it, to correct the seasonings, or simply to fend off hunger! (Marash Girl's situation last night!)
2) The cook knows what went into the dish and it turns her/his stomach to even think of eating it!
3) The cook hates eggplant, but the rest of the family loves it.
4) There was not enough to go around, so the cook made do with bread or leftovers while preparing the meal for the family and guests.
5) There was very little food, and the cook (if the cook is a member of the family), wants everybody to eat their fill before s/he eats the leftovers while s/he cleans up in the kitchen.
Please contribute your thoughts as to the possible meaning of the expression 'yapan yemez' in your comment below!
Last night the person who made it did not eat it because she was running the campaign meeting and it would have been inappropriate to eat and talk at the same time.
ReplyDeleteHere's another one: the cook is running around getting the sauce and the extra serving spoon and the children's milk, and by the time she sits down most of the food is gone, and what's left is cold!
ReplyDelete