The importance of the *to bach*

Welsh General / Questions
#1

Cris Davies tweeted this last night which I think is worth a look … “Jiw - nawr dwi’n dysgu taw bwrw hen wragedd  ffyn yw’r idiom i fod!! Glaw mor drwm fel bod e’n teimlo fel ymosodiad ar rywun gwan mewn henaint! Never knew that!!”

Basically he’s explaining that he’s just learnt that the idiom for heavy rain “bwrw hen wragedd a ffyn” (raining old women and sticks) should actually be “bwrw hen wragedd â ffyn” (hitting old women with sticks) so implying it’s raining that heavy that it would hurt I guess.

All that different meaning and confusion coming from a little to bach (a/â), fascinating.

Here’s the tweet link … https://twitter.com/crisdafis/status/1144007389651361793?s=19

ETA this link from wiktionary that includes the to bach …
https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/bwrw_hen_wragedd_â_ffyn

And there are others so it seems like the to bach has been optional.

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#2

Genius …

#3

The Radio Luxembourg song “Where is Dennis?” contains the couplet

Where is Dennis?
I’ve heard he’s hitting old ladies with sticks, you know.

They occasionally sang a Welsh version - I think I have it somewhere, possibly from a Maes B performance.

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#4

Unavailable for me … or it’s private or it’s geo-restricted. :slight_smile: