Spirit Tiger (24 page)

Sayang
: Darling.

Serambi
: Verandah.

Subuh
: The first prayer of the day, at dawn.

Talak
: Pronouncement of divorce. After three
talak
(and they are cumulative) the divorce is final, and the couple can only remarry after the woman has married (and presumably divorced) another man.

Tikar
: Sleeping mat, usually made of woven palm leaves.

Ulu
: Upriver.

Malay Idioms

Asal terbang, burung lah

Anything that flies is a bird: one who is easily pleased.

Bagai punggok merindukan bulan

Like an owl pining for the moon: to be lovesick.

Berapa tingginya terbang bangau, akhirnya hinggap dibelakang kerbau juga

No matter how high the padi bird flies, it ends up on a water buffalo's back: You cannot escape your origins, or your tastes.

Bingong tengkat, cerdik begar

When stupid, quarrelsome, when smart, difficult: said of someone difficult to control.

Hidup segan, mati tak mahu

Reluctant to live, unwilling to die: to be listless, aimless, indecisive.

Hitam bagai pantat belanga

As black as the bottom of a cooking pot.

Kalah jadi abu, menang jadi arang

Lose and become dust, win and become charcoal: there's no way to win.

Kerana pijat mati tuma

The louse dies because of the bug: to suffer because of the company you keep.

Kerbau cucuk hidung

A water buffalo with a ring through its nose: someone easily led.

Kukur apa kepada kukur? Nyiur juga yang binasa

What does rasping matter to the rasp? It's the coconut which suffers: It is all very well for you to say, but try it for yourself.

Kurang ajar

Insufficiently taught, not well brought up.

Ludah mati pak, telan mati mak

Spit it out and your father dies, swallow it and your mother dies: having no good options available to you.

Mabok tahi telinga

Dazed by talk.

Macam pacat melompat

Like a jumping leech: someone who drains you of everything you own.

Nasi dimakan berasa lilin

The rice that is eaten tastes like wax: to be lovesick.

Panas se-tahun dihapuskan di hujan sehari

A year of dry weather ruined by one day of rain: spoiling a lifetime of good reputation by one possibly minor misdeed.

Pandai buat, tak pandai pera

Good at making (children), not so good at taking care of them.

Rusa dijumpa tak ada dikejar

To find a deer without hunting it: to have something fall into your lap.

Seperti apong di permain gelombang

Like driftwood, a sport of the waves: Living aimlessly, a person of no account.

Seperti kapas dimakan api

Like cotton eaten by fire: completely and utterly destroyed.

Seperti pinang se belah dua

Like two halves of a betel nut: perfectly matched.

Tanak dalam periok

Cook rice in a rice pot: do things in the correct manner.

Tinggal kelopak salak

Only the salak (a fruit) wrapper is left: to be utterly destitute.

Dedication

For Wan Hamidah Wan Nawang and Abdul Malek Jusoh

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Bonnie Tessler for suggesting the mechanics of a murder: no one looking at her would ever guess she'd do it so well! Puteh Shaharizan Shaari, Shahmim Dhilawala and Ashikin Mohd Ali Flindall were, as always, very helpful and encouraging. Zdena Nemeckova and Valerie Vogel read the drafts without complaint, and Eileen Alterbaum remains doubtful. Michele Andre was, and is, unflaggingly interested, and Mary Murphy ever supportive. Richard Lord deserves thanks as a peerless editor, and Philip Tatham as a peerless publisher. Without Doug Raybeck's teaching and mentoring, I never would have been able to do any of this. And my daughters, Jerushah and Arielle, are just wonderful, and truly make life worth living.

Copyright

First published in digital form in 2015 by Monsoon Books.

ISBN (paperback): 978-981-4625-11-1
ISBN (ebook): 978-981-4625-12-8

Copyright©Barbara Ismail, 2015
The moral right of the authors has been asserted.

All rights reserved. You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce, or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

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