Badass Korean — As Much as a Rat’s Tail

철판깔다

[cheol-pan-ggal-da]

to know no shame; be barefaced or brazen

The Flashcard

The original illustrated card, front and back.

Being Bad in Korea card back철판깔다 — to know no shame; be barefaced or brazen

Meaning & context

축어적으로, ‘너의 얼굴은 철판으로 깔려있다’. 이 관용어는 누군가 체면도 염치도 모르는 채 터무니 없는 말이나 행동을 할 때 강철의 얼굴을 가지고 있는 듯 보임을 반영한다. 부정 적인 의미로 자주 사용되지만, 가끔 열심히 영업에 힘쓰고 있는 세일즈맨에게 긍정적인 의 미로도 쓰일 수 있다.

Literally “your face is paved with an iron plate.” This expression refers to someone who can look steel-faced while saying or doing something incredible, who knows no shame, or simply has no sense of decency. Often used negatively, but can be positive in some situations, as with a hard-dealing salesman with a thick skin.

From As Much as a Rat’s Tail · book pages 205–205. Original published text; historical references and usage are retained.

STORY TIME

See it in conversation

Korean

철판 수로

English

Iron Plated Waterways

MyungBak

부산부터 서울까지 대운하를 만들겠어.

명박

I’m going to build a canal from Busan to Seoul.

DooHwan

농담하냐? 여기는 반도라고!

두환

Are you kidding? This is a peninsula!

DaeJung

넌 그저 그런 쓸데 없는 프로젝트로 니 추종자들에게 돈 주려는 거잖아.

대중

You just want to give money to your cronies for a useless project.

MyungBak

난 무슨 일이 있어도 해내고 말겠어... 청계천을 만든 것 처럼.

명박

I’ll get it done no matter what. . . just like I did with Cheongae Stream.

DooHwan

왜 또 얼굴에 철판깔려고 하는거니?

두환

Why are you doing cheolpanggalda again?

MyungBak

뭐? 아니야, 난 청계천 위에 있던 철판들도 다 걷어냈는데?

명박

What? No, I took the iron plates off of Cheongae Stream.

As Much as a Rat’s Tail

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