@thor Prostrate is the closest that we have, but it’s not quite the same meaning. It’s more of a request: you might prostrate yourself in order to ask for forgiveness, or understanding, but not to give an apology.
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Flick 🇬🇧 (flick@spinster.xyz)'s status on Thursday, 23-Mar-2023 05:39:51 JST Flick 🇬🇧 -
Disinformation Purveyor :verified_think: (thatguyoverthere@shitposter.club)'s status on Thursday, 23-Mar-2023 05:39:51 JST Disinformation Purveyor :verified_think: @Flick @thor interestingly the root word for apology has nothing to do with asking for forgiveness. It's actually more about justification or defense of actions or beliefs. It's interesting how this has kind of been inverted in modern language except in the case of identifying someone as an apologist for a particular ideology or behavior. -
Flick 🇬🇧 (flick@spinster.xyz)'s status on Thursday, 23-Mar-2023 05:39:52 JST Flick 🇬🇧 @thor Ah, ok, yes: the English would be “prostrate”, but that more implies supplication / throwing yourself on someone’s mercy, than truthfulness.
So: Boris could have prostrated himself before the committee, but instead he chose to be defiant and act as though he would be cleared.
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Thorwegian ❄️ (thor@berserker.town)'s status on Thursday, 23-Mar-2023 05:39:52 JST Thorwegian ❄️ @Flick "legge seg flat" (laying oneself flat) is *often* about truth, but most of the time, it's more of a public display of apology. no need to swear an oath.
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Thorwegian ❄️ (thor@berserker.town)'s status on Thursday, 23-Mar-2023 05:39:53 JST Thorwegian ❄️ @Flick i suppose kowtowing might be the closest English equivalent to the phrase i'm talking about
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Flick 🇬🇧 (flick@spinster.xyz)'s status on Thursday, 23-Mar-2023 05:39:54 JST Flick 🇬🇧 @thor No, I don’t think so. You can “lay it all out”, ie tell the whole story, but it’s not something you do to yourself, it’s something you do to the facts.
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Thorwegian ❄️ (thor@berserker.town)'s status on Thursday, 23-Mar-2023 05:39:55 JST Thorwegian ❄️ in English, can you say that a person who is taking all responsibility and apologising for everything is "laying himself flat"? we say that in Norwegian.
EDIT: Boris Johnson hearing is what prompted me to ask...
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