What does 백발이 성성한 노인 mean?

ANSWER: a gray-haired old man

백발 (白髮) means "white (白) hair (髮)," and 노인 (老人)  means "old (老) man (人)," but what does 성성한 mean?

성성(星星)하다 is a Sino-Korean word that means "grizzled" or "gray-streaked," so 백발이 성성한 노인 would be more accurately translated as "an old man with gray-streaked hair," though many Koreans mistakenly think it means the old man's hair is completely gray.

성성(星星)하다 literally means "star (星) star (星)," which means it could be translated as "starry." It is the same 성 that is used in the Korean names for the planets. For example, the Korean name for  Mercury is 수성 (水星), which literally means "water (水) star (星)"; and the Korean name for Mars is 화성 (火星), which literally means "fire (火) star (星)."

So, that means that 백발이 성성한 머리 literally translates as "starry white hair," which suggests that it is as black as the night sky with starry specks of white in it, something that might be called "salt-and-pepper hair" in the United States.

Dong-A's Prime Korean-English Dictionary (1998)

Does 구닥다리 mean "old chicken legs"?

ANSWER: No, I don't think so.

The word 구닥다리 means the same thing as 구년묵이, so what does 구년묵이 mean?

구년 (舊年) is a Sino-Korean word that literally means "old (舊) year (年)" or "old years," which can translate as "the past." And 묵이 is a pure Korean word that means "an old thing (matter)" or "old stuff," so 구년묵이 can translate as "old stuff from the past," which is somewhat redundant.

By the way, the 묵 in 묵이 comes from the pure Korean verb 묵다, which means "to get old" or "to get stale," and the 이 is a pure Korean suffix that when attached to verb stems turns them into nouns.

But the main purpose of this post is to ask about the origin of 구닥다리, which supposedly means the same thing as 구년묵이. Naver's online dictionary translates 구닥다리 as "outdated," "old-fashioned," or "obsolete." But a book I have says that 구닥다리, even though it is a more popular word than 구년묵이, is a nonstandard word that should be replaced with 구년묵이. But my book does not give the origin of 구닥다리 or explain why it is a nonstandard word, and I have been unable to find any information on its origin.

The 구 in 구닥다리 is probably the Chinese character for "old" (舊 구), but what does 닥다리 mean? 닭다리 (chicken leg)?

I do not speak Japanese, but 구닥다리 sounds Japanese to me. If it is an old Japanese word adopted by Koreans, then that would explain why Koreans consider it to be nonstandard. Does anyone know the origin of 구닥다리?

By the way, 노닥다리 means 늙다리 (old legs), which is an impolite way to refer to old people.

From the book "뜻도 모르고 자주 쓰는 우리말 사전"

From "Dong-A's Prime Korean-English Dictionary" (1998)

From "Dong-A's Prime Korean-English Dictionary" (1998)

From "Dong-A's Prime Korean-English Dictionary" (1998)

What usually happens after a woman's "sand house" (모래집) breaks?

ANSWER: A baby is born.

모래집, which literally means "sand (모래) house (집)," is the pure Korean word for the "amnion," which is the fluid-filled sac that encloses and protects a baby before it is born. 모래집물 (sandhouse water) is the pure Korean word for the "amniotic fluid" inside the amnion.

모래집 is also another way of saying 모래주머니, which literally means "sand (모래) bag (주머니)" or "sand sack" but can also mean "gizzard," though I don't think a pregnant Korean woman would say to her husband, "Oh, Honey, I think my gizzard just broke."

The Sino-Korean word for the amnion is 양막 (羊膜), which literally means "sheep (羊) membrane (膜)," and the Sino-Korean word for the amniotic fluid is 양수 (羊水), which literally means "sheep (羊) water (水)."

So when a Korean woman's "water breaks," she can choose to say to her husband either, "여보, 내 모래집물이 나온다" (Honey, my sand house water is coming out)," or "여보, 양수가 나온다 (Honey, my sheep water is coming out)."

From Dong-A's Prime Korean-English Dictionary

From Dong-A's Prime Korean-English Dictionary

 

What does 가랑이가 찢어지게 가난하다 mean?

ANSWER: to be extremely poor

When I first read the Korean proverb 가랑이가 찢어지게 가난하다, which means to be extremely poor, I was confused because it literally translates as "to be so poor that one's crotch splits." I wondered how being poor could cause one's crotch to split.

But the concept of "crotch-splitting" (가랑이 찢어지는 것) started to make a little more sense to me after reading another Korean proverb (뱁새가 황새를 따라가면 다리가 찢어진다) about how a short-legged bird called a Korean crow-tit (뱁새) would split its "legs," or crotch, if it tried to follow in the footsteps of a long-legged stork (황새). In other words, if a crow tit tried to live beyond its means, it would split its crotch, or become poor. Anyway, I think that is what it means.

Then there is the Korean proverb 가랑잎이 솔잎더러 바스락거린다고 한다. The proverb is the Korean equivalent of "The pot calls the kettle black," but it literally translates as "The dried [oak] leaf says to the pine needle, 'You are making rustling noises.'" In other words, the dried oak leaf complains about the rustling noise of the pine needle even though the dried oak leaf makes a much louder rustling noise.

So, my question is this: What do "crotches" (가랑이) have to do with "dried leaves" (가랑잎)?

My dictionary says that 가랑잎 means the same thing as 갈잎, and since 갈 is an abbreviated form of 가을, which means "autumn," 갈잎 literally means "autumn leaves." So wouldn't that suggest that 가랑 also means "autumn," though such a definition is not in my dictionary?

Anyway, another popular Korean proverb is 가랑비에 옷 젖는 줄 모른다, which literally translates as, "In a drizzle, one does not know one's clothes are getting wet." So, 가랑비 means "a light rain" or "drizzle," not "crotch rain" or "autumn rain." That suggests that the 가랑 in 가랑비 is somehow related to 가늘다, which can mean "thin," "small," or "delicate."

And now I have one final question: What is smaller than a louse (이), the plural of which is "lice"?

ANSWER: a baby louse (가랑니)

From Dong-A's Prime Korean-English Dictionary (1998)