Tell me more ×
English Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 1 down vote favorite

I think it’s a figurative usage as a reminder of blood, but not for sure. Why is the word Hungarian used here?

(He is a professional pianist who holds lessons open to the public.)

When I told him that one of the students had likened it to an energy radiating from his hands into theirs, he laughed and offered his own image: “I give them a blood transfusion right there on stage! After all, I’m Hungarian.” (The Piano Shop on the Left Bank by Thad Carhart)

share|improve this question
I don't disagree with Andrew's answer, but I think decoding this usage is just too localised. – FumbleFingers Apr 4 '12 at 12:57

closed as too localized by MετάEd, tchrist, Daniel δ, Mitch, coleopterist Oct 15 '12 at 15:42

This question is unlikely to help any future visitors; it is only relevant to a small geographic area, a specific moment in time, or an extraordinarily narrow situation that is not generally applicable to the worldwide audience of the internet. For help making this question more broadly applicable, see the FAQ.

1 Answer

up vote 4 down vote accepted

It's probably to do with his identifying Hungary with Transylvania and the Count Dracula myth. He is humorously indicating that Hungarians are vampires. (I suppose that's acceptable as he's Hungarian: I wouldn't recommend people who are not from that country trying that.)

share|improve this answer
2  
Transylvania is in Romania. That's not Hungary. – Matt Эллен Apr 4 '12 at 7:25
I know that. I've adjusted the answer. – Andrew Leach Apr 4 '12 at 7:49
Forgive my nitpickiness. I realise Transylvania was still part of Hungary when Dracula was written, I figured that some other smartalec would down vote you if you didn't justify it. – Matt Эллен Apr 4 '12 at 7:54
Bela Legosi, the actor who most famous brought Count Dracula to life -- or un-dead-ness at least -- on the silver screen, was Hungarian. – Malvolio May 30 '12 at 0:38