a velas vir

Galician

Etymology

A (“at”) ve (“to see”) las (“them”) vir (“to come”): "watching them coming".

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aˈβelasˈβiɾ/

Adjective

a velas vir (invariable)

1. (idiomatic) broken (with no money)
2. (idiomatic) helpless
   • 2018, José Colmeiro, Peripheral Visions / Global Sounds: From Galicia to the World, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 246:

     E nós a velas vir

     And we are just helpless spectators

Adverb

a velas vir

1. (idiomatic) brokenly (without money)
2. (idiomatic) vulnerably, helplessly
   • 2006, Paco Martín, A bisneta Lercha: contos de sempre para ler hoxe, Editorial Galaxia, →ISBN, page 64:

     Teño, ti ben o debes saber, trinta e oito anos e xa non é esta idade para andar a velas vir coma unha raposa do monte.

     I am, as you know, thirty eight years old, and this is no longer an age for wandering helplessly, broken, as a fox in the bush