Hunglish.orgWhat does the proposed fourth subway line in Budapest have in common with the Hogwarts Express of Harry Potter lore? Read on!
written by Scott Savoie
„The M4” is a fanciful Hungarian expression for a mythical subway line that will supposedly one day carry people from the far reaches of Buda to downtown Pest and vice versa.
The M4 is a legend that has been passed down from generation to generation in Hungary. Kids today hear the same legends of the M4 that their grandfathers heard.
As one story goes, children are threatened to have to go „work on the M4” if they misbehave. „Work on the M4” in this case is of course a euphemism for „go away and never be seen or heard from again.”
But, as the euphemism implies, you will be underground somewhere between Kelenföld and Keleti train stations.
So I don’t know how to translate „M4” into English. Like „unicorns” or „kryptonite,” M4 is a word for something that simply doesn’t exist. Perhaps it’s similar to the Hogwarts Express, that train connecting Hogwarts School of Magic to Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter Books: After all, both are fictional trains.
The only difference is that, one day, the Hogwarts Express might one day get built.