What it means
کش دادن (kesh dâdan) is a colloquial Persian compound meaning to pull, to stretch, or to drag something out. The noun کش (kesh) refers to pulling or stretching, cognate with کشیدن (keshidan, “to pull”), and دادن (dâdan) is the light verb “to give.” Both elements are native Persian. In everyday speech the phrase most commonly describes prolonging something unnecessarily, much like the English “to drag out” or “to stretch.” A close synonym in more formal register is طولانی کردن (tulâni kardan), but کش دادن carries a distinctly colloquial and slightly impatient flavor.
How to use it
- این فیلم رو خیلی کش دادن. (In film ro xeyli kesh dâdan.) “They really dragged this film out.”
- جلسه رو بیخودی کش ندیم. (Jalase ro bikhudi kesh nadim.) “Let’s not drag the meeting out for no reason.”
- این کش میده، نمیپاره. (In kesh mide, nemipâre.) “This stretches, it won’t tear.”
- بحث رو کش نده، بریم سر اصل مطلب. (Bahs ro kesh nade, berim sar-e asl-e matlab.) “Don’t drag out the argument, let’s get to the point.”
Cultural note
Iranians have a reputation, affectionately acknowledged among themselves, for letting gatherings and conversations run long. The phrase کش دادن often appears with a tone of mild complaint when a guest, a speaker, or a soap opera refuses to conclude. In Iranian television drama, critics frequently use کش دادن to describe over-extended storylines. The word کش on its own also refers to an elastic band, and this physical image of stretching underlies both the literal and figurative uses of the phrase.