Line 892
οὐκ ἐς κόρακας ἀποφθερεῖ βύρσης κάκιστον ὄζων;
The phrase οὐκ ἐς κόρακας functions as a fixed idiom meaning 'to perish utterly' or 'to be destroyed completely,' literally 'to go to the crows.' While the idiom itself is attested elsewhere (e.g., in Aristophanes' *Knights* 1074, *Clouds* 1074), its usage here in a question expecting a negative answer ('he won't go to the crows?') creates a specific rhetorical effect: it emphasizes the speaker's certainty that the subject (the Sausage-Seller, in context) is too vile or protected to suffer such a fate, or conversely, that his corruption is so profound he is already beyond the reach of standard destruction. The verb ἀποφθερεῖ (future active indicative of ἀποφθέρνω, 'to destroy') is used in a context where the Sausage-Seller is accused of being the worst of the skins (βύρσης), yet the speaker suggests he will not be destroyed but rather will continue to flourish or persist in his depravity. The construction is a rhetorical question that functions as a strong assertion.
Knights. Aristophanes. . 2026-09-08.