Stop joking with 〜たまえ

Grammar Explanation: Commanding with 〜たまえ

Assisting the police with a murder investigation, Shin’ichi explains how the culprit was able to move without a trace by going out a window and scaling the wall to the next window up. The victim’s husband demands to know who killed his wife, only for Shin’ichi to accuse him.

御主人(ごしゅじん):: 「じょ、冗談(じょうだん)はよしたまえ…　だいいち、ワシの足(あし)はまだ…」; “S-stop joking around.... First of all, my leg is still...”; Literal: “S-stop the joking... First of all, my leg is still...”
新一(しんいち):: 「ヘタな芝居(しばい)は、やめてくださいよ…」; “Please stop with the lousy acting...”

Key Points

1よしたまえ = “stop it” as a superior-sounding command

よしたまえ is よす “to stop (doing)” plus 〜たまえ, an imperative ending that sounds formal here.

2冗談(じょうだん)はよしたまえ

冗談(じょうだん)は marks “joking” as the thing he wants stopped.

3じょ、 shows panic before 冗談(じょうだん)

The broken じょ is the start of 冗談(じょうだん), showing he stumbles before getting the word out.

4だいいち introduces his first excuse

だいいち means “first” or “above all” and signals that he is about to give a reason Shin’ichi’s accusation cannot be right.
ワシの足(あし)はまだ… leaves the sentence unfinished: he is relying on the listener to infer “my leg is still not healed”.

Vocabulary

冗談 (Joke)

冗談(じょうだん) refers to playful remarks made to make people laugh, or lighthearted words and actions done in jest.

足 (Foot)

足(あし) means foot or leg.

芝居 (Play / act)

芝居(しばい) refers to theater, stage performances, and the acting itself. It originates from the Muromachi period, when audiences would sit on the grass to watch performances held on the grounds of temples and shrines.