Coloquialisms and other sayings.

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Message 577961 - Posted: 29 May 2007, 15:41:02 UTC - in response to Message 577959.  

22. Sarge
Sarge


Heck, no! I am not qualified, do not have the time and am unwilling. :) Let alone the fact that there are some who would never stand for it.



Wow Sarge. Someone made you a mod... You must feel very warm and fuzy inside.

It doesn't matter whether you are qualified or not your fellow modulators will help you.

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. (UK expression i think?)

It might bite... :0)


Works in Sweden to...
Titta aldrig en given häst i munnen.

But I have never heard "sällan hostar hackspetten" being used in english... And that is of course; "seldomly the woodpecker coughs".
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Message 578284 - Posted: 30 May 2007, 1:57:31 UTC - in response to Message 577961.  


But I have never heard "sällan hostar hackspetten" being used in english... And that is of course; "seldomly the woodpecker coughs".

Hey Carl! That's an interesting expression. I think in English it would probably be "Occasionally, the woodpecker coughs".

But what do people mean when they use that expression? Does it mean that now and then, even the unusual happens?

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Message 578475 - Posted: 30 May 2007, 14:06:28 UTC - in response to Message 578284.  


But I have never heard "sällan hostar hackspetten" being used in english... And that is of course; "seldomly the woodpecker coughs".

Hey Carl! That's an interesting expression. I think in English it would probably be "Occasionally, the woodpecker coughs".

But what do people mean when they use that expression? Does it mean that now and then, even the unusual happens?


It would be akin' to... "Never in a million years"
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Message 578601 - Posted: 30 May 2007, 18:50:26 UTC - in response to Message 578475.  


But I have never heard "sällan hostar hackspetten" being used in english... And that is of course; "seldomly the woodpecker coughs".

Hey Carl! That's an interesting expression. I think in English it would probably be "Occasionally, the woodpecker coughs".

But what do people mean when they use that expression? Does it mean that now and then, even the unusual happens?


It would be akin' to... "Never in a million years"

Ahhh! Thanks for that, Carl.

That's one of the things that I love about this forum: you're always learning new things. :-)

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Message 578606 - Posted: 30 May 2007, 18:57:44 UTC - in response to Message 578601.  


But I have never heard "sällan hostar hackspetten" being used in english... And that is of course; "seldomly the woodpecker coughs".

Hey Carl! That's an interesting expression. I think in English it would probably be "Occasionally, the woodpecker coughs".

But what do people mean when they use that expression? Does it mean that now and then, even the unusual happens?


It would be akin' to... "Never in a million years"

Ahhh! Thanks for that, Carl.

That's one of the things that I love about this forum: you're always learning new things. :-)


Than you have this one... "över huvud taget", or in english, "over the head taken".

Love intranslatable expressions:-) Me and the swedish parliament representative to the EU used that expression in english to the total bewilderment of the british representative and the boss at CERN. It made half of our sentences totaly ununderstandable... *Muahahaha*
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Message 578624 - Posted: 30 May 2007, 19:23:19 UTC - in response to Message 578606.  
Last modified: 30 May 2007, 19:27:29 UTC


But I have never heard "sällan hostar hackspetten" being used in english... And that is of course; "seldomly the woodpecker coughs".

Hey Carl! That's an interesting expression. I think in English it would probably be "Occasionally, the woodpecker coughs".

But what do people mean when they use that expression? Does it mean that now and then, even the unusual happens?


It would be akin' to... "Never in a million years"

Ahhh! Thanks for that, Carl.

That's one of the things that I love about this forum: you're always learning new things. :-)


Than you have this one... "över huvud taget", or in english, "over the head taken".

Love intranslatable expressions:-) Me and the swedish parliament representative to the EU used that expression in english to the total bewilderment of the british representative and the boss at CERN. It made half of our sentences totaly ununderstandable... *Muahahaha*

Hahahah!

Tell me what it means. I'm dying to be more knowledgeable than the boss at CERN. If I ever meet him, I'll pretend that everyone knows that one! LOL


Edit: Here's one in Hungarian. "Nem minden tarka sarka farka tarka, chok a farku fayta tarka sarka farka tarka". It's a tongue twister, like the English "Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Picled Peppers".

Translated literally, it means, "Not every chequered peacock has a chequered tail, just the chequered tailed peacock has a chequered tail".
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Message 578634 - Posted: 30 May 2007, 19:33:16 UTC - in response to Message 578624.  


But I have never heard "sällan hostar hackspetten" being used in english... And that is of course; "seldomly the woodpecker coughs".

Hey Carl! That's an interesting expression. I think in English it would probably be "Occasionally, the woodpecker coughs".

But what do people mean when they use that expression? Does it mean that now and then, even the unusual happens?


It would be akin' to... "Never in a million years"

Ahhh! Thanks for that, Carl.

That's one of the things that I love about this forum: you're always learning new things. :-)


Than you have this one... "över huvud taget", or in english, "over the head taken".

Love intranslatable expressions:-) Me and the swedish parliament representative to the EU used that expression in english to the total bewilderment of the british representative and the boss at CERN. It made half of our sentences totaly ununderstandable... *Muahahaha*

Hahahah!

Tell me what it means. I'm dying to be more knowledgeable than the boss at CERN. If I ever meet him, I'll pretend that everyone knows that one! LOL


Edit: Here's one in Hungarian. "Nem minden tarka sarka farka tarka, chok a farku fayta tarka sarka farka tarka". It's a tongue twister, like the English "Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Picled Peppers".

Translated literally, it means, "Not every chequered peacock has a chequered tail, just the chequered tailed peacock has a chequered tail".


Fair equivalent would be "just about"...

And the not literal translation?

Are you hungarian? Sorry if I am nosy.
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Message 578637 - Posted: 30 May 2007, 19:41:28 UTC - in response to Message 578634.  



Edit: Here's one in Hungarian. "Nem minden tarka sarka farka tarka, chok a farku fayta tarka sarka farka tarka". It's a tongue twister, like the English "Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Picled Peppers".

Translated literally, it means, "Not every chequered peacock has a chequered tail, just the chequered tailed peacock has a chequered tail".


Fair equivalent would be "just about"...

And the not literal translation?

Are you hungarian? Sorry if I am nosy.

Nope, I'm Canadian. I understand it orally but I can't read or write in it. My father is a master of languages: to some degree he speaks 67 of them! Anyway, he taught this tongue-twister to a friend of his that used to go to a Hungarian barbershop. After the friend Louie got this memorized, he went in and put it out to the gang there. From that moment on, nobody would believe that he didn't speak Hungarian! LOL

I understand a handful of languages but I'll never get close to what my father knows; I wouldn't even try.

The meaning is: "Don't overgeneralize".

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Message 578640 - Posted: 30 May 2007, 19:46:18 UTC - in response to Message 578637.  



Edit: Here's one in Hungarian. "Nem minden tarka sarka farka tarka, chok a farku fayta tarka sarka farka tarka". It's a tongue twister, like the English "Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Picled Peppers".

Translated literally, it means, "Not every chequered peacock has a chequered tail, just the chequered tailed peacock has a chequered tail".


Fair equivalent would be "just about"...

And the not literal translation?

Are you hungarian? Sorry if I am nosy.

Nope, I'm Canadian. I understand it orally but I can't read or write in it. My father is a master of languages: to some degree he speaks 67 of them! Anyway, he taught this tongue-twister to a friend of his that used to go to a Hungarian barbershop. After the friend Louie got this memorized, he went in and put it out to the gang there. From that moment on, nobody would believe that he didn't speak Hungarian! LOL

I understand a handful of languages but I'll never get close to what my father knows; I wouldn't even try.

The meaning is: "Don't overgeneralize".


hEY, GuYz, maybe we could have a separate thread for this? BTW: yes, you're Canadian, but what are your roots from before settling in Canada?
Capitalize on this good fortune, one word can bring you round ... changes.
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Message 578641 - Posted: 30 May 2007, 19:49:06 UTC - in response to Message 578640.  



Edit: Here's one in Hungarian. "Nem minden tarka sarka farka tarka, chok a farku fayta tarka sarka farka tarka". It's a tongue twister, like the English "Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Picled Peppers".

Translated literally, it means, "Not every chequered peacock has a chequered tail, just the chequered tailed peacock has a chequered tail".


Fair equivalent would be "just about"...

And the not literal translation?

Are you hungarian? Sorry if I am nosy.

Nope, I'm Canadian. I understand it orally but I can't read or write in it. My father is a master of languages: to some degree he speaks 67 of them! Anyway, he taught this tongue-twister to a friend of his that used to go to a Hungarian barbershop. After the friend Louie got this memorized, he went in and put it out to the gang there. From that moment on, nobody would believe that he didn't speak Hungarian! LOL

I understand a handful of languages but I'll never get close to what my father knows; I wouldn't even try.

The meaning is: "Don't overgeneralize".


hEY, GuYz, maybe we could have a separate thread for this? BTW: yes, you're Canadian, but what are your roots from before settling in Canada?

I'd answer that by saying I was born in Montreal, making me a French Canadian...but that would be off-topic. LOL

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Message 578697 - Posted: 30 May 2007, 21:21:09 UTC - in response to Message 578634.  


Are you hungarian? Sorry if I am nosy.

I have to jump in with a story here. I was skiing in Bulgaria one time and the Bulgarian waiter (who was actually Russian), eager to show off his English and his wit, would every single day say the same thing to me - "Are you finish?" - "No I am English" Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha

Those were his Ha Ha's - every single day, same joke :( Haha!


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Message 578849 - Posted: 31 May 2007, 0:46:31 UTC

I have heard a story about an early English Russian computer translation program. When handed "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak" the program translated that into Russian and back into English, and what came back was "The vodka is fine, but the meat is rotten."

P.S. I am going to move an interesting thread hijack to here.


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Message 578936 - Posted: 31 May 2007, 3:44:25 UTC - in response to Message 578849.  
Last modified: 31 May 2007, 3:55:35 UTC

I have heard a story about an early English Russian computer translation program. When handed "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak" the program translated that into Russian and back into English, and what came back was "The vodka is fine, but the meat is rotten."

P.S. I am going to move an interesting thread hijack to here.


Good one, John! LOL


Thanks for moving these posts. Much appreciated.



The Germans have a saying, "Dich teure Halle!" which Babelfish translates to "You expensive resounds!". Actually the phrase translates better as "You precious hall!". It's the first part of a famous opening line of an aria by the character Elizabeth in Wagner's opera Tannhäuser, "Dich teure Halle, grüss Ich dich wieder!" or "You precious hall, I greet you again!". So, the phrase "Dich Teure Halle!" actually has the English meaning of "Home Sweet Home!".



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Message 578945 - Posted: 31 May 2007, 4:06:12 UTC

"When it's not about the science it's about the fun." -- Misfit
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Message 578951 - Posted: 31 May 2007, 4:27:40 UTC - in response to Message 578945.  

"When it's not about the science it's about the fun." -- Misfit

Bravo!

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Message 578954 - Posted: 31 May 2007, 4:35:31 UTC
Last modified: 31 May 2007, 4:36:57 UTC

Here's one in French that made me laugh the first time I heard it: "Mon petit chou" which translates literally into "My little cabbage". Apparantly it's a popular term of endearment in France, similar to the English "Sweetie" or "Honey". So when a husband feels a welling of affection for his wife, he'll likey say to her, "My little cabbage". :-)
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Message 579168 - Posted: 31 May 2007, 13:36:44 UTC - in response to Message 578936.  
Last modified: 31 May 2007, 13:38:17 UTC

I have heard a story about an early English Russian computer translation program. When handed "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak" the program translated that into Russian and back into English, and what came back was "The vodka is fine, but the meat is rotten."

P.S. I am going to move an interesting thread hijack to here.


Good one, John! LOL


Thanks for moving these posts. Much appreciated.



The Germans have a saying, "Dich teure Halle!" which Babelfish translates to "You expensive resounds!". Actually the phrase translates better as "You precious hall!". It's the first part of a famous opening line of an aria by the character Elizabeth in Wagner's opera Tannhäuser, "Dich teure Halle, grüss Ich dich wieder!" or "You precious hall, I greet you again!". So, the phrase "Dich Teure Halle!" actually has the English meaning of "Home Sweet Home!".


Oh, actually that's not really a saying - it was just poetic freedom of the poet who wrote the lyrics of Tannhäuser. Except in the opera-hall no-one says "Dich teure Halle" here anywhere.

But I agree there are some sayings which make no sense when translated literally.
For example: "(jmd.) einen Bären aufbinden" would mean "to bind a bear on (someone)", but I don't know if there is such a saying in English. The meaning of it is: to tell a bold lie to somebody.

Another one is a more funny saying: When my father tells my mother to hurry up, he often adds: "Es ist höchste Eisenbahn" which translates literally into "it is highest train". Makes sense, doesn't it?
This is a phrase I also heard often elsewhere in Germany, and it comes from an old theater-play, where an absent-minded postman says, leaving in hurry: "Es ist höchste Eisenbahn, die Zeit ist schon vor drei Stunden angekommen!" ("It is highest train, the time has already arrived three hours ago") - so the meaning is "it's high time"


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Message 579175 - Posted: 31 May 2007, 13:46:39 UTC - in response to Message 579168.  

For example: "(jmd.) einen Bären aufbinden" would mean "to bind a bear on (someone)", but I don't know if there is such a saying in English. The meaning of it is: to tell a bold lie to somebody.


There are a couple. He speaks with a forked tongue (he never does what he says he is going to do, or nothing he says is true). He is lying through his teeth (what he is saying is untrue, and he knows it). He is speaking through his hat (what he is saying is untrue, and he does not know it - usually because of ignorance).


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Message 579193 - Posted: 31 May 2007, 14:51:15 UTC
Last modified: 31 May 2007, 14:51:38 UTC

I don't doubt you Thorin, when you say that "Dich Teure Halle!" is not heard in Germany nowadays, but when I lived in Vienna back in the late '50s, I heard the expression a lot.

Another German saying I remember is, "Er schlaff wie ein Murmeltier", which translates to "He slept like a marmot". It means to sleep very deeply. I'm guessing that the marmot, a member of possum family, hibernates through the winter. I'm not sure, but I think it's said in America that someone "Slept like a bear", meaning more or less the same thing. Is "Slept like a bear" an expression in the United States? I'm not sure.
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Message 579194 - Posted: 31 May 2007, 14:53:16 UTC - in response to Message 579176.  

For example: "(jmd.) einen Bären aufbinden" would mean "to bind a bear on (someone)", but I don't know if there is such a saying in English. The meaning of it is: to tell a bold lie to somebody.


There are a couple. He speaks with a forked tongue (he never does what he says he is going to do, or nothing he says is true). He is lying through his teeth (what he is saying is untrue, and he knows it). He is speaking through his hat (what he is saying is untrue, and he does not know it - usually because of ignorance).


The "he speak with fork tongue" was an american indian saying likening someone to a snake. Or more properly someone who acted in one way but actually meant something else.

I know that, but I still hear it occasionally.


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