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Page 60
Humor and Translation
Mark Herman
[email protected]
By the Numbers
Going 1 on 1, the hero’s solid 1-2 with
his 5 of clubs beat the villain’s 45.
He progressed from a 1-lunger to a 4-banger to 4 on the
floor, then hit on all 6.
To 2-timers, love is a 1-way street.
The 2-bit comic threw out 1-liners in 1-night stands in
1-horse towns.
The ad said 2-fer, but it was 99.
Don’t touch social security, the 3rd rail of politics!
Every 4 and 1, he wound up 3 sheets to the wind.
The 4-flusher, trying to 1-up Joe 6-pack, claimed member
ship in the 400.
There are no 4-baggers in 1 o’cat, even when played in plus-4’s.
Give me 5, then take 10.
Mr. 5 x 5 drove a 4 x 4 till injured by a 2 x 4.
The message was 52, so 10-4.
Insomniacs, always at 6’s and 7’s, try to catch 40 winks 40
ways to Sunday.
The 7-11 was not open 24/7 the week of 9/11.
Hanging 10 made him number 1.
Terminate in file 17. Deep 6 to terminate with prejudice. 86
to terminate with extreme prejudice.
The 44, suspected of Murder 1 while on 25, was tracked
from Track 2 back to Track 1. Once behind the 8-ball, the
2-time loser was 3rd-degreed over the weekend by the
police, who took 56.
For definitions of some of the obscure expressions
above, see the box on page 62.
English is not the only language to have such expressions.
Below are some expressions in French, German, and Russian,
from both slang and non-slang dictions. The expressions are
followed by their actual meanings and then by their literal
translations in square brackets.
ATA Scholarly Monograph
Series Vol. XIII
Perspectives on
Localization
Edited by Keiran J. Dunne
60
à la une: on the front page (of a newspaper) [on the 1]
en moins d’deux: very soon [in less than 2]
en cinc secs: very soon [in 5 lean ones]
à deux doigts de: very near to [2 fingers from]
trois-six: brandy [3-6]
faire les quatre cents coups: to run wild [to strike 400 blows]
entre quatre z’yeux: intimately [between 4 eyes]
cinquante-pour-cent: wife [50%]
huit jours: 1 week [8 days]
être au septième ciel: to be on cloud 9 [to be in 7th heaven]
dritte Zähne: false teeth [3rd teeth]
fünf gerade sein lassen: to not be too particular, to bend
the rules [5 directly to leave alone]
fünf Minuten vor zwölf: the last minute [5 minutes to 12]
fünfte Rad: 5th wheel [5th wheel]
gznrf: a marijuana cigarette butt [5th]
ctvm yf djctvm: very large [7 x 8]
ltdznm uhfvv: a bullet [9 grams]
Herman is a librettist and translator. Submit items for future
columns via e-mail to [email protected] or via snail
mail to Mark Herman, 1409 E Gaylord Street, Mount Pleasant,
MI 48858-3626. Discussions of the translation of humor and
examples thereof are preferred, but humorous anecdotes about
translators, translations, and mistranslations are also welcome.
Include copyright information and permission if relevant.
Published in recognition of the growing importance of localization.
Price: $30 for members; $138 for non-members
Available directly from:
John Benjamins Publishing Company
(800) 562-5666
www.benjamins.com
The ATA Chronicle
■
April 2007
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2:44 PM
Page 62
Humor and Translation Continued from p. 60
Obscure Definitions
from Humor and Translation
TIP-Lab 16th Distance Spanish
Translation/Revision Workshop
1-lunger: a one-cylinder engine, or a vehicle with a one-cylinder engine
1 o'cat: a variant of baseball with only one base instead of the usual three
Track 1: a red-light district
Track 2: a gay ghetto
4 and 1: Friday, payday
4-baggers: home runs
4-banger: a four-cylinder engine, or a vehicle with a four-cylinder engine
5 of clubs: fist
52 (five squared): well understood, loud and clear
Deep 6: to discard, jettison, throw overboard
File 17 (or 13): circular file, a wastebasket
25: LSD
44: a prostitute
56: compensatory time off for police who work weekends
86: to eject or even kill
99: obsolete or damaged goods that rate an extra commission
to a salesperson
The 400: the social elite
ATA Member Benefits
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The ATA Chronicle
■
April 2007