Jun 19, 2005 11:58
19 yrs ago
English term
man or squirrel
English to French
Other
Poetry & Literature
theatre play
(A voice possibly Swedish is heard from the balcony below).
Man's voice: Hello girls! We are Swedish and we'd like to join you.
Brigitta: What's the matter with you? The football's about to start. What are you, a man or a squirrel?
Monica: Mouse.
Birgitta: A mouse or a squirrel. Stupid man!
Man's voice: Hello girls! We are Swedish and we'd like to join you.
Brigitta: What's the matter with you? The football's about to start. What are you, a man or a squirrel?
Monica: Mouse.
Birgitta: A mouse or a squirrel. Stupid man!
Proposed translations
(French)
| 3 +2 | explanation |
Katherine Hodkinson
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| 3 +1 | écureuil |
writeaway
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Proposed translations
+2
6 mins
Selected
explanation
the thing here is that "Are you a man or a mouse?" is a set phrase, a cliche, meaning "are you going to stand up for yourself or just let yourself be pushed around?" (roughly). i guess the joke here is that Brigitta is foreign and has got the phrase wrong (squirrel instead of mouse), and monica corrects her, but she misinterprets the correction and changes the wrong word.
now to consider a translation...
now to consider a translation...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Graded automatically based on peer agreement."
+1
5 mins
écureuil
a really bad joke. the English expression is a 'man or a mouse' so when her friend corrects her, she changes 'man' instead of 'squirrel'. not great stuff, imho.
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Note added at 14 mins (2005-06-19 12:12:35 GMT)
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you need an equivalent; maybe
êtes-vous un homme courageux ou un écureuil timide? souris. êtes-vous une souris courageuse ou un écureuil timide.
if that works in French.
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Note added at 14 mins (2005-06-19 12:12:35 GMT)
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you need an equivalent; maybe
êtes-vous un homme courageux ou un écureuil timide? souris. êtes-vous une souris courageuse ou un écureuil timide.
if that works in French.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
IanW (X)
: Squeak, pass the cheese
42 mins
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nuts ;-)
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