Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Italian term or phrase:
scoprire l'acqua calda
English translation:
reinvent the wheel
Added to glossary by
Giorgio Tenedios (X)
Jan 26, 2008 07:06
16 yrs ago
4 viewers *
Italian term
scoprire l'acqua calda
Italian to English
Other
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Come si può tradurre meglio in inglese questa frase?
Proposed translations
(English)
| 5 +2 | reinvent the wheel |
Dana Rinaldi
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| 4 +1 | Some discovery |
moranna (X)
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| 4 +1 | to discover something obvious |
Shera Lyn Parpia
|
| 2 +1 | (to say that) Queen Anne is dead |
Raffaella Panigada
|
Change log
Jan 26, 2008 15:26: Catherine Bolton changed "Field" from "Law/Patents" to "Other" , "Field (specific)" from "Law (general)" to "General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters"
Jan 27, 2008 06:04: Giorgio Tenedios (X) Created KOG entry
Proposed translations
+2
58 mins
Dana Rinaldi
Italy
Italy
Native in Italian
&
English
Specializes in field
Italy
A passion for words
Native in: English 
, Italian
Works in: Italian to English, English to Italian
Related KudoZ points
:
16
Selected
reinvent the wheel
...
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Gad Kohenov
: In American slang it's true. fare la scoperta dell'aqua calda (dedicarsi a qs di inutile).
35 mins
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Thanks a lot!!!!
|
|
| agree |
Maria Luisa Dell'Orto
: Concordo, http://www.italianoscritto.com/interventi/testi/figurato.htm
45 mins
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Grazie Maria Luisa. Buon weekend!!!
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| disagree |
James (Jim) Davis
: Not the same thing. To reinvent the wheel is to spend (waste) time doing something incredibly difficult, which seems impossible not knowing that it has already been done and not to present something as completely new which everybody already knows anyway.
1 hr
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Sorry, you don't agree James. How would you say it, if I may ask?
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| agree |
Tom in London
: "to reinvent the wheel" isn't quiote right but in 25 years living Italy/UK I've never found an effective transalation of the delightful Italian expression. Maybe "to discover hot water" is really the only way to do it!
9 hrs
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks a lot Dana and all those who attempted an answer, and in particular to James who took the trouble of investigating."
+1
3 hrs
Some discovery
As "You've just realised, have you ?"
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
James (Jim) Davis
: Some things require careful consideration. And anyway forget the points, think of the kudoz :-))
18 hrs
|
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Thanks; a bit late though
|
+1
7 hrs
Raffaella Panigada
Switzerland
Switzerland
Native in Italian
Specializes in field
Switzerland
Professional, reliable, always on time
Native in: Italian 
Works in: English to Italian, French to Italian, Italian to English, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
40
(to say that) Queen Anne is dead
I wasn't familiar with this expression, so please wait for the natives to confirm whether it is used in real life and not just listed in dictionaries (by the way, it was Picchi).
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
James (Jim) Davis
: Pretty rare these days, Mostly in history books and what my grandmother used to say.
15 hrs
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That's what I feared. I'm more familiar with US idioms, but a quick online search returned very few hits and that made me duobly suspicious. Thanks for explaining, have a nice Sunday!
|
+1
14 mins
Shera Lyn Parpia
Italy
Italy
Native in English
Works in field
Italy
translating meaning, not just words
Native in: English
Works in: English to Italian, Italian to English, English
Related KudoZ points
:
127
to discover something obvious
Yyou may want to rephrase your sentence so it sounds good.
http://wlavita.it/wlavita_1_000010.htm
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Note added at 22 hrs (2008-01-27 05:50:17 GMT)
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I was thinking of a response such as, "Oh, so that's something new, is it?" (if you want some sarcasm)
http://wlavita.it/wlavita_1_000010.htm
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Note added at 22 hrs (2008-01-27 05:50:17 GMT)
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I was thinking of a response such as, "Oh, so that's something new, is it?" (if you want some sarcasm)
Discussion
and
http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=desk...
IMHO there is not set piece translation.
If I knew a good translation I would have posted it.