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#178794 - 08/17/08 05:27 PM Re: Lost in Translation [Re: Faldage]
twosleepy old hand Registered: 02/28/08 Posts: 876 Loc: western NY	Originally Posted By: Faldage What, pray tell, does "1/2 prize icy chromatic humour concentrate' mean? This one I get! "1/2 cup (prize) cold (icy) orange (chromatic) juice (humour) concentrate" The one that eludes me is "niche leaf" (although I suspect "bay" leaf, as it gets crumbled...) Originally Posted By: the Pook I would guess embattled mustard must be mustard powder. The mustard seeds have had battle done to them with the mortar and pestle. I believe this one actually comes from "prepared" (as in "prepared mustard"). A quick check of the thesaurus includes it as a synonym for "embattled" and it fits. :0) I suspect that this may be the result of some multiple translations. Perhaps it started out in English, got translated to Japanese, then back to English, without reference to the original. Just a theory...
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#178802 - 08/17/08 10:38 PM Re: Lost in Translation [Re: twosleepy]
Zed Pooh-Bah Registered: 08/27/02 Posts: 2154 Loc: British Columbia, Canada	the frozen juice I got but didn't connect orange and chromatic.
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#178803 - 08/17/08 10:53 PM Re: Lost in Translation [Re: Zed]
twosleepy old hand Registered: 02/28/08 Posts: 876 Loc: western NY	Just in that orange is also a color... :0)
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#178804 - 08/18/08 02:32 AM Re: Lost in Translation [Re: twosleepy]
BranShea Carpal Tunnel Registered: 06/23/06 Posts: 5249 Loc: Netherlands, the Hague	It's the funniest riddle I've ever seen. I think embattled could also be embotteled or bottled mustard and it yes must be the result of a multiple computer translation. Although computer translations can mess up a text in one single blow just as fatally. Yes, Fald. bay leaf, that's good,(thinking of how computer translations "reason").
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#178806 - 08/18/08 04:17 AM Re: Lost in Translation [Re: twosleepy]
latishya enthusiast Registered: 11/24/07 Posts: 390 Loc: कहीं &...	Originally Posted By: twosleepy Just in that orange is also a color... :0) So are lemon and lime. Also avocado and many more.
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#178808 - 08/18/08 06:23 AM Re: Lost in Translation [Re: latishya]
Faldage Carpal Tunnel Registered: 12/01/00 Posts: 13667	It looks to me like a translation out of Chinese. They've done some weird stuff. They don't seem to care if it's understandable to foreign devils. Check here for links to a number of Language Log posts on the subject. Warning: some LL posts not suitable for family fun.
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#178819 - 08/18/08 03:41 PM Re: Lost in Translation [Re: BranShea]
twosleepy old hand Registered: 02/28/08 Posts: 876 Loc: western NY	Originally Posted By: BranShea Yes, Fald. bay leaf, that's good,(thinking of how computer translations "reason"). Ahem, that was my suggestion... The thought flitted through my mind that someone might have deliberately mangled it up for a laugh. Stranger things have been done... :0)
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#178820 - 08/18/08 05:07 PM Re: Lost in Translation [Re: twosleepy]
BranShea Carpal Tunnel Registered: 06/23/06 Posts: 5249 Loc: Netherlands, the Hague	Sorry twosleepy. I was Lost in Quotation.
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#178822 - 08/18/08 11:49 PM Re: Lost in Translation [Re: The Pook]
morphememedley member Registered: 01/16/08 Posts: 155	I hesitate to hold forth on spices, not yet having figured out what exactly is done to rubbed sage.
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#179147 - 09/18/08 09:18 AM Re: Lost in Translation [Re: twosleepy]
wsieber old hand Registered: 03/15/00 Posts: 1010 Loc: Switzerland	someone might have deliberately mangled it up for a laugh - I don't think so. It's too chaotic to spring from a single human mind. I'd rather opt for a primitive computer translation, done by a person without a clue of English.
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