|
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 819
old hand
|
old hand
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 819 |
Geoff, for what it's worth, ventre means both "womb" and "belly" in Portuguese.Well, gollygeewhizz, AS, I just looked it up in my French dictionary and found that it can mean womb in French also, although it seems that its meaning womb is a generalization rather than the specific original meaning. All this proves is that I didn't learn much in Latin class forty years ago! 
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
> "...after the war, it would be like sharing the fruit of the loom with the enemy..."
now that I've reread all of this and actually® hi mav! thought about it, it seems to me that this could also be rendered as:
sharing the fruit of their labors with the enemy or, more aptly: sharing the spoils of war with the enemy
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
I wonder where the family name of Craig Venter (of DNA fame) came from.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 819
old hand
|
old hand
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 819 |
I wonder where the family name of Craig Venter (of DNA fame) came from.Since the root of his name has to do with wind, or wind making, his family was probably in the bean growing business. 
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 688
addict
|
addict
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 688 |
Since the root of his name has to do with wind, or wind making....
Is this posted in the wrong thread? I think I saw this over there ~~~~~~~~~~~~>
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,027
old hand
|
old hand
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,027 |
Dear tivtrans, One thing I would like to know: this text, which your friend wants translated, is it written by a native-English speaking author? Speaking from my own experience, I could well imagine that an author who is proud of his acquired skill in idiomatic English actually "creates" a new application of a suggestive expression picked up in a different context. So it would seem vain to look for a historical origin. I am pretty sure the author meant "wealth accumulated by hard work".
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511 |
Good point, wsieber. I've seen this happen all too often, myself.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6
stranger
|
OP
stranger
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6 |
Point well taken. Will pass on your message to my translator friend. After seeing the remarks made by all the language enthusiasts on this list, and checking many sources, I do agree that the writer has done some "coining" of his own. THANKS to you, WSIEBER, and to all that have offered their insight.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 279
enthusiast
|
enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 279 |
Howye
I suppose ye've all heard about the woman with the glass navel. She had a womb with a view.
Welcome ta ya Tivtrans. Gallantted, yer trouble shooten, problem solven teddy bear here. I can't find anythin about "fruit of the loom" in me tedasaurus either, but in the context ya've outlined it seems as if it's referen ta sharen the spoils of yer hard earned labour with the enemy. The nearest I can come up with at the moment is somethin akin ta the Little Red Hen syndrom. I'll get back ta ya if I think of anythin else. (It's a bit early in the mornen fer me and I haven't even said me mornen prayers yet. Although, on seconds thoughts, after readen the rest of this post it looks as if I'm covered fer the rest of the week)
Be seein ya
GallantTed
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 688
addict
|
addict
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 688 |
Tivtrans,
Welcome to the board! Nice to see you found your voice after having been a member here longer than anyone else currently active. I do hope you will be posting again soon. Although I hadn't much to offer here, I found the question and ensuing answers quite lively!
Angel
|
|
|
Forums16
Topics13,915
Posts229,879
Members9,197
|
Most Online3,341 Dec 9th, 2011
|
|
0 members (),
322
guests, and
2
robots. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
|