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Antonija Posted 20 years ago
Vocabulary
stuffed pheasant
Hi,
I'm translating a text and I've come across an unusual sentence. Does anybody have any idea why marriage is compared to stuffed pheasant? Perhaps it is about the tradition of stuffing pheasnts which should be kept as well as the marriage, according to some traditional opinions?
Here's the context:
Because marriage, like a stuffed pheasant, certainly has to survive.
I'm translating a text and I've come across an unusual sentence. Does anybody have any idea why marriage is compared to stuffed pheasant? Perhaps it is about the tradition of stuffing pheasnts which should be kept as well as the marriage, according to some traditional opinions?
Here's the context:
Because marriage, like a stuffed pheasant, certainly has to survive.
Top answer
No, no idea at all. It's a very strange reference to the idea of marriage. I can only guess that the author was trying to say something like: Because marriage, like other apparently outdated institutions, certainly has to survive.
- No, no idea at all.
- It's a very strange reference to the idea of marriage.
- I can only guess that the author was trying to say something like: Because marriage, like other apparently outdated institutions, certainly has to survive.
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7 Answers
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No, no idea at all. It's a very strange reference to the idea of marriage.
I can only guess that the author was trying to say something like:
Because marriage, like other apparently outdated institutions, certainly has to survive.
I can only guess that the author was trying to say something like:
Because marriage, like other apparently outdated institutions, certainly has to survive.
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Thanks Alan. I have no idea whatsoever what to do with this pheasant. Perhaps I should call the author herself and ask her.
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I have never heard it, and have no idea what it would even mean lol. I would call the author. ****, now I'm stumped at the analogy...
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"Perhaps I should call the author herself and ask her."
If she's available I think that's a very good idea. Some translation agencies won't allow translators to speak to clients in case they are by-passed but for difficult phrases or terminology, I think it's essential to be able to ask the writer of the document for their clarification. Some colloquial expressions are totally impossible
If she's available I think that's a very good idea. Some translation agencies won't allow translators to speak to clients in case they are by-passed but for difficult phrases or terminology, I think it's essential to be able to ask the writer of the document for their clarification. Some colloquial expressions are totally impossible
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Hi,
I don't know what she wanted to say with it. It is not used in our language, at least I have never heard it.
I don't know what she wanted to say with it. It is not used in our language, at least I have never heard it.
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Having thought about this, I can only assume that her comparison with a stuffed pheasant is because it is preserved in a similar way to mummification. It isn't going to die and decay like a real pheasant. It just sits there unchanging.
It's a strange analogy but in her world it might represent something permanent and unchanging even though it is antiquated and old-fashioned.
I w
It's a strange analogy but in her world it might represent something permanent and unchanging even though it is antiquated and old-fashioned.
I w
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I was told by my teachers that whenever I am in a similar situation I should translate it literary, ie, when the meaning is not clear or whenever there is something that is illogical.
But I think you are right about the pheasant. The whole time I was thinking about stuffed pheasant as a meal, not as a dead animal that is preserved by stuffing.
But I think you are right about the pheasant. The whole time I was thinking about stuffed pheasant as a meal, not as a dead animal that is preserved by stuffing.
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