I need a second opinion

[miercuri]

Preferably that of a native speaker of English.
I'm translating a text and there's the description of a very select gentlemen's club in one paragraph. I am not really sure if I am fully grasping the meaning of this sentence:

"It is Queen's Club, which, for fifty years, has boasted the power and frequency of its black-balls."
Does it say that they are very picky with accepting new members? :confused:

[mesnalty]

I would assume your reading is correct, since blackballing is when a club holds a vote to see whether a member should be included or excluded - typically a very small number of votes against is sufficient to exclude the person.

[Stevie B]

Preferably that of a native speaker of English.
I'm translating a text and there's the description of a very select gentlemen's club in one paragraph. I am not really sure if I am fully grasping the meaning of this sentence:
"It is Queen's Club, which, for fifty years, has boasted the power and frequency of its black-balls."
Does it say that they are very picky with accepting new members? :confused:

I'm sure Liam would have a field day giving you an altogether different interpretation of that line. :D

[miercuri]

I would assume your reading is correct, since blackballing is when a club holds a vote to see whether a member should be included or excluded - typically a very small number of votes against is sufficient to exclude the person.
Thank you for the confirmation, now I hope my translation will make sense.

I'm sure Liam would have a field day giving you an altogether different interpretation of that line. :D
I can only imagine! :p

[Liam]

I'm sure Liam would have a field day giving you an altogether different interpretation of that line.Yes, he would, but now you've ruined it!

I can only imagine!All right. I'll leave it to your imagination then, :).

[miercuri]

He handed over the taped Beretta with the sawn barrel.


If I am not asking too much, could some please describe this gun to me in more down to earth terms? I know next to nothing about ballistics. How am I going to translate this one? :(

[Mirabell]

If I am not asking too much, could some please describe this gun to me in more down to earth terms? I know next to nothing about ballistics. How am I going to translate this one? :(


Beretta - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beretta)

Sawed-off shotgun - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sawed-off_shotgun)

[miercuri]

Beretta - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beretta)

Sawed-off shotgun - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sawed-off_shotgun)
I pieced those two together as well, yet I am still clueless about guns and the corresponding vocabulary. And the next few pages seem even worse. :( I'm gonna try my luck with a military dictionary, when I find one.

[Galatea92]

Preferably that of a native speaker of English.
I'm translating a text and there's the description of a very select gentlemen's club in one paragraph. I am not really sure if I am fully grasping the meaning of this sentence:

Does it say that they are very picky with accepting new members? :confused:

Yes. It refers to the voting procedure. Every member votes by putting either a white ball or a black ball in the bag. If you end up with just one black ball in the bag, the applicant is rejected.

[Bubba]

Here (http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&safe=off&client=serp&biw=1152&bih=583&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=%22gun+tape%22&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=) are images of "gun tape."

[miercuri]

This is another silly matter I am puzzling over. :p
Do they use diacritics in telegraphy? I've never seen a telegram in my life so I really wouldn't know.

[Eric]

Leaving aside black balls (with the appropriate puns) and sawn-off shotguns (why does the Wiki have "sawed-off"?), I would suggest that a telegram never has diacritics, so you would reduce an "?" to "ae", an "?" to "oe" and so on. There is a system. This is similar, by the way, to names like G?ring, which you often see in the papers, and would definitely in telegraphy, as Goering.

I imagine the accent-aigu is totally ignored.

And if you're Romanian, don't expect nice wiggles under esses and tees in telegrams. So your former dictator and his secret police would remain accentless, not only in telegrams, but in most international communication.

[miercuri]

Thank you, Eric. I assumed there wouldn't be any but I wanted to make sure. :)

[miercuri]

And yet another ridiculous dilemma.
Is there a difference between "twenty feet square" and "twenty square feet"
Would "twenty feet square" be 20 feet x 20 feet = 400 square feet ?

[miercuri]

I wanted to thank everyone who replied to this silly thread. You've been very helpful! I finished my translation today! My first book, hopefully not the last. :)

[Clarissa]

Well done!!! Congratulations!!!:)

[Stevie B]

I wanted to thank everyone who replied to this silly thread. You've been very helpful! I finished my translation today! My first book, hopefully not the last. :)

Congrats, Miercuri! What is the book you translated and when are you expecting it to be published?

[miercuri]

Thank you! Don't let it get to my head. :o
It was Ian Fleming's Doctor No. I'm not much of a fan of his work, but given the circumstances, I guess I grew fond of this one. I believe it's going to be published sometime in January.

[Clarissa]

Extra congratulations - Ian Fleming, whether you like his books or not, is a mega bestseller worldwide.The publisher must think a lot of you to have trusted you with this - and your first professional translation too!:)

[miercuri]

I was quite lucky, I guess. :o Someone recommended me for the job, they gave me a test, seemed pleased and I got it.
They're rereleasing all the James Bond books with a newspaper. It's quite a common practice here, to have newspapers include books or DVDs once a week. They are bit pricier than the regular copies, but very affordable on the whole.

[beelzebubbles]

Congratulations Miercuri! This sounds as if it could lead to a lot more work if they like your translation.

[learna]

Congratulations, Miercuri!:)