Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term or phrase:
schrundiges Gewächs
English translation:
scraggly weed
- The asker opted for community grading. The question was closed on 2013-09-01 06:54:14 based on peer agreement (or, if there were too few peer comments, asker preference.)
Aug 28, 2013 07:02
10 yrs ago
German term
Bi-lingual British / German translator
Native in: English 
, German
Works in: German to English
schrundiges Gewächs
German to English
Art/Literary
Poetry & Literature
fictional novel
This is a difficult one: the story is about 3 teenagers, with lovely poetic language, and uses quite a few references to trees/plants.
The term is used to describe the appearance of a boy, who has messed up hair, a lopsided grin and is a bit of a bizarre figure.
The text goes: "Wenn er wie ein schrundiges Gewächs vor ihnen stand und losplauderte ..."
Schrundig is a really old word, classically referring to a skin issue - meaning the skin has cracks in it. I was thinking of fissured / craggy growth?
Any ideas?
thanks
alex
The term is used to describe the appearance of a boy, who has messed up hair, a lopsided grin and is a bit of a bizarre figure.
The text goes: "Wenn er wie ein schrundiges Gewächs vor ihnen stand und losplauderte ..."
Schrundig is a really old word, classically referring to a skin issue - meaning the skin has cracks in it. I was thinking of fissured / craggy growth?
Any ideas?
thanks
alex
Proposed translations
(English)
| 3 +3 | scraggly weed |
Michael Martin, MA
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| 4 +2 | like a craggy old tree |
Rowan Morrell
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| 4 | like a lightning-struck tree |
Heather McCrae
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| 3 +1 | oakish and rough/roughly oakish/oakishly rough |
Ramey Rieger (X)
|
Proposed translations
+3
15 hrs
Michael Martin, MA
United States
United States
Native in German
&
English
Works in field
United States
Creativity wins in the long run
Native in: German (Variant: Germany) , English (Variant: US)
Works in: German to English
Related KudoZ points
:
43
Selected
scraggly weed
Seems like a good fit.
See example below:
"Now he was dressed in rags and could barely open his eyes. He looked like a scraggly weed, with scars all over his discoloured skin; and he'd never sat on the threshold before."
See example below:
"Now he was dressed in rags and could barely open his eyes. He looked like a scraggly weed, with scars all over his discoloured skin; and he'd never sat on the threshold before."
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
thefastshow
: I like :)
11 hrs
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Thanks. Good to hear from you again.
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| agree |
seehand
12 hrs
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Thanks, seehand.
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| agree |
Ramey Rieger (X)
: Yes, that fits nicely! Hope you're well Michael.
13 hrs
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I am. Thanks for asking. A bit muggy though here in NY..
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
+2
16 mins
Rowan Morrell
New Zealand
New Zealand
Native in English
Works in field
New Zealand
Committed to the Customer
Native in: English (Variant: New Zealand) 
Works in: French to English, German to English, Spanish to English
Related KudoZ points
:
4
like a craggy old tree
I think "craggy" would be quite a good word to use for "schrundig" here, and I've definitely heard "craggy" used in connection with trees.
So, "When he stood before them like a craggy old tree" etc.
So, "When he stood before them like a craggy old tree" etc.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Olga Koepping
: how about gnarled and weather-beaten - bit long though in this context
3 hrs
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I quite like "gnarled" - thanks Olga.
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| agree |
Horst Huber (X)
: "Craggy" seems fine, but "tree" is not really suggested.
6 hrs
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I know "Gewächs" is the generic "plant", but sometimes you can adapt a bit, especially in literary translation, and "craggy tree" sounds better to my ears than "craggy plant". Anyway, trees are plants after all! :-)
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1 hr
Heather McCrae
Germany
Germany
Native in English
Germany
Professional and reliable translations
Native in: English (Variant: British)
Works in: German to English
like a lightning-struck tree
the text sound great :)
+1
2 hrs
oakish and rough/roughly oakish/oakishly rough
Perhaps like this....
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Note added at 8 hrs (2013-08-28 15:40:56 GMT)
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um, that first one should be oakish and rough.
I also suggest a scraggy/sprawling creature
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Note added at 8 hrs (2013-08-28 15:42:43 GMT)
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or being or entity or figure
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Note added at 8 hrs (2013-08-28 15:40:56 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
um, that first one should be oakish and rough.
I also suggest a scraggy/sprawling creature
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 8 hrs (2013-08-28 15:42:43 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
or being or entity or figure
Example sentence:
When he planted himself in front of you oakish and roughly/roughly oakish/oakishly rough, twittering/chattering away....
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
mill2
: prefer this to craggy old tree which makes him sound like an old man
1 hr
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Thank you, Mill2, I was tickled by the whole contruction: planting, oakish and twittering. Sometimes our profession is just so much FUN! Have a lovely day!
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Discussion