Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Arabic term or phrase:
من قلة الخيل شدّوا على الكلاب سروج
English translation:
Your own translation "For lack of horses they saddled the dogs"
Added to glossary by
Sami Khamou
Sep 24, 2007 23:28
16 yrs ago
3 viewers *
Arabic term
من قلة الخيل شدّوا على الكلاب سروج
Arabic to English
Art/Literary
Education / Pedagogy
Colloquial Arabic Proverb
I would appreciate if a collegue knows the English equivalent to this Arabic proverb. Literary translation: "For lack of horses they saddled the dogs" which is a sarcastic proverb hinting at the appointment of people in positions they don't deserve because better people were not to be found.
Proposed translations
(English)
Change log
Sep 24, 2007 23:43: Lamis Maalouf changed "Language pair" from "English to Arabic" to "Arabic to English"
Proposed translations
5 days
Selected
Your own translation "For lack of horses they saddled the dogs"
So be it then -
As I said in my note above, I think your own literal translation is most suitable here, as it expresses the intended meaning better than a not-quite-equivalent English proverb.
As I said in my note above, I think your own literal translation is most suitable here, as it expresses the intended meaning better than a not-quite-equivalent English proverb.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you Nesrin, your answer is most helpful. It is a mere coincidence that my supposed literary translation is identical to the English proverb equivalent to the Arabic one."
10 mins
they do not have any better/// better than nothing
or you could try the english one: when the going gets tough, the tough gets going.
+3
1 hr
something is better than nothing
the closest for me ...
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Note added at 1 hr (2007-09-25 00:41:53 GMT)
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or : Better something than nothing
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Note added at 1 hr (2007-09-25 00:43:16 GMT)
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◊ من قلة الخيل شدوا على الكلاب سروج
والبعض يقول : من قلة الخيل شدّوا على الحمير سروج ، ويعني انه نظراً لانعدام بعض الأشياء الأصلية ، ونفاد الجيد منها ، فان الناس يلجأون إلى ما هو أقل جودة ، وما هو دون المستوى من ذلك .
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Note added at 1 hr (2007-09-25 00:41:53 GMT)
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or : Better something than nothing
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Note added at 1 hr (2007-09-25 00:43:16 GMT)
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◊ من قلة الخيل شدوا على الكلاب سروج
والبعض يقول : من قلة الخيل شدّوا على الحمير سروج ، ويعني انه نظراً لانعدام بعض الأشياء الأصلية ، ونفاد الجيد منها ، فان الناس يلجأون إلى ما هو أقل جودة ، وما هو دون المستوى من ذلك .
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Noha Kamal, PhD.
4 hrs
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thx
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agree |
ferines10
: Je ne peux l'exprimer de meilleure façon
13 hrs
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merci
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agree |
Mohammed Abu-Risha
: They hired unqualified people because "something was better than nothing". What do you think?
3 days 23 hrs
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thanks, yeah it could be that... But as they asked for a proverb I just skipped the they hired ...:)
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+1
6 hrs
Damn necessity that has made the blind drives.
اجتهاد قابل للنقد - المقصود هنا - يلعن الظروف التى تجعل من الأعمى سائقا - يشير الى الحاجة التي قد تجعل من المهمل مسؤولا-
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Mohammed Abu-Risha
: This is just another wonderful translation
3 days 17 hrs
|
Thanks Mr Mohammed
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+2
10 hrs
any port in a storm/ in the land of the blind...
here's a couple I might suggest, although I'm not sure they're equivalent:
"any port in a storm" means that in hard times you'll accept help from anywhere even if you don't particularly like the person/place whose help you are seeking.
"in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king"...again meaning that although such a person is not the best qualified for the job, they're the best you've got anyway. This one is used more sarcastically than the former and is well-known enough to be shortened to "in the land of the blind..."
"any port in a storm" means that in hard times you'll accept help from anywhere even if you don't particularly like the person/place whose help you are seeking.
"in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king"...again meaning that although such a person is not the best qualified for the job, they're the best you've got anyway. This one is used more sarcastically than the former and is well-known enough to be shortened to "in the land of the blind..."
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Nesrin
: Best suggestions so far but I still think a literal translation of the proverb may be best here.
13 hrs
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depends on the context - if the document has to be translated fluently, then a sudden clearly translatese proverb will look out of place and disturb the reading experience
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agree |
sktrans
: I also thought of "In the land of the blind..."
14 hrs
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yes, I think this is the more appropiate one here
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2 days 16 hrs
Dreaming of excellence,They ride thier ignorance
The bigger they are, the harder they fall
i see it like that here
http://www.manythings.org/proverbs/proverbs12.html
i see it like that here
http://www.manythings.org/proverbs/proverbs12.html
+1
4 days
They hired unqualified people due to lack of qualified ones
I have used what my colleague and friend Prof. Abdullah Shunnaq says: "Ideational equivalence". You simply translate the idea.
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Fathy Shehatto
9 mins
|
Thank you Fathy. Your translation I guess is still more literary and better to be used.
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Discussion