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Ausgangsvermessung
negative Kapitaleinnahmen
Feb 2, 2009 11:26
15 yrs ago
1 viewer *
German term

das brisante Thema pointenreich ins Bild setzen

German to English Art/Literary Idioms / Maxims / Sayings blurb for book of cartoons
This phrase is stumping me rather - I understand the individual words but am finding it hard to come up with a coherent English phrase!

It's from the blurb for a book of cartoons about climate change.

"Alle Welt redet über den Klima-Wandel. XXX hat das brisante Thema pointenreich ins Bild gesetzt. Für alle, denen der Humor noch nicht vergangen ist!"
Proposed translations (English)
3 +2 to deliver a poignant/witty treatment of this hot topic (with the strips)
3 +1 has given ascerbic visual form to the highly charged theme
3 put a sensitive theme with punchline into the picture
3 XX offers a witty illustration of this volatile issue
3 to wittily illustrate a controversial issue

Discussion

TonyTK Feb 2, 2009:
Ken, I'm not a German native ... ... but I'd say "pointenreich" is fairly standard, literally indicating "punchlines" (but that doesn't really fit here). "... takes a satirical slant on a pressing issue ..." kind of thing.
Ken Cox Feb 2, 2009:
FWIW This question is probably best answered by native German speakers or persons with equivalent personal experience, but I wonder whether 'pointenreich' is the Neudeutsch equivalent of 'pointedly'.

Proposed translations

+2
1 hr
Selected

to deliver a poignant/witty treatment of this hot topic (with the strips)

I believe poignancy/sarcasm are part of these cartoons but "pointenreich" to me is a less harsh word, I'd see it as witty. But it's a matter of interpretation.

XXX's strips/illustrations are poignant/witty treatments of this "hot"/controversial/highly-charged topic/issue.

or: With his strips, XXX (successfully) delivers a very poignant/witty treatment of this very "hot" issue

XXX's strips capture the urgency of this topic very pointedly/in a very witty way.

http://www.buchhandel.de/detailansicht.aspx?isbn=978-3-8303-...

http://www.humor.li/pic.asp?cid=7
examples of XXX's cartoons

http://www.stefan-niggemeier.de/blog/wir-sind-gutedel/
pointiert pointenreich (many funny situations)
Peer comment(s):
agree Ingeborg Gowans (X) : sehr gut, couldn't get my tongue wrapped around it, and left it to my [more] esteemed colleagues:)
52 mins
thank you, Ingeborg!:)
agree Harald Moelzer (medical-translator)
1 hr
danke, Harald!
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Sorry for the delay in grading - computer problems. :O( Went for an amalgamation of several answers but this set me off in the right direction. Thanks all, and to Tony TK."
15 mins

put a sensitive theme with punchline into the picture

I think brisante here means sensitive or dangerous, so the theme or the subject to be talked about would be something like making careless remarks, such as making fun of gay people, racism, discrimination, or on the extreme, a cartoon of a Muslim with a bomb on his head instead of a turban (the Danish cartoon which created an uproar about a year ago), and I interpreted pointenreich as a punchline.
Something went wrong...
+1
56 mins

has given ascerbic visual form to the highly charged theme

A suggestion depending on the tone. I will admit that I haven't come across 'pointenreich' either, but feel, similarly to Ken, that it is probably one of those Denglish variants on a well-beloved theme.

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Note added at 58 mins (2009-02-02 12:25:27 GMT)
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Excuse spelling mistake - that'll be 'acerbic'
Peer comment(s):
agree Inge Meinzer
27 mins
Thanks, Inge
Something went wrong...
1 hr

XX offers a witty illustration of this volatile issue

"pointenreich" in this case literally means "full of punchlines".
Something went wrong...
1 hr

to wittily illustrate a controversial issue

or something along those lines. The German "ins Bild setzen" sounds a little odd.
Example sentence:

XXX has wittily illustrated (highlighted) this controversial issue

Something went wrong...
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