Glossary entry

Spanish term or phrase:

con sabor a temblor, a despedida

English translation:

sensed I was terrified that he might not return, that this was our last goodbye

Added to glossary by Barbara Cochran, MFA
Jul 4, 2015 11:32
9 yrs ago
1 viewer *
Spanish term

con sabor a temblor, a despedida

Spanish to English Art/Literary General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters In A Novel
Context (a husband is about to leave his wife to go and fight with the colonists against the English):

Mi cuerpo sintió un beso frío y cálido al mismo tiempo de buenos días, muy prolongado. Tu padre me había besado en el hombro con tanta pasión como fue nuestro amor la noche anterior pero, al mismo tiempo, con sabor a temblor, a despedida.

Mil Gracias,

Barbara
Change log

Jul 5, 2015 13:53: Barbara Cochran, MFA Created KOG entry

Jul 5, 2015 13:53: Barbara Cochran, MFA changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/123909">Barbara Cochran, MFA's</a> old entry - "con sabor a temblor, a despedida"" to ""sensed I was terrified that he might not return, this was our last goodbye ""

Proposed translations

1 hr
Selected

sensed he was terrified that I might not return, this was our last goodbye

Sabor a temblor lo tomo como que él detectaba en el suegro un ambiente de gran temor por su vida que parecía temblar, que ese sería su último adios.
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
47 mins

with a taste of trembling, of farewell

I'm reading that the kiss expressed a lot of mixed feelings.
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50 mins

with the impression of trembling and saying goodbye

as if the kiss were a mark (impression) that the body could taste (sabor)
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+1
4 hrs

with a shivering taste of farewell

...
Peer comment(s):

agree Marianela Melleda
9 hrs
Muchas gracias, Marianela.
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4 hrs

(with a hint of/a trace of/it tasted) of collapse, of farewell/goodbye

you can add adjectives like "bitter" to words like "hint" and "trace" to keep the use of the sense of taste.
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4 hrs

(but) tinged with trepidation /poignancy

To me trepidation conveys the temblor and poignancy the emotion of a possibly final kiss. But perhaps it is not necessary to use both.
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21 hrs

flavo(u)red with trepidation, and Godspeed

I like Ormiston's "trepidation" but feel "despedida" is best matched by "Godspeed" in this context

flavoured/tinged with trepidation (or foreboding) and wishing me a safe return/luck...

I think there probably is a feeling of an adieu

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1 day 2 hrs
Spanish term (edited): con sabor a temblor, a despedida

with a sense of foreboding that this may be the long goodbye

My take on it. Rather long-winded compared to the Spanish, I know, but I just can't think of a way of conveying the meaning with less words in English.
Example sentence:

...pero, al mismo tiempo, con sabor a temblor, a despedida.

.., but at the same time, with a sense of foreboding that this may be the long goodbye.

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