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fertige Samenstände
Berittführer
Mar 15, 2018 14:16
6 yrs ago
2 viewers *
German term

Ich bin nicht für Sandkastenspiele zu haben.

German to English Bus/Financial Finance (general)
Talking about business but being questioned about something that they don’t want to discuss. Already said that it’s not for them
to Shadowboxen zu betreiben.
Proposed translations (English)
3 +2 I won't be drawn into speculative questions/discussion/debate.
3 +1 I don't play games.
4 I don't have time for fishing expeditions
4 I'm going to hold off on this
3 I don't have time for guessing games!
4 -1 I'm keeping stum on this

Discussion

David Hollywood Mar 22, 2018:
time to come to a decision
AllegroTrans Mar 16, 2018:
Well asker You can see a rather disparate array of answers plus the fact that some of us think there is insufficient context.
Can yoiu help please?
Björn Vrooman Mar 16, 2018:
Dear contributors... ...you may well be right, but you could also be totally wrong.

I'm inclined to agree with the first two answerers who posted, but I'm not entirely certain.

I'd like to know more about Ted's Mickey Mouse solution. Also, I agree with Phil and Allegro that you need, at the very least, a more detailed description of what's going on here.

Considering that Schattenboxen could be construed as a futile and childish exercise, "Sandkasten" might as well be referring to playground activities:
"Unter Geschäftsleuten können kindische Sandkastenspiele ganz schön böse enden."
http://www.wn.de/Muensterland/Kreis-Borken/Nienborg/2016/03/...

Best
David Hollywood Mar 16, 2018:
posted twice but I'll defend either solution
AllegroTrans Mar 16, 2018:
Yes The register here will totally depend on the context in which this is being said. Is the speaker irritated? agressive? sarcastic? jokey? We need further information please asker.
philgoddard Mar 15, 2018:
Speaking of context Could we have several sentences of the German, please.
Ted Wozniak Mar 15, 2018:
Sarcasm or not? Sand table exercises are used in the military to "war game" various battle scenarios. If the speaker is being serious, you could use "sand table exercises" or "hypothicals" as in "I'm not going to do any hypotheticals/play any sand table exercises. If the speaker is being sarcastic or "snarky", then "play any Mickey Mouse games" might be a better option. Hard to say wihtout more context.

Proposed translations

+2
36 mins
Selected

I won't be drawn into speculative questions/discussion/debate.

Peer comment(s):
agree Darin Fitzpatrick
1 day 59 mins
agree Björn Vrooman : See disc.
13 days
Thanks. That should bring closure, coz Lizzy ain't comin' back.
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
+1
17 mins

I don't play games.

Neutral translation. Not too jazzy, but gets the message across.
Peer comment(s):
agree Björn Vrooman : See disc.
13 days
Something went wrong...
3 hrs

I don't have time for guessing games!

Since sandbox games allow for free-thinking or behavior, I'm assuming this is the opposite.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Björn Vrooman : See my comment on Michael's answer. I don't quite understand why you'd say "no guessing games" if you are the one refusing to discuss something.
13 hrs
Something went wrong...
44 mins

I don't have time for fishing expeditions

This might be the English equivalent. It's a common strategy to accuse pesky questioners of asking nebulous (non-serious) questions to distract from the fact that one isn't prepared to answer ANY questions on their merits.

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Note added at 12 hrs (2018-03-16 02:50:11 GMT)
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This typically means to engage in some "exercise that's devoid of reality" ("Es geht hier um Milliardenwerte, mit denen technisch unbedarfte Politiker Sandkastenspiele betreiben." https://www.focus.de/finanzen/news/unternehmen/atomausstieg-...

Except here, we have additional ingredients (person attacking the legitimacy of questions) so I tweaked my solution a little to accommodate that scenario...

Peer comment(s):
neutral Björn Vrooman : Asker: "questioned about something that they don’t want to discuss." No fishing expedition = you don't want to start guessing. The only one who would go on a fishing expedition here would be whoever wants to play the sand table exercise.
16 hrs
Something went wrong...
-1
12 hrs

I'm keeping stum on this

https://forum.wordreference.com › English Only › English Only

2 jul. 2008 - "To keep stum" is "to remain silent" or "to say nothing"

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Note added at 12 hrs (2018-03-16 03:02:32 GMT)
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this would work well IMO

What's the meaning of the phrase 'Keep schtum'?
Say nothing - especially in circumstances where saying the wrong thing may get you into trouble.

What's the origin of the phrase 'Keep schtum'?
This probably derives from the German word stumm meaning silent. The phrase keep schtum (variously spelled 'keep stumm', 'keep 'keep shtoom', 'keep schtum' etc.) is British and fairly recent. It has the sound of a Yiddish phrase but it is more likely that it originated in the UK criminal community. The earliest citation of it is in Frank Norman's, book Bang to rights: an account of prison life, 1958:

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Note added at 12 hrs (2018-03-16 03:10:14 GMT)
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as you said, they don't want to talk about it, so this is an understandable way of putting it and gets the idea over

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Note added at 12 hrs (2018-03-16 03:15:56 GMT)
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if you don't want to talk about something, you keep stum

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Note added at 13 hrs (2018-03-16 03:36:13 GMT)
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I'm going to hold off on this (alternative)

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Note added at 13 hrs (2018-03-16 03:38:05 GMT)
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if you don't like "stum", this would be an equivalent in more recognizable Britspeak
Peer comment(s):
disagree Heidi Newby-Rose : too friendly
12 mins
not at all in this context ... but ok and will leave it up to asker ... I think it hits the register just right
Something went wrong...
13 hrs

I'm going to hold off on this

I would say
Something went wrong...
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