Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Finnish term or phrase:
sumuriekaleet
English translation:
tendrils of fog
Added to glossary by
Graeme Walle (X)
Aug 3, 2009 21:52
15 yrs ago
Finnish term
sumuriekaleet
Homework / test
Finnish to English
Art/Literary
Poetry & Literature
context: it felt that impersonal grey >sumuriekaleet< had darkened the space around them
chains of mist ?
(cannot give original Finnish for confidentiality reasons)
chains of mist ?
(cannot give original Finnish for confidentiality reasons)
Proposed translations
(English)
4 | tendrils of fog |
Owen Witesman
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5 -1 | traces of fog |
Desmond O'Rourke
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Proposed translations
45 mins
Selected
tendrils of fog
Ok, so the literal, by-the-dictionary rendering would be something like "shreds of fog", but that sounds lame.
Peer comment(s):
disagree |
Pia Kurro
: Tendrils and tender.. don't they have the same root? At least it sounds so. Those "sumuriekaleet" are agressive - they darken the sky or something. So, shreds definitely better. Beyond Tennyson etc, literal translations are often the most accurate. ;)
8 hrs
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No, tendrils can be like the plant from Little Shop of Horrors--definitely can be menacing. Also, just Google the phrases "tendrils of fog" "whisps of fog" and "shreds of fog". "Shreds" is uncommon -- shreds of paper, fabric, and dignity yes, but not fog.
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agree |
Juha Valtonen
: e.g. "..the creeping tendrils of fog had reached my location"
20 hrs
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks Owen"
-1
39 mins
traces of fog
traces of fog, but wisps of cloud
Peer comment(s):
disagree |
Pia Kurro
: Totally unpoetic. And, the asker being a native Brit, he does not need elementary English explained to him, I assume.
7 hrs
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Discussion
Thanks for the alternatives. Coming from a scientific & technical background, I really appreciate the input
Pia and Owen, have you ever heard of a sci-fi book called "The Day of the Triffids"? These killer plants had some pretty nasty tendrils (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_of_the_Triffids and http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tendrils).