Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term or phrase:
nah am Wasser gebaut sein/haben
English translation:
to cry easily, to readily turn on the waterworks
German term
nah am Wasser gebaut sein
Is there a more colourful way of saying this in English than the plain "someone who cries easily" (e.g. when watching a soppy film)?
This is just general interest, I don't have an actual text.
TIA
Jan 25, 2009 17:37: Cilian O'Tuama Created KOG entry
Non-PRO (1): Ingeborg Gowans (X)
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Proposed translations
[someone] who easily turns the waterworks on
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Note added at 3 mins (2009-01-22 13:19:37 GMT)
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or 'readily turns on the waterworks' might be better
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Note added at 3 days4 hrs (2009-01-25 17:53:48 GMT) Post-grading
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Thanks for the points, Cilian
agree |
Jonathan MacKerron
: also thought of waterworks, but couldn't remember the exact saying
2 mins
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Thanks, Jonathan
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agree |
Nandini Vivek
31 mins
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Thanks, Nandini
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agree |
Lancashireman
: This is the one, Cilian.
52 mins
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Well, thank you, Professor Swift!
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neutral |
Stephen Gobin
: Could be ambiguous. "Turning the waterworks on" can be used to get an advantage over someone. A cry baby is ambiguous too as it can mean someone who makes a fuss because they can't get their own way.
1 hr
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To be fair, Stephen, you could say that of all the suggestions, and I suspect the GER term could be used in that way given the right sentence construction. Not so much ambiguous as can be used in a perjorative way, IMO.
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agree |
franglish
1 hr
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Thanks, franglish
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agree |
Inge Meinzer
2 hrs
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Thanks, Inge, and greetings
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agree |
jccantrell
: My first thought.
2 hrs
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Thanks, jccantrell
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neutral |
Lonnie Legg
: w. Stephen: Nice phrase. What bothers me is the connotation of purposefulness in "turns on". It wouldn't bother me though in those special instances where "am Wasser gebaut" also involves a deliberate (or subconscious) manipulative) aspect./Exactly.
5 hrs
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I do see what you mean, Lonnie. We don't have a sentence to go on, so will have to leave it Cilian to decide how he plans to use the term selected!
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prone to tears
agree |
Ryan Saxon Montcalm
: Exactly what we hear in the US.
10 mins
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Thanks, Ryan!
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agree |
Sibylle Gray
: I like this one the best since IMO, it is more common/widely used than the other suggestions (the German suggestion is also very widely used and accepted).
30 mins
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Thanks, Sibylle!
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agree |
Alison Schwitzgebel
39 mins
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Thanks, Alison!
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neutral |
Helen Shiner
: With the greatest of respect, Cilian did ask for a 'colourful' expression, though 'prone to tears' is not wrong by any means as a prosaic translation, of course!/He did not need to, the idiomatic quality is in the German phrase. Not slang.
42 mins
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Hi Helen, Cilian asked for a more colorful expression than his own suggestion. I do not recall that he specifically asked for slang.//I am often amazed how idiomatic phrases are perceived by non-native speakers :-)
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agree |
pme
53 mins
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Thanks, pme!
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neutral |
Lancashireman
: As my old German teacher used to say: “Always read the question.” (Actually, I have to admit, I was that ‘old German teacher’…) // It seems that we not only differ in our spelling of the word 'colourful' but also in our perception of its meaning.
1 hr
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Dear Andrew, Cilian asked for a more colorful phrase [quote] "than the plain 'someone who cries easily'". Happy rereading of the question! :-)
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agree |
KARIN ISBELL
: 'prone to tears' is exactly wht I would have answered
2 hrs
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Thanks, Karin!
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weeps at the drop of a hat
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Note added at 4 mins (2009-01-22 13:20:02 GMT)
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gets choked up easily
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Note added at 7 mins (2009-01-22 13:23:30 GMT)
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blubberer
agree |
Paul Cohen
: Where's my hat? ... oh ... (sob!) ...
4 mins
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get out your hanky...
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agree |
Helen Shiner
: That's a nice solution, too!/No relation to 'choke up chicken!' if you cough!
9 mins
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thx, or "chokes up easily"
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agree |
Claire Cox
35 mins
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agree |
Inge Meinzer
2 hrs
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agree |
Lonnie Legg
: weeps at the d. o. a hat
6 hrs
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agree |
Harald Moelzer (medical-translator)
17 hrs
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Cry easily
agree |
Ingeborg Gowans (X)
1 hr
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to be prone to tears
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Note added at 10 Min. (2009-01-22 13:26:40 GMT)
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Sorry, somebody must have posted the same suggestion as I was busy writing mine
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Note added at 15 Min. (2009-01-22 13:30:59 GMT)
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sorry, Nicole, I wasn't trying to steal yours :)
weepy
duct ape
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Note added at 4 hrs (2009-01-22 17:17:02 GMT)
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@ Cilian: A fearsome word for sure, but can a feller not expect context from http://www.contextinc.com/ ? ;-)
See, you've used the dreaded "C" word - twas only a matter of time |
neutral |
Paul Cohen
: not to be confused with 'duct tape'...
10 mins
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Ah! I think you have enlightened me. Thanks.
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neutral |
Lancashireman
: Don't try this at home: I googled 'duct ape' and was directed to urbandictionary.com; when I clicked on the link, Kaspersky anti-virus alerted me to a Trojan attack. You have been warned!
30 mins
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Prof. Google gets electronic knuckle-rapping? Thanks for the warning.
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Discussion
Here is an interesting, if inconclusive, discussion:
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=157610
[that's why I suggest to enter both German versions in the glossary]