Tool Talk

General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: jimwrench on November 29, 2011, 06:49:40 PM

Title: translation is good
Post by: jimwrench on November 29, 2011, 06:49:40 PM
 Bought this little 4'' adjustable because I didn't have an Oxwall. Its a piece of junk but I thought the translation was worthy of comment. On back side it says"tested for monent load" which is a literal translation of what they wanted to convey but it just sounds a little funny. I'm assuming they don't mean they tested it for a moment. Reminds me of a translation of" pothole" which became "a concavity" which again is accurate but I'm not going to request the road man  come out and fix the concavities.
It amused me but I'm easily amused.
Title: Re: translation is good
Post by: Aunt Phil on November 29, 2011, 07:26:46 PM
It can be worse.  Try reading a 20 page spec that has been translated to P.C.

There is a limit to the number of times you read "personhole" before the lighter goes to work on the corner of page 4.
Title: Re: translation is good
Post by: rusty on November 29, 2011, 07:41:02 PM

My all time favorite is still

"Do not use for the other use."

To this day I wonder what the other use might have been, and what was bad about doing it...
Title: Re: translation is good
Post by: jimwrench on November 29, 2011, 07:45:38 PM
Don't do that. I just got up off the floor. I said I was easily amused.
Title: Re: translation is good
Post by: Stoney on November 29, 2011, 09:21:01 PM
Ya'll crack me up and after the day I've had I needed that. But now I'm can't get the "other use" out of my head.
Title: Re: translation is good
Post by: Aunt Phil on November 29, 2011, 10:46:48 PM
Quote from: rusty on November 29, 2011, 07:41:02 PM

My all time favorite is still

"Do not use for the other use."

To this day I wonder what the other use might have been, and what was bad about doing it...

Was that printed on the insertion end of a fountain syringe?
Title: Re: translation is good
Post by: Branson on November 30, 2011, 05:37:15 AM
My all time favorite, and I've seen a bundle of silly translations, comes in an early US Army phrase book for interrogating Viet-Namese.  They very apparently did nothing more than plug in words from  earlier phrase books from WWII and maybe Korea.  (close to "using for other use").  The questions about the depth of snow to be expected were amusing, but!  One of the questions was "Are you a Culac?  A culac is an independent farmer in Soviet jargon.  Because Viet-Namese has only single syllable works, the phrase was rendered:

"Ong la cu lac, khong? "  Which actually translates as, "Are you a trembling (or quivering) penis?"
Title: Re: translation is good
Post by: lbgradwell on November 30, 2011, 11:12:26 AM
Superb stuff...
Title: Re: translation is good
Post by: Stoney on November 30, 2011, 04:47:57 PM
Just keeps getting better.