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Fly in the ointment?

od jkph00, 17 marca 2013

Wpisy: 8

Język: English

jkph00 (Pokaż profil) 17 marca 2013, 20:15:02

Would "Tio estas la muŝo en la ŝmiraĵo" be a good translation for "That's the fly in the ointment?" Or is there a better expression?

Thanks!

Ganove (Pokaż profil) 17 marca 2013, 21:23:24

Hm, I would not recommend to translate idioms literally, since not everybody is aware of English - or any other language - that much in order to be able to understand the idioms's intended meaning.
As for me, when I read it the first time I did not understand its meaning.

If I have understood "That's the fly in the ointment?" correctly, then it is about the fact, although everything seems to be perfect, there must be something like a drawback.

How about something more figurative, for instance "Ĉu tio estas la ombro/ombraĵo?" or more precise "Ĉu tio estas la kontraŭaĵo?" ?

Tempodivalse (Pokaż profil) 18 marca 2013, 05:32:22

English is my native language, and yet I am not entirely certain what "fly in the ointment" means. (I can make an educated guess, but it's not an idiom that I hear much.) In general, I don't think it is best to translate idioms literally into Esperanto when the intended meaning is not obvious from the direct context. Maybe the language is a little less colourful that way, but it makes it much easier to comprehend for people who are perhaps not familiar with English's mannerisms.

J_Marc (Pokaż profil) 18 marca 2013, 07:15:53

jkph00:Would "Tio estas la muŝo en la ŝmiraĵo" be a good translation for "That's the fly in the ointment?" Or is there a better expression?
I am also a native speaker and I am not sure what it means, though it seems to be 'an annoyance', or 'a small thing that, despite its size, nevertheless ruins everything.' Agree with the others that a literal translation will elicit a 'huh?' (or its official PIV-approved equivalent) from someone who is not familiar with the phrase in English. How about these?

La eta ĝeniga afero. (or La eta ĉagreniganto.)
La eta io kiu senindigis la ĉion.
La preskaŭ-nenio kiu malbonigis la ĉion.
Ba! Eta fuŝanto de ĉio!

(Someone else can figure out a way to get rid of those n-finaĵos on the second two! Though they rhyme enough as they are.)

sudanglo (Pokaż profil) 18 marca 2013, 08:59:57

JK, I have a feeling that there is something already in the Proverbaro along the lines of the fly in the ointment, but at the moment I can't recall it.

Anyway we could make something up in the same spirit, for example.

Jen la gruzero en la sukero.
Jen la moskito en la lito.
Jen la fuŝo en la duŝo.
Jen la malbono en la citrono

I leave it to to others to play with. You will find the rhyming dictionary useful

As regards the meaning of the fly in the ointment, a definition off the net is, a small, unpleasant matter that spoils something; a drawback.

jcelko (Pokaż profil) 18 marca 2013, 13:00:59

[quote=jWould "Tio estas la muŝo en la ŝmiraĵo" be a good translation for "That's the fly in the ointment?" Or is there a better expression?/quote]Try to catch the meaning: La solvo havas unu problemeton.

hebda999 (Pokaż profil) 18 marca 2013, 16:53:27

I don't know what it really is, but I feel in my bones that something fishy is going on in here...

jkph00 (Pokaż profil) 18 marca 2013, 19:43:22

sudanglo:JK, I have a feeling that there is something already in the Proverbaro along the lines of the fly in the ointment, but at the moment I can't recall it.
I was unable to find anything there when I looked before posting the query, but I did find a copy of Proverbs in Esperanto and English by Montagu Butler at a used book service out of New Zealand. It will arrive in a few weeks and if I find an equivalent, I'll certainly post it. By the way, I discovered the new ability to search the lernu.net edition of the Proverbaro today and it's a delightful piece of work, isn't it?

sudanglo:Anyway we could make something up in the same spirit, for example.

Jen la gruzero en la sukero.
Jen la moskito en la lito.
Jen la fuŝo en la duŝo.
Jen la malbono en la citrono

I leave it to to others to play with. You will find the rhyming dictionary useful
I certainly enjoyed these and spent awhile looking through the rhyming dictionary site just for the fun of it.

sudanglo:As regards the meaning of the fly in the ointment, a definition off the net is, a small, unpleasant matter that spoils something; a drawback.
Just so. In that sense, how about "Jen la moskito sub la kontraŭmoskita vualo" as a translation for "the fly in the ointment?"

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