This is a really tough one, so I'm not expecting any kind of elegant solution. I'm translating a short story I wrote about an early steam train called a 'Dummy' engine. I'm sure I could find a way to name such an engine, except that a small joke at the end of the story depends on the dual meaning of 'dummy' E.G. the type of engine and an ignorant person. This Webpage well describes what a dummy engine was.

Maybe this will help. The dummy engine in my story turns out to be a ruse or decoy to distract thieves from stealing a valuable cargo which unbenownced to the crew of the dummy, was quietly transported by wagon while the bandits tried to rob the Dummy enroute. At the end of the story one of the characters, an archeologist on the train says, "I guess we were the Dummy."

As far as translating the engine itself, I've thought and thought and come up with 'falsaĵo' This doesn't work for the other sense of 'dummy' though. Probably I'll just have to take the joke out at the end.

Thanks for any help,

Daĉjo

When I saw the title, I thought of the game of contract bridge, where the declarer's partner is called the dummy.

(And the same double meaning is sometimes used to make jokes. Bridge instructor Eddie Kantar once pointed out that, contrary to popular belief, your partner isn't called the "dummy" because of how he bid his hand ).

Sorry. No idea how this would translate into Esperanto. But wordplay doesn't readily translate across language boundaries in most cases.

Bruso:When I saw the title, I thought of the game of contract bridge, where the declarer's partner is called the dummy.

(And the same double meaning is sometimes used to make jokes. Bridge instructor Eddie Kantar once pointed out that, contrary to popular belief, your partner isn't called the "dummy" because of how he bid his hand ).

Sorry. No idea how this would translate into Esperanto. But wordplay doesn't readily translate across language boundaries in most cases.

Yea, I pretty much figure I'll be taking the joke out. Figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Would this work? Title the story "La Forlogilo" (The Decoy) and make the last line: "Ŝajne, estis ni kiuj forlogiĝis" (It seems it was us who got decoyed) or "Ŝajne, la forlogilo estis ni" (It seems *we* were the decoy).

noelekim:Would this work? Title the story "La Forlogilo" (The Decoy) and make the last line: "Ŝajne, estis ni kiuj forlogiĝis" (It seems it was us who got decoyed) or "Ŝajne, la forlogilo estis ni" (It seems *we* were the decoy).

Thanks for the reply. I don't think that catches the spirit of what I want, but I think you've spured my brain into a new direction. As far as I know there's isn't an Esperanto term for a Dummy Engine, so if I somehow incorporated 'falsaĵo' into it: falsvagono, or something, the last line could be 'Ŝajne ni estis la falsaĵo.' It's not as good as the English version (yet) but it's closer.

I'll let it cook while I translate the story. I do a little everyday when I pick my daughter up from school. Maybe a lightbulb will switch on.