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This started, a bit like spontaneous combustion really, on a new members introductory thread so here we go.
So far we have:
John Watson:'Here to see the Queen?'
Mycroft walks in.
Sherlock: 'oh, apparently yes.'
This pun revolves around the use of the word 'Queen' which in slang means a homosexual, especially an effeminate homosexual.
Mycroft and his bloody stupid power complex.
This pun revolves around the use of the words 'Power complex' a power complex can be a power station, where electricity is generated but it can also mean someone whose aim in life is to keep control and wield power.
Greek Interpreter becomes Geek Interpreter.
In the original Conan Doyle stories there is one called The Greek Interpreter, this pun plays on the word Greek ( nationality of someone from Greece) and 'geek' meaning ' an unfashionable or socially in adept person in society or someone with an eccentric devotion to a particular interest. In the series this meant the lads who are obsessed with comics.
To these I will now add the pun of 'The Speckled Blonde.'
Anyone want to explain this one?
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'The Speckled Band' was the name of the original piece and in keeping with the silly renaming scheme of 'The bellybutton murders' and 'The Geek Interpreter' it became 'The Speckled Blonde'.
There are a few phrases which don't translate well, I've been looking into how they do it in various dialogues and I must admit I am impressed.
Not an easy job pulling off a translation by the looks of it.
-m0r
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Sherlock's very last sentence in HOUNDS:
"Gotta see a man about a dog", apparently means "I've got to leave now." - which can be because one is bored or has to go to the bathroom. (I hope that's right!)
I was wondering how they would do the German translation. Especially having a "hound" or a "dog" in it would be a nice reference to the whole story. But there's no such saying in German.
I was really pleased when they came up with:
"Ich frag ihn mal, ob er kalten Hund hat!" ("Just gonna ask him if he's got 'cold dog'.")
A dog that is "cold" is a dead dog. (How appropriate considering the story!)
"Cold dog" is also a sweet, an unbaked cake that consists of butter biscuits which are layered with cocoa cream. After having been in the fridge for several hours the cold dog will be sliced up.
An example for a well done translation or better: linguistic transformation.
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I'm going to embarrass myself here but... Even as a native English speaker, it wasn't until the third time I watched ASIB that I got the queen joke. I love puns, too; sigh. I'm blaming it on PBS, since I didn't watch the original version the first two times.
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I love this thread... I missed a lot of nods to the originals because I knew the Spanish titles of the stories but not the English ones, so this is going to be really helpful
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I like the Moriarty/Sherlock exchange in "The Great Game" pool scene:
"Ciao Sherlock Holmes."
"Catch.. you later."
"No you won't."
(S. says 'Catch you later' is to mirror Moriarty's casual 'ciao', as in 'see you later', a very informal goodbye expression. But he chooses to
emphasize 'catch' you later, same meaning, though it obviously also means that he intends to literally catch him, at some point.)
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Is considering how to explain the 'dogging' pun in Hounds of the Baskerville...hmmm...tricky..
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Tobe - you are correct. Sherlock's "Got to see a man about a dog" is a play on the slang euphemistic 'Gotta see a man about a horse'. It means needing to go the bathroom - usually for defecation not urination. I found this little inteplay of words at the end of Hound to be rather funny because just a line or two earlier John mentions somewhat jokingly that he's already taken care of excreting the toxins from his system. Imagine exchanging bathroom humor with Sherlock Holmes. . These two are pretty damn comfortable with each other now - indulging in total "guy talk".
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There's one thing that confused me when I watched the German version of TRF. When visiting Sherlock at 221B Moriarty says "I owe you a fall". In German, however, the words for "fall" and "case" are the same. For some time I thought he was talking about providing Sherlock with a new case like he did in TGG. I like to spot such things because I have to deal with them constantly when translating books .
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Here, in the UK, we definitely say ' got to see a man about a dog' I've never heard the 'horse' version.
There is a visual/verbal pun going on when John thinks he has worked out the lights in Hounds are morse code and finds out that is is actually people gathering to have (cover your eyes those of a sensitive disposition, or minors) S.E.X. In vehicles. The episode is about 'hounds' i.e. 'dogs' and what the naughty people are up to is called 'dogging'.
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Davina wrote:
Here, in the UK, we definitely say ' got to see a man about a dog' I've never heard the 'horse' version.
This is what I also thought because we often use this phrase when we don't know where some one is or we are being vague we say "going to see a man about a dog" I have never heard it in relation to going to the bathroom.
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Davina wrote:
There is a visual/verbal pun going on when John thinks he has worked out the lights in Hounds are morse code and finds out that is is actually people gathering to have (cover your eyes those of a sensitive disposition, or minors) S.E.X. In vehicles. The episode is about 'hounds' i.e. 'dogs' and what the naughty people are up to is called 'dogging'.
Very well put, Davina ...
Oops, I forgot, I wasn't meant to read that post
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Making this thread was a great idea because the english slang I know is from american-english and not british-english. Reading your posts I realise how clever and funny the show really is even beyond what I understood watching it. Keep 'em coming folks.
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Rosey wrote:
Davina wrote:
Here, in the UK, we definitely say ' got to see a man about a dog' I've never heard the 'horse' version.
This is what I also thought because we often use this phrase when we don't know where some one is or we are being vague we say "going to see a man about a dog" I have never heard it in relation to going to the bathroom.
Yeah to me "got to see a man about a dog" basically means you're going to go off and do something but you don't particularly want to tell the other person what it is...
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Thanks for your explanations. I didn't know the phrase at all. So I'm going to learn something useful on top of all the fun …
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Another great thread, this really is a lovely place!
Writers around the world obviously have put a lot of work into the dubbing, and in keeping with the original witty tone of the series (I have seen the German and the Russian version, and both are surprisingly good, although I really dislike some of the voices).
Of course, there are certain puns (like Mycroft,the q/Queen) which will never translate, but others have simply been replaced (like the one about the dog that tobeornot mentioned).
Actually, I have noticed that sometimes the translation can help clear up open issues raised by the original. On another forum, some people were discussing if there is any significance to the fact that Sherlock tells the journalist (in TRF) "you repel me" rather than using the correct verb, "repulse".
I liked the idea, but after watching the German version, I am pretty sure that it was just a mistake.
Unless any of you here see a deeper meaning in "Sie sind mir zuwider?"
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Hypergreenfrog, I don't see a deeper meaning in "Sie sind mir zuwider", although I' rather say "Sie widern mich an." But that may be due to reasons of lip synch, I guess.
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Interesting to hear that in Britain "seeing a man about a dog" is a common expression for being vague about going off to do something else. I immediately jumped to the American slang that uses the word "horse" and means leaving for the bathroom. I really thought it was a play on words because the story line was about a dog and not a horse.
Well, enough bathroom talk from me; but I do have another question. In America, a jumper is a dress worn by a girl (sleeveless so that a blouse or shirt can be worn underneath) but it's pretty obvious that in Britain it's a sweater. But is it a particular type of sweater? Perhaps a pull-over as opposed to a cardigan? Or can a jumper any kind of sweater?
Oh yes, loved how in Hound the Morse code bit was a funny spin on the original mysterious lights on moor seen in ACD's "The Hound of the Baskervilles". UMQRA everyone!
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Yeah, I agree with Sherlock Holmes. In the US, I think "gotta see a man about a dog," is less specific and certainly not particularly bathroom related . It's just sort of, " I've got something to do and I'm not going to tell you what it is." I don't think it's necessarily mysterious, though, "Gotta see a man about a horse," always sounded a little more suspicious to me, for some reason, like "I've got a little scheme going that I'm not going to tell you about." Maybe related to horse-racing? Of course, they race dogs, too. Anyway, thanks for gving us non-Brits yet another witticism to appreciate in the script.
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KP, I think that a jumper is more of a pull-over, I wouldn't use it for a cardigan...