Sonderling Sunday – In the Tapestry Room

It’s time for Sonderling Sunday! That time of the week when I play with language by looking at the German translation of children’s books.

Tonight I’m back to my stand-by, with the wonderfully odd things to translate, The Order of Odd-Fish, by James Kennedy, otherwise known as Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge. (The existence of this book is what gave me the idea for Sonderling Sunday.)

We left off on page 288 in the original English version, Seite 366 auf Deutsch.

The first sentence of the new section would be a practical thing to be able to say in German.
“Dinner at the lodge was loud and rowdy, as usual.”
= Das Dinner im Logenhaus fiel wie üblich laut und ungebärdig aus.

“Jo stewed impatiently.”
= Jo saß wie auf heißen Kohlen.
(“Jo sat like on hot coals.”)

“cut off the stinger” = Stachel abtrennen

“follow the gold thread” = dem goldenen Faden folgen

This seems like a good way to describe someone who’s wide awake when you wish they weren’t:
“wide awake” = hellwach

“surprisingly polite and sociable” = überraschend höflich und umgänglich

This one’s a tongue twister:
“woven” = geknüpft

“roll by” = vorbeiglitt

“tapestry” = Gobelin

“tapestry” = Wandteppich (“wall-carpet”)

And lest we forget:
“special” = besonders

Here’s a nice long word:
“responsible stewardship” = verantwortungsbewusste Hände

“All-Devouring Mother” = All-Verschlingenden Mutter

“nobody knows which is true” = niemand weiß, welche zutrifft

“cramped and packed” = eng zusammengepfercht

“the Silver Kitten of Deceit” = das Silberne Kätzchen der Arglist

“vomit out” = auswürgt

“vengeful” = rachedurstiges (“revenge-thirsty”)

“terrifying” = einflößender

“crashing into each other” = ineinanderkrachten

“melting into” = zusammenschmolzen

“lest she miss a single word”
= damit sie auch nicht ein Sterbenswörtchen verpasste

“Jo cringed.”
= Jo zuckte zusammen.

“All these secrets and plots and skullduggery!”
= All diese Geheimnisse, Ränke und Gemeinheiten!

“glory of battle” = ruhmreichen Schlacht

“with her arms crossed” = mit verschränkten Armen

“stalked” = schlich sich

“slammed the door” = schlug die Tür hinter sich zu

“ran downstairs in a panic”
= rannte in panischem Schrecken die Treppe hinab

“trapdoor” = Falltür

And that brings me to the end of Chapter 21. It was überraschend höflich und umgänglich.

Bis bald!

Tweet