Sonderling Sunday – Jinx und der magische Urwald

Sonderling Sunday 0

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.

This week, I’ve got the third book of the Jinx trilogy waiting for me to read it, so in the spirit of anticipation, today I’m going to look again at the translation of the first book, Jinx und der magische Urwald.

Jinx

When I started looking at Jinx, we left off on page 6 in the English version, Seite 12 in German.

It’s all in the name of handy-dandy phrases to know:

“valuable curse” = wertvollen Fluch

“the fear was ripply with greed” = seine Angst kräuselte sich vor Gier

“a crunching sound” = ein Knacken zu hören

“terrifying gloom” = schaurige Finsternis

“a rotten cabbage leaf” = ein verfaultes Kohlblatt

“the hollow scrabble of clawed feet on the forest earth”
= das dumpfe Scharren von Tatzen auf dem Waldboden

“Several things happened at once.”
= In diesem Moment passierten mehrere Dinge gleichzeitig.
(“In this moment passed more things at the same time.”)

“heavy, ragged breathing” = schwerem, keuchendem Atem

“a smell like rotting meat” = Verwesungsgeruch
(I like that there’s a single word for this. “Decay-smell”)

“they were so big and tusky”
= sie waren riesig und hatten gewaltige Stoßzähne
(“they were giant and had huge tusks”)

This is more dramatic in German:
“The wizard reached out and grabbed Jinx.”
= Blitzschnell packte der Zauberer Jinx.
(“Lightning-fast grabbed the magician Jinx.”)

And here’s another cool single word:
“cloud of calm” = Ruhewolke

And again:
“howled with glee” = johlten

But then this takes more:
“and danced about” = und vollführten einen Freudentanz
(“and performed a joy-dance”)

“breeze” = Luftzug

“swallowed up” = verschluckt

This time the translation seems slightly stronger:
“the smell of rotting meat” = der Verwesungsgestank

“a very small thing” = eine Winzigkeit

Interesting! The translator completely left out a sentence: “He assumed that everyone did this and that everyone could see what he saw.” Then again, I’m using an Advance Review Copy of the book, and it’s quite possible that sentence was left out of the final version of the book.

A sonder-sentence:
“I don’t expect you’ll miss him very much”
= Du wirst ihn bestimmt nicht sonderlich vermissen
(“You will him certainly not especially miss”)

“a red cloud of anger” = eine rote Wutwolke

“But now what?” = Aber was nun?

“clearings” = Lichtungen

“stealthy rustlings” = verstohlene Geräusche

“I have some bad habits.”
= Ich habe ein paar schlecte Angewohnheiten

There! That finishes Chapter One of Jinx

Aber was nun? Here’s hoping this week you encounter more Ruhewolken than Wutwolken.

Sonderling Sunday

Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, Sonderling Sunday 3

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. Sort of a Traveler’s Phrasebook for Very Silly People.

Sonderlinge3

This week, I’m back to my stand-by, The Order of Odd-Fish, by James Kennedy, the most Sonder book of them all, Der Orden der seltsamen Sonderlinge. However, it’s already quite late, so I’m promising myself I’ll stop after only a half-hour. Let’s see what we can find in that time.

Last time, I left off on page 232, Seite 293.

“forced” = gezwungen

“the Hat of Honor” = dem Hut der Ehre

I really think they left something out here:
“a prancing throng of cockroaches” = einer Horde Kakerlaken

And these are just not as good either:
“dragon of deceit” = Drachen des Betrugs
“kingdom of calumny” = Königreich der Verleumdung

A phrase everyone should know:
“silly hat” = albernen Hut

Oh, and you certainly want to be able to say this:
“We must be gracious in our victory.”
= Wir müssen großzügig sein in unserem Sieg.

Nice long words for Aunt Lily’s research specialty:
“irregular contraptions” = unvorschriftsmäßige Apparaturen

“scavenged appliances” = geweideter Geräte

“gears” = Zahnrädern (“tooth-wheels”)

“spindles” = Spulen

“homemade batteries” = selbst gemachten Batterien

“bottles stuffed with nails and bolts and wires”
= Gläsern mit Nägeln, Drähten und Nieten

Oops! My time’s up. I’m going to try to be good and stop while it is still Sunday.

Meanwhile, always remember to be gracious in your victory.

Sonderling Sunday – Harry Potter with Bonus Language!

Sonderling Sunday 1

German HPs

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.

I’ve recently begun corresponding with a man on a dating site whose first language is French. So I’m thinking it’s time to brush up my French. That means this week I’m looking at the one book I have in German and English and French — Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen, Harry Potter à l’École des Sorciers.

Note: I’m using the British edition, since that’s the original. I just noticed that there was a difference with one word I translated. Dudley’s first word, “Shan’t!” was “Won’t!” in the American edition.

Last time I looked at these three books, I left off on page 10 in the British edition, page 9 in French, and page 10 in German.

I’ll start with “the last report on the evening news”
= la fin du journal télévisé
= das Neueste in den Abendnachrichten (love those German long words!)

“bird-watchers”
= Vogelkundler
(The French version doesn’t use this word, just talks about “testimonials” = témoignages, but doesn’t say who gave them.)

Another nice long German word:
(British): “the news reader”
(American): “the newscaster”
= der Nachrichtensprecher
= le présentateur

“downpour of shooting stars”
= ganze Schauer von Sternschuppen
= de véritables pluies d’étoiles filantes

“Perhaps people have been celebrating Bonfire Night early — it’s not until next week, folks!”
= Peut-être s’agissait-il de feux de joie, bien que ce ne soit pas encore la saison. (“Perhaps it was fires of joy [bonfires], but it was not yet the season.”)
= Vielleicht haben die Leute zu früh Silvester gefeiert — das ist noch eine Weile hin, meine Damen und Herren!
(“Perhaps people have too early New Year’s Eve celebrated [when Germans really do shoot off fireworks] — that is still a while yet, my ladies and gentlemen!”)

I like this sentence, in each language:
“Mr Dursley sat frozen in his armchair.”
= Mr Dursley se figea dans son fauteuil.
(“Mr. Dursley froze in his chair.”)
= Mr. Dursley saß starr wie ein Eiszapfen in seinem Sessel.
(“Mr. Dursley sat stiff as an icicle in his chair.”)

“Owls flying by daylight?”
= Eulen, die bei Tage flogen?
= Des hiboux qui volent en plein jour?

“Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place?”
= Des gens bizarres vêtus de capes?
= Allerorten geheimnisvolle Leute in sonderbarer Kleidung?
(Ah! An appearance where sonder means “special” in the sense of “strange.”)

“It was no good.”
= Es hatte keinen Zweck. (“It had no point.”)
= Décidément, il y avait quelque chose qui n’allait pas.
(“Decidedly, there was something wrong.”)

“her lot”
= ihrem Klüngel
= sa bande

“Mrs Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips.”
= Mrs Dursley retroussait les lèvres en buvant son thé à petites gorgées.
(“Mrs Dursley curled her lips drinking tea in little sips.”)
= Mrs. Dursley nippte mit geschürzten Lippen an ihrem Tee.

“Was he imagining things?”
= Bildete er sich das alles nur ein?
= Mr Dursley imaginait-il des choses?

“His last, comforting thought before he fell asleep”
= Bevor er einschlief, kam ihm ein letzter, tröstender Gedanke
(“Before he fell asleep, came to him a last, comforting thought”)
= La seule pensée qui le consola avant de sombrer enfin dans le sommeil
(“The only thought that consoled him before finally falling asleep”)

“How very wrong he was.”
= Wie sehr er sich täuschte.
= Et il avait grand tort de penser ainsi.

There. I’ve gotten us finished with the Dursleys for now. The next scene will involve Albus Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall.

It’s fun to see how the German and French translators differ, and now you know what to call it if you see Des gens bizarres vêtus de capes or geheimnisvolle Leute in sonderbarer Kleidung.

Sonderling Sunday – Ecknische und Knirps

Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, Sonderling Sunday 2

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.

Sonderlinge3

It’s been awhile since I’ve done a post, with no good reason but your basic busyness. So I’m happy to get back to it tonight. And it’s the turn of my stand-by, the truest Sonderbook of them all, Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, by James Kennedy, the translation of The Order of Odd-fish.

Last time I visited this book, I finished with “the picture of happiness,” die Verkörperung von Glückseligkeit, which is on page 228, Seite 287.

As always, I love learning how to translate James Kennedy’s disgust-inducing prose. 🙂

“a dingy, nameless place” = ein schmuddeliger namenloser Ort

“its walls yellowed with decades of smoke and stains”
= Die Wände waren von jahrzehntealtem Rauch und Schmutz vergilbt.

“an ornery dog” = ein übellauniger Hund

“godawful” = einfach schrecklich (“simply horrible”)

“worry” = Kopfzerbrechen (“head-breaking”)

“corner booth” = Ecknische
(Yes! This is now exactly what I’m going to name my corner cubicle!)

Here’s a handy phrase to know:
“scrawled-upon napkins” = vollgekritzelten Servietten

We can say this much more concisely:
“snaky” = schlangenartiges

“brushed off” = freiklopfen

“thinking about it too much” = zu viel darüber nachgegrübelt

I mean, who puts words like these together but James Kennedy? This is why this book got me going with these handy-dandy phrases you didn’t know you wanted to know.
“squeaky whisper” = quietschendes Flüstern

Again, we’re a bit more concise:
“Right now!”
= In ebendiesem Augenblick!

“or worse”
= möglicherweise geschieht sogar Schlimmeres

“Nora had gone too far.”
= Jetzt war Nora eindeutig übergeschnappt.
(“Now was Nora undoubtedly over-snapped.”)

“vindicated” = gerächt

“headline” = Schlagzeile (“Strike-line”)

They kept all the headlines alliterative. Here’s the shortest:
“CHATTERBOX CHASTENED” = PLAUDERTASCHE PLATTGEMACHT
(“Chatterbox flattened”)

“superlative distinction” = unübertrefflicher Ehre

“swaying tassels” = wippenden Quasten

I like this one:
“a wee tot” = ein Knirps

And let’s finish off “with delirious joy” = freudetrunken (“joy-drunk”)

I’m truly jazzed about finding an appropriate name for my cubicle at work (The Ecknische), though perhaps not quite freudetrunken. And I’m going to look for an excuse to call my little nieces the Knirps.

Bis bald!

Sonderling Sunday – Das Buch der Tausend Tage, Day 33

Sonderling Sunday 1

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.

Today I’m back to the book I love so much in English, Shannon Hale‘s Book of a Thousand Days, Das Buch der Tausend Tage.

Buch_Tausend_Tage

Last time I looked at this book, I left off ready to begin Tag 33.

This is a random sentence, early on, that I think could be handy to know:
“Or was it right to let her sleep?”
= Oder war es richtig, sie schlafen zu lassen?

Here’s another good sentence:
“You’re an antelope who bounds through life.”
= Ihr seid eine Antilope, die durchs Leben hüpft.

“feverish hot” = lichterloh

And who knows but when you might need to say this?
“Your ankles are skinnier than a jackrabbit’s ribs.”
= Eure Knöchel magerer sind als die Rippen eines Hasen.

“trying to hold in the laugh made me snort like a camel”
= das unterdrückte Lachen brach sich in einem kamelartigen Schnauben Bahn

I like the way this sounds:
“didn’t want to wake the guards”
=die Wachen nicht wecken wollte

“How my side ached!”
= Ich hatte solches Seitenstechen!

“laughing with” = herumzualbern (Google: “fool around”)

“my skin tingling” = einem Prickeln auf der Haut

There’s a special word for tears of laughter:
“I’d wiped the tears from my face”
= ich mir die Lachtränen abgewischt hatte
(“I from myself the laugh-tears wiped had.”)

“wild dog” = Wildhund (Nothing surprising there, but always fun to say.)

“crazy” = wahnwitzig

I always like the long words:
“sword practice” = Schwertkampftraining

“swimming while dry” = trockenen Körpers schwimmen

“shy” = schüchtern

“ease suffering” = lindern Leiden

“resting my head on my hands” = stützte den Kopf in die Hände

“squinting” = mit zusammengekniffenen Augen

“something furry that mewed”
= etwas Flauschiges Maunzendes

“riverbed clay” = Lehm im Flussbett

And this one rhymes:
“heartache” = Herzschmerz

That’s it for Day 33. May you never know Herzschmerz and may the only tears you know be Lachtränen.

Sonderling Sunday – Dithering and Smell-Songs

Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, Sonderling Sunday 1

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.

Sonderlinge 1

This week, we’re back to James Kennedy‘s Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, The Order of Odd-Fish

Last time, we left off on page 226 in the English version, Seite 285 in the German edition. The very next paragraph begins with a lovely sentence for translation. Why isn’t this in every phrasebook, anyway?

“Sir Oliver showed them around his observatory, packed with telescopes, star charts, and whirring machines.”
= Sir Oliver führte sie durch sein Observatorium, das vollgestopft war mit Teleskopen, Sternenkarten und surrenden Apparaturen.

(I like “packed” = full-ge-stuffed, I mean vollgestopft.)

“first-rate dithering”
= erstklassig sinnlose Arbeiten (“first-class senseless work”)

(Why am I not surprised that German doesn’t have a word for “dithering”?)

Another good sentence to know:
“I keep all the equipment broken, so I can fiddle with it for hours.”
= Ich sorge zum Beispiel dafür, dass die Instrumente alle kaputt sind, damit ich stundenlang daran herumdilettieren kann.

Oh, here’s a word for dither:
“dither” = tändeln

“exploring” = herumzustreifen

“crawlspaces” = Kriechräume

“peephole” = Guckloch

I like the way this uses English:
“matching pajamas” = Partnerlook-Pyjamas

“sly look” = schelmische Miene

“homemade” = selbst gebaute (“self-built”)

“rubber tubes” = Gummischläuchen

“a wild, looping jig” = eine wilde, hüpfende Gigue

Don’t you think you’ll need to say this if you’re ever in Germany?
“huffing and snorting with gusto” = voller Genuss keuchte und schnaubte

“attempts” = entpuppten

“smell-songs” = Duftliedern

“scales” = Tonleiter (“tone-ladders”)

“clumping up the stairs” = die Treppe hinaufstampfte

“embarrassing and strange” = peinlich und seltsam

And I will finish that section with:
“the picture of happiness” = die Verkörperung von Glückseligkeit

Sonderling Sunday – Das Buch der Tausend Tage, Day 32

Sonderling Sunday 5

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!

Okay, it’s a little late for it tonight, but hey, it’s Daylight Savings Time, so my body doesn’t realize that I should be tired. I’ll try for a short one.

And it’s time to go back to one of my favorite English books, Book of a Thousand Days, by Shannon Hale, >Das Buch der Tausend Tage, with the so gorgeous German cover.

Buch_Tausend_Tage

Last time (which I can’t believe was a year ago!), I left off before Day 32, which starts on page 31 in the English edition, and Seite 42 in the German edition.

Right away, there’s something that’s more easily said in English:
“whisper-shouting”
= flüsterte und rief zur gleichen Zeit
(“whispered and shouted at the same time”)

This is fun in German:
“mending a stocking” = stopfte einen Strumpf

It’s interesting when onomatopoeia is done so differently, but it works:
“Rap, rap, rap” = Tack, tack, tack.

“rotten” = abscheulich

“palms” = Handflächen (“Hand surfaces”)

“wooden spoon” = Holzlöffel

“puddle of moonlight” = Lache Mondlicht

“double stitched” = doppelt genähtem

“I knew he was teasing me” = ich wusste, dass er mich nur neckte

“friendly insult” = wohlgesonnene Beleidigung (Google: “sympathetic insult”)

“sturdy ankles” = stramme Knöchel

“slippers” = Pantoffeln

“the kind with the toe curled up prettily”
= solche mit einer hübsch gebogenen Spitze
(“such with a pretty bowed tip”)

“metal catch” = Eisenhaken

“pine bough” = Tannenzweig

“winter nap” = Winterschlummer

“Midwinter” = Wintersonnenwende (“winter-sun-turn”)

“to feast until it hurts” = zu prassen, bis es wehtut

“felt tents” = Filzjurten

“blotchy face” = fleckiges Gesicht

“browned and callused hands” = braunen schwieligen Hände

“barrel of water” = Wasserfass

“silliest song” = albernste Lied

“bodiless piglet” = Ferkel ohne Körper

“Happily snuffling” = Fröhlich schnüffelts

“grumble” = nörgeln

“brush” (for writing) = Pinsel (Ah! I just learned where the word “pencil” came from.)

“wistful” = wehmütig

“twisting and floating” = zuckend und schwebend

And that’s all for tonight! I finished Day 32.

But what useful things we’ve learned! After all, who would want to travel in Germany without knowing how to say “bodiless piglet”?

Sonderling Sunday – Erschreckte Schrei

Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, Sonderling Sunday 0

Sonderlinge3

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.

This week, we’re back to my stand-by, and the inspiration for Sonderling Sunday, James Kennedy‘s The Order of Odd-Fish, Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge.

After all this time, we’re past the halfway point, on page 225 in English, and Seite 283 auf Deutsch. I’m still hoping that the phrases I choose to translate, while obviously being tremendously practical, will also intrigue readers into picking up this book, without giving away spoilers.

“straying” = streunten

Hmm. What does this translation say about the title?
“freakish” = seltsamer

“extinct” = ausgestorben (“out-died”)

“his skin became bark-like” = seine Haut aus wie Borke

“sneaked” = schlichen

“muttered scathing insults” = murmelte beißende Beleidigungen (“murmured biting insults”)

“deliriously colored butterflies” = berauschend bunte Schmetterlinge

Interesting that English is more efficient here:
“prodded” = stupste mit einem Finger (“poked with a finger”)

“trudged” = schlurfte

You never know when you’ll need to say this:
“beeping crystal-like flowers” = piepsenden kristallartigen Blume

“Amazingly” = Verblüffenderweise

And how handy to know the German word for this, for your next vacation!
“secret dissection lab” = geheimen Sezierlabor

“colorful guts” = bunte Innereien

Should we be worried that I find this fun to say?
“sliced into sheets” = in Scheiben geschnitten

“stole” = stibitzte

“furry starfish” = pelziger Seestern

Another fun one to say:
“roar of shock” = erschreckte Schrei

“campaign” = Schlachtplan

“funeral” = Beerdigung

“It’s become harder and harder to fritter away the entire day.”
=Es wird immer schwerer, den ganzen Tag nur herumzuhängen.

Okay, I can’t get past that sentence, when I look at the clock! I’m going to call it a night.

Some fun words to say tonight. On your next vacation to Germany, be sure to ask where you can find piepsenden kristallartigen Blume or a geheimen Sezierlabor.

Bis bald!

Sonderling Sunday – Jinx und der magische Urwald

Sonderling Sunday 3

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.

I have a new book to look at today! I found this German edition of one of my favorites, Jinx, by Sage Blackwood, on Amazon, and I had to order it!

Jinx

You can see that my copy is an Advance Reader’s Edition — hopefully there weren’t too many changes.

You’ll also notice they’ve added to the title. I find I like Jinx und der magische Urwald, “Jinx and the magical Primeval Forest.”

Oh! Surprise! This is one of the few books that is shorter in German. Maybe because of the bigger pages? It’s 360 pages in English, and only 351 in German. Wow. Looking more closely, that’s even with the English Chapter One starting on Page 1, but the German Erstes Kapitel starting on Seite 7.

I’m going to begin with some interesting front matter. The translator’s name is Sylke Hachmeister.

Opposite the title page, we have the author bio:
“Sage Blackwood lives at the edge of a large forest, with thousands of books and a very old dog, and enjoys carpentry, cooking, and walking in the woods of New York State.”

This translates to: Sage Blackwood lebt am Rande eines dunklen Waldes, mit Tausenden von Büchern und einem sehr alten Hund. Sie liebt es, zu tischlern und zu kochen, und macht gerne Spaziergänge durch die Wälder des Bundesstaats New York.

My favorite in that bio is “carpentry” = tishlernen, “table-learning.”

The dedication in English is, “To Jennifer Schwabach because it’s her kind of story.”

It has a lilt in German: Für Jennifer Schwabach weil es eine Geschichte nach ihrem Geschmack ist. (“For Jennifer Schwabach because it a story after her taste is.” But the sound of it rolling off the tongue is what’s especially nice about it.)

Jinx has a classic opening line, so let’s look at that.

“In the Urwald you grow up fast or not at all.”
= Im Urwald wurde man entweder schnell groß oder gar nicht.

Now I’ll mention interesting words and phrases as they come up:

“carefully” = bedächtig

Interesting. “Stepparents” = Stiefeltern (“boot-parents”)

“Inherited” = geerbt

Here are some good-to-know phrases for your next foreign adventure!

“died of werewolves” = von Werwölfen getötet

“was carried off by elves” = von Elfen verschleppt worden war

“a passing firebird” = eines vorüberfliegenden Feuervogels (“an over-flying Firebird”)

“ignited” = angezündet

“Besides” = Zu allem Überfluss (“To all this overflow”)

Something German has a word for:
“the winter would be a hungry one”
= ein Hungerwinter stand bevor
(“a Hungerwinter stood before”)

“calculating eye” = berechnenden Blick (“reckoning glance”)

“surplus children” = überzählige Kinder

“a single bite of his toad porridge”
= nur einen Happen von seinem Krötenbrei
(“only one bite of his toad-brew”)

Again, it actually feels a little smoother in German:
“great trees as big around as cottages”
= gewaltige Bäume mit hausbreiten Stämmen
(“huge trees with house-wide trunks”)

“the front of his coat” = Mantelkragen (“coat collar”)

“doomed” = verdammt

Interesting. This must be where we got the word:
“twilight” = Zwielicht

“disapproval” = Missfallen

“gnarled” = knorrigen

“twisty hair” = zwirbeligen Haaren

“pointed beard” = Spitzbart

Here’s a good phrase:
“the wizard’s nose twitched at the bad smell of the lie.”
die Nase des Zauberers zuckte, als er die Lüge roch

“measly” = mickrigen

“Bergthold drew himself up.” = Bergthold straffte sich.

That’s a good stopping place for now, just before a violent death. I feel like I need to walk in the woods to get good use out of these phrases — which makes me miss living in Germany, where there are always plenty of woods to walk in.

Have a wonderful week! It may be a cold winter, but at least it’s not a Hungerwinter!

Sonderling Sunday – Kapitel 18

Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, Sonderling Sunday 1

Hooray! At long last, it’s again time for Sonderling Sunday: That time of the week when I play with language by looking at the German translation of children’s books.

I hardly got to it when I was reading for the Cybils. And then I wanted to catch up on posting reviews. And then I went to ALA Midwinter Meeting. And had a medical scare. (Benign!) And have just been busy.

So tonight I may not be able to go as long as I’d like. But I am going to do it. And since it’s been awhile, I am going to go back to the book that started it all, Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, The Order of Odd-fish, by James Kennedy.

Sonderlinge 2

Last time, we actually finished up Chapter 17, so we are on Kapitel 18, which is on page 223 and Seite 281.

It begins with a sentence that’s good to know in any language:

“Jo and Audrey became fast friends.”
= Jo und Audrey freundeten sich rasch an.
(“Jo and Audrey friended themselves rapidly.”)
Apparently “to friend” was a concept in German before Facebook!

Now you know what to call these people:
“a stuttering deliveryman” = den stotternden Lieferanten

“a hapless tourist” = den ahnungslosen Touristen

“seemingly inexhaustible collection” = scheinbar unerschöpfliche Sammlung

And now you know how to ask for this if you’re ever in Germany and need to go undercover:
“false whiskers” = falschen Backenbärten

“fat suits” = Fettpolstern

I like this one:
“furious” = recht ergrimmt

“slightly daunted” = leicht eingeschüchtert zusammen

This is for when you’re describing why you’re going undercover:
“nefarious plans” = ruchlosen Pläne

This is a good word to know:
“nonsense” = Quatsch

“barely restrained contempt” = kaum verhüllter Verachtung

“scrawling notes in the margins” = Notizen in kleine Hefte kritzelte

“constructing bewildering charts of arrows and boxes and labels”
= merkwürdige Tabellen mit Pfeilen, Kästchen und Etiketten anfertigte

Okay, that’s actually a good stopping place — the end of the first section of Chapter 18. Perhaps if I give it a short segment tonight, it will be easier to get around to next week.

And this week I’ll wish you someone with whom you may friend yourselves rapidly!