This question was closed without grading. Reason: Other
Nov 9, 2006 15:59
17 yrs ago
1 viewer *
Italian term
United States
linguaphile
Native in: English 
Works in: Spanish to English, French to English, Italian to English, and 1 more.
fare acqua
Italian to English
Other
Slang
Idiomatic expression used in describing a race.
(la 450cc…i nomi AMA fanno acqua da tutte le parti, sigh!)
(la 450cc…i nomi AMA fanno acqua da tutte le parti, sigh!)
Proposed translations
(English)
| 5 | fall apart at the seams |
James (Jim) Davis
|
| 4 | falling apart / losing it |
Claire Titchmarsh (X)
|
| 4 | to be in a critical position |
Regina Eichstaedter
|
| 3 | to be a (big mess) |
Alfredo Tutino
|
| 3 -5 | is pissing on/all over the others |
muitoprazer (X)
|
Proposed translations
-5
3 mins
is pissing on/all over the others
referring to the other competitors-sorry its rude !
should have been marked as potentially offensive
should have been marked as potentially offensive
Peer comment(s):
| disagree |
silvia b (X)
: this is not what "fare acqua" means in this context!
6 mins
|
| disagree |
Regina Eichstaedter
: not here!
10 mins
|
| disagree |
Ivana UK
: definitely not - plus the asker already highlighted that this was an idiomatic expression!!
11 mins
|
| disagree |
Katia DG
: "fare acqua" in origine si riferisce al natante che imbarca acqua, in senso figurato significa "non funzionare", "essere in cattive condizioni" ecc.: "to take on water"
35 mins
|
| disagree |
Catherine Bolton
: Absolutely not! Maybe you should have set your confidence level down a notch on this one.
3 days 1 hr
|
14 mins
James (Jim) Davis
Seychelles
Seychelles
Native in English
Seychelles
25 years experience constantly improving
Native in: English (Variant: British) 
Works in: Italian to English
Related KudoZ points
:
20
fall apart at the seams
"are falling apart at the seams" literally, "they are leaking all over the place" but not in the sense of "taking a leak" or "spending a penny" as my mother used to say.
"a complete shambles"
"a complete shambles"
19 mins
falling apart / losing it
Losing it not in the sense of losing the race (although they are) but in the sense of struggling to keep up.
Losing the plot might work.
Losing the plot might work.
19 hrs
Alfredo Tutino
Native in Italian
No MT, No TMs: I am a Translator!
Native in: Italian
Works in: English to Italian, French to Italian, Italian
to be a (big mess)
I read the Italian phrase ("fanno acqua da tutte le parti") as simply meaning "are unsatisfactory on all counts", or something like that - and this is the way I generally use this nautical metaphor.
Of course there may be several way to say it in English but, to me, something on the line of "AMA's naming conventions are just a big mess" seems reasonably near to the source
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Note added at 19 hrs (2006-11-10 11:04:42 GMT)
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Should have been "to be a (big) mess", of course...
Of course there may be several way to say it in English but, to me, something on the line of "AMA's naming conventions are just a big mess" seems reasonably near to the source
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Note added at 19 hrs (2006-11-10 11:04:42 GMT)
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Should have been "to be a (big) mess", of course...
13 mins
Regina Eichstaedter
Language is never innocent
Native in: German
Works in: Italian to German, English to German
to be in a critical position
attraversare un periodo di crisi (come una barca che fa entrare acqua e quindi rischia di affondare)
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Note added at 16 mins (2006-11-09 16:16:37 GMT) Post-grading
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When I began to write, the question was still opened!
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Note added at 21 hrs (2006-11-10 13:22:29 GMT)
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L'inglese non è la mia lingua, ma che ne pensi di "to misfire" dato che si tratta di una corsa?
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Note added at 16 mins (2006-11-09 16:16:37 GMT) Post-grading
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When I began to write, the question was still opened!
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Note added at 21 hrs (2006-11-10 13:22:29 GMT)
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L'inglese non è la mia lingua, ma che ne pensi di "to misfire" dato che si tratta di una corsa?
Discussion
Peer-grading working here at its best. Sorry about the inconvenience.
Gianfranco
"Fare acqua" as an idiom means "to be shaky". Example: La sua teoria fa acqua da tutte le parti (His theory is very shakey). In your context, "weak" might be more appropriate.