"vi har orden i pennalhuset"

English translation: we have put our own house in order first

11:28 Dec 15, 2021
Danish to English translations [PRO]
Bus/Financial - Management / Strategy presentation power-point
Danish term or phrase: "vi har orden i pennalhuset"
In the strategy document of a major Danish group, under the overall heading 'Bæredygthigheds-mission' (Sustainability mission), a bullet point states:
"- Vi går ikke forrest, men lige bagved. Og vi har orden i pennalhuset."

The first sentence is clear enough, but I fail to find a suitable translation for the second sentence. Of course, I understand very well what it means literally but this hardly seems like an appropriate way of translating the sentence.

Can anyone suggest a more suitable sentence in English? (I am aware that there is not much context to go on, but there is not really anything more useful that I can add).
Michael Davies
Denmark
Local time: 08:25
English translation:we have put our own house in order first
Explanation:
put/set/get your (own) house in order - Longman Dictionary
https://www.ldoceonline.com › es-LA › put-set-get-you...
The Law Society no longer can support equally those who have put their house in order and those who have not.• But Apple first must get its house in order.

put your own house in order - English Club
https://www.englishclub.com › esl › Idioms › Buildings
If you say to someone "put your own house in order", or "get your own house in order", you think they should solve their own problems before telling someone ...

Put your house in order definition and meaning - Collins ...
https://www.collinsdictionary.com › ...
Put your house in order definition: to make sure that all your affairs are arranged properly and there is nothing wrong with... | Meaning, pronunciation ...

Put Your Own House in Order First - St. Peter's Eldorado, WI
https://stpeterseldorado.com › put-y...
28 feb. 2018 — Has someone ever said to you, “Put your own house in order first,” or “Tend to your own house first”? What they mean is, “Before you ...

Significado de get/put your own house in order en inglés
https://dictionary.cambridge.org › diccionario › ingles
You should put your own house in order before you start telling me what to do! SMART Vocabulary:

dict.cc | Everyone should put his own house in order first
https://www.dict.cc › englisch-deutsch › Everyone+sho...
Übersetzungen für den Begriff 'Everyone should put his own house in order first' im Englisch-Deutsch-Wörterbuch.

Fokus på dataetik hjalp ved salget af min start-up - DataEthics ...
https://dataethics.eu › fokus-paa-dat...
26 nov. 2020 —

I had no prior experience with selling a company but understood that all things need to be in order. The value of having order in our finances were obvious, but it turned out that our focus on data ethics also proved to have a significant value.

We were guided on how to move forward in a balanced and wise way (here is Edulab’s data ethics policy – in Danish only).

Jeg havde aldrig prøvet af sælge en virksomhed før, men kunne forstå, at ”der skal være orden i pennalhuset, når en virksomhed skal sælges.”. Der er naturligvis en masse finansielle blyanter i det nævnte pennalhus.

For Egmont går naturligvis højt op i ordentlig digital adfærd og det var fantastisk for mig at være afsender på en virksomhed, med hjertet på rette sted og data ordentlig i hus. (se Edulabs dataetik her).

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 days (2021-12-20 12:19:42 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Glad to have been of help!
Selected response from:

andres-larsen
Venezuela
Local time: 02:25
Grading comment
I was inspired by a combination of your suggestion and IceCream's discussion entry and translated the sentence as: "And our house is in good order."
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +1we run a tight ship
Adrian MM.
3We keep our eye on the ball
Christine Andersen
1we have put our own house in order first
andres-larsen


Discussion entries: 3





  

Answers


25 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
We keep our eye on the ball


Explanation:
This is a slogan that means everything or nothing - We are ready for whatever comes, we do things properly.

We keep our tools sharp?

Just a suggestion to start a discussion!

Christine Andersen
Denmark
Local time: 08:25
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 29
Notes to answerer
Asker: Tak for dit forslag, Christine, selv om jeg ikke valgt det - jeg baserede min oversættelse på en kombination af Andres-Larsen's forslag og IceCreams diskussions indlæg.

Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

31 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
vi har orden i pennalhuset
we run a tight ship


Explanation:
often UK, US and Aussie organisations that make that claim end up sinking like the Titanic.

Alternatively and longer: 'nor can anyone accuse us of keeping an untidy desk'.


    Reference: http://tr-ex.me/oversættelse/engelsk-dansk/tight+ship#gref
    Reference: http://da.bab.la/ordbog/dansk-engelsk/orden-i-eget-hus
Adrian MM.
Austria
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks for your suggestion, Adrian. I chose to use a combination of Andres-Larsen's suggestion and IceCream's discussion entry.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Diarmuid Kennan
3 days 23 hrs
  -> Go raibh maith agat and thanks, Diarmuid. Hope you liked the Titanic joke.
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 1/5Answerer confidence 1/5
we have put our own house in order first


Explanation:
put/set/get your (own) house in order - Longman Dictionary
https://www.ldoceonline.com › es-LA › put-set-get-you...
The Law Society no longer can support equally those who have put their house in order and those who have not.• But Apple first must get its house in order.

put your own house in order - English Club
https://www.englishclub.com › esl › Idioms › Buildings
If you say to someone "put your own house in order", or "get your own house in order", you think they should solve their own problems before telling someone ...

Put your house in order definition and meaning - Collins ...
https://www.collinsdictionary.com › ...
Put your house in order definition: to make sure that all your affairs are arranged properly and there is nothing wrong with... | Meaning, pronunciation ...

Put Your Own House in Order First - St. Peter's Eldorado, WI
https://stpeterseldorado.com › put-y...
28 feb. 2018 — Has someone ever said to you, “Put your own house in order first,” or “Tend to your own house first”? What they mean is, “Before you ...

Significado de get/put your own house in order en inglés
https://dictionary.cambridge.org › diccionario › ingles
You should put your own house in order before you start telling me what to do! SMART Vocabulary:

dict.cc | Everyone should put his own house in order first
https://www.dict.cc › englisch-deutsch › Everyone+sho...
Übersetzungen für den Begriff 'Everyone should put his own house in order first' im Englisch-Deutsch-Wörterbuch.

Fokus på dataetik hjalp ved salget af min start-up - DataEthics ...
https://dataethics.eu › fokus-paa-dat...
26 nov. 2020 —

I had no prior experience with selling a company but understood that all things need to be in order. The value of having order in our finances were obvious, but it turned out that our focus on data ethics also proved to have a significant value.

We were guided on how to move forward in a balanced and wise way (here is Edulab’s data ethics policy – in Danish only).

Jeg havde aldrig prøvet af sælge en virksomhed før, men kunne forstå, at ”der skal være orden i pennalhuset, når en virksomhed skal sælges.”. Der er naturligvis en masse finansielle blyanter i det nævnte pennalhus.

For Egmont går naturligvis højt op i ordentlig digital adfærd og det var fantastisk for mig at være afsender på en virksomhed, med hjertet på rette sted og data ordentlig i hus. (se Edulabs dataetik her).

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 days (2021-12-20 12:19:42 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Glad to have been of help!

andres-larsen
Venezuela
Local time: 02:25
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
I was inspired by a combination of your suggestion and IceCream's discussion entry and translated the sentence as: "And our house is in good order."
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.


See also:
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search