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dasar Arjuna

English translation: what an arrogant person

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Indonesian term or phrase:dasar Arjuna
English translation:what an arrogant person
Entered by: Catherine Muir

13:59 Mar 18, 2012
Indonesian to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature / early 20th Century Indonesian novel
Indonesian term or phrase: dasar Arjuna
Bemoaning the sudden unfair dismissal of a young man by a bankrupt boss, a foreman says "Eh lhadalah, dasar Arjuna!"

I understand, from a previous KudoZ response, that 'eh lhadalah' is an exclamation which can mean 'good grief', 'shit', 'goddammit', etc. but I don't understand the reference to Arjuna here.

Thanks for your help!
Catherine Muir
Australia
Local time: 16:10
what an arbitrary person
Explanation:
Maybe the foreman thinks that Arjuna (a wayang figure) sometimes acts arbirarily like the bankrupt boss does.
Selected response from:

Ikram Mahyuddin
Indonesia
Local time: 13:10
Grading comment
I combined your suggestion with David's. Many thanks.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
2 +1what an arbitrary person
Ikram Mahyuddin
3what a casanova
ErichEko ⟹⭐


  

Answers


3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): +1
what an arbitrary person


Explanation:
Maybe the foreman thinks that Arjuna (a wayang figure) sometimes acts arbirarily like the bankrupt boss does.

Ikram Mahyuddin
Indonesia
Local time: 13:10
Native speaker of: Native in IndonesianIndonesian
PRO pts in category: 17
Grading comment
I combined your suggestion with David's. Many thanks.
Notes to answerer
Asker: Yes, this makes sense. Thank you so much. I like David's suggestion as well.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  David Andersen: This sounds plausible to me, though not being a wayang fan, I'm no judge of Arjuna's character. But perhaps it could be made more forceful by saying something like "What damn arrogance!" or "What a highhanded autorcrat!"
2 hrs
  -> Thank you, David Andersen
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9 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
what a casanova


Explanation:

Tthe idea is to have the same expression as the source: figure for figure,

The foreman summarized his description of the boss as Arjuna. It's a rather strange to describe an unfair man, since Arjuna is a playboy of the wayang. His disgusting trait is that when he falls in love with a woman, he must get her, potentially causing conflict with her parents/husband. Does the foreman refer to his boss as someone with strong will instead of authoritarian?!

Casanova may not have the same strong will as Arjuna. Anyway, I think there must be some other figures in the Western world that depict Arjuna. All human beings, East and West, are the same, except for the money in their pockets and bank accounts...


ErichEko ⟹⭐
Indonesia
Local time: 13:10
Native speaker of: Native in IndonesianIndonesian
PRO pts in category: 48
Notes to answerer
Asker: Erich, in this case, I think not. A 'Casanova' is indeed a playboy, as Arjuna is, but that description doesn't fit in this context. Thank you for your suggestion.

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