I found this on a box of non-prescription tablets:
The way I read that, the commas make the phrase “half an hour before going to bed” parenthetical, so you are advised to go into a darkened room to take the tablet. After that, presumably you can switch the lights back on to go to sleep.
There’s probably some neat pun on “comma” and “coma”, too, but I can’t think of one right now.
We all turn out to watch
the river churn and the bridges
froth at the mouth while
above us, angry mountains clench
white teeth, briefly holding back
the storm.
In a brief lull in the torrential rain yesterday, I ventured as far as the village.
Continue reading “break in the clouds”
Well, maths matters to me, which is why it bothered me when I saw this advert in Madrid.
The caption echoes a Spanish refrán, though I’m not sure which is the original version. I’ve found both “Lo bueno, si breve, dos veces bueno” (attributed to Baltasar Gracián), and “Lo bueno, si barato, dos veces bueno”.
Both are valid points, but in the Burger King ad, the sums don’t add up: Chicken, if it’s 100% chicken, is not twice chicken.
Gracián’s phrase is best translated as “Less is more”, and is excellent advice for writers. A more literal translation would be, “If it’s good, and it’s short, it’s doubly good.”
The quote is often followed up with something to the effect that “lo malo, si breve, no tan malo.” – “if it’s bad, and it’s short, it’s not so bad.”
Either way, I’d better stop now.
According to the guide book I’m translating, the great Mosque-Cathedral in Córdoba boasts arcos polilobulados. Isn’t that a wonderful word? (Brits of a certain age will understand that it immediately made me think of Bill and Ben.)
Unfortunately, it’s the type of word that is liable to terrify a non-native reader: all those vowels, all those syllables… it must be complicated.
And, of course, it isn’t in the diccionario de la Real Academia, which makes it even more worrying.
This happens so often when you’re reading a foreign text: a word isn’t immediately obvious, so panic sets in.
Continue reading “flobbalob, or words to that effect”
An interesting story on the BBC website under the headline Spanish hairdressers rebel against radio tax. It’s all to do with the fact that here in Spain the SGAE (Sociedad General de Autores y Editores) is determined to protect the intellectual property rights of its members.
The SGAE are the people responsible for the Canon por copia privada, a tax imposed on recording devices (both storage media, such as cds, and reproduction devices) in Spain.
Continue reading “it’s all Greek to them”
don't confuse the narrator 