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memoria de comercialización

Glossary entry

Spanish term or phrase:

El clásico ingles que suele tomarse al terminar la tarde

English translation:

The quintessential English tea traditionally served in the late afternoon

Added to glossary by James A. Walsh
Dec 18, 2012 22:06
11 yrs ago
Spanish term

El clásico ingles que suele tomarse al terminar la tarde

Spanish to English Other Cooking / Culinary Speiality Tea Description
Hello again,

Another “concise description” from this long list of speciality teas of mine. This time it’s talking about Earl Grey black tea. From what I can deduce “que suele tomarse al terminar la tarde” essentially amounts to “high tea” in UK English. I’d love to hear your thoughts on that, because I’m quite unsure, especially about the "high" bit.

CONTEXT:

“Té negro Earl Grey
Té negro perfumado con esencia de bergamota, adornado con flores de malva y flores de aciano. El clásico ingles que suele tomarse al terminar la tarde.”

So what I’m getting at here is, do you think it’s fair to translate:

“El clásico ingles que suele tomarse al terminar la tarde” as:
“The classic English high tea”

UK English. Thanks in advance.
Proposed translations (English)
4 +12 This is the quintessential English tea that is commonly served in the late afternoon.
Change log

Dec 20, 2012 01:43: James A. Walsh changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/141521">James A. Walsh's</a> old entry - "El clásico ingles que suele tomarse al terminar la tarde"" to ""The quintessential English tea traditionally served in the late afternoon""

Dec 20, 2012 01:46: James A. Walsh changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/141521">James A. Walsh's</a> old entry - "El clásico ingles que suele tomarse al terminar la tarde"" to ""The quintessential English tea, traditionally served in the late afternoon""

Dec 22, 2012 16:51: James A. Walsh changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/141521">James A. Walsh's</a> old entry - "El clásico ingles que suele tomarse al terminar la tarde"" to ""The quintessential English tea; traditionally served in the late afternoon""

Discussion

Carol Gullidge Dec 20, 2012:
yes, happy Christmas, and enjoy the break!
James A. Walsh (asker) Dec 20, 2012:
A teenage sci-fi novel, interesting! I've very recently gone from working 6 long weeks (@ about 15/7) on a 100+k book for a German Laboratory (operating in Spain) about clinical procedures for 140 of the most common lab tests, to this! (1 day break). I'm really looking forward to the Christmas break!
Carol Gullidge Dec 19, 2012:
Phew :)) meanwhile, back at the ranch, I have to suspend translating my teenage sci-fi novel (well, not mine exactly; I'm not the author...) to carry furniture upstairs - we're expecting another prolonged deluge on saturated ground, so soon after the last one :((
James A. Walsh (asker) Dec 19, 2012:
Thanks, Carol – the penny finally dropped! Yes, I deleted that link because when I read it properly, I realised that it confirms just what you say. Sorry it's been a long, busy day, so only got to look at this again a while ago, and confused myself once more! (by speed-reading mostly). My main problem with this job is that there’s just no end of problematic terms to look up, and there isn’t enough time in the day to look them all up!
But I fully get the distinction here now, so all good. Thanks a lot for all this very constructive help, folks! You may be hearing from me again... But if not, a very Happy Christmas to you all :)
Carol Gullidge Dec 19, 2012:
James re your entry on High Tea which seems to have disappeared: the high tea in the link you posted makes it fairly clear that high tea is the "meal", served late in the afternoon, and which included salmon and cucumber sandwiches and other such dainty morsels, scones and cakes, etc, AS WELL AS the tea that was drunk with it and is an essential part of the whole caboodle - at least for the adults. Of course the tea wasn't necessarily Earl Grey, but this was popular in the upper classes.
I don't know if anybody still has high tea these days, but it was fairly widespread in certain circles when I was a youngster. Believe me, we're talking about the meal and not the drink!! There's no way Earl Grey can be called high tea - honest!
Carol Gullidge Dec 19, 2012:
high tea whatever Wiki's version of High tea, I think the consensus is that it is definitely a meal and not a drink, and therefore cannot be used as a synonym for, or description of, Earl Grey
neilmac Dec 19, 2012:
That wikipedia entry left me dumbfounded. I see high tea as something rather "Downtonish" taken around 4-5 in the afternoon consisting of scones, biscuits and bun-type thing, usually in genteel tearooms or similar, not to be confused with the more robust "teatime" meal, usually served any time after 5 in homes and often consisting of things like beans and toast or sausage and chips or similar. I suppose it's a regional thing, but the wiki left me feeling slightly alien...
Jenni Lukac (X) Dec 18, 2012:
I pretty much agree with Carol.
James A. Walsh (asker) Dec 18, 2012:
Thanks, folks! I'm a bit brain dead from all the "conciseness" at this stage, so probably best to call it a day for today... Appreciate your thoughts :)
Noni Gilbert Riley Dec 18, 2012:
Minefield I fear the naming of any meals except perhaps breakfast is riddled with risk - we recently touched upon the subject in a language school staffroom and no two (native UK) teachers could agree on the full range.
Carol Gullidge Dec 18, 2012:
probably not! I interpret "el clásico ingles" as simply "the English classic" that is drunk late.... It's referring to the tea drink and not the meal
Graham Allen-Rawlings Dec 18, 2012:
not according to Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_(meal)#High_tea
The references are quite good.

Proposed translations

+12
6 mins
Spanish term (edited): El clásico ingles que suele tomarse al terminar la tarde.
Selected

This is the quintessential English tea that is commonly served in the late afternoon.

Or, instead of late afternoon, your proposed "high tea."

Your "classic" would also work, but I think "quintessential" reads a bit better here.

Suerte.



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 9 mins (2012-12-18 22:15:33 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I also think that structuring a complete sentence (rather than a fragment, as in the original) would read better in the English.

If you prefer to conserve the fragment of the original, I'd suggest a preceding colon.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 25 mins (2012-12-18 22:31:36 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

You are welcome, James. Happy Holidays.

As an added note, you might prefer "drunk" or (better, I think) "enjoyed" rather than "served."

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 32 mins (2012-12-18 22:39:20 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Not to complicate your life further, but yet another option would be to use the following phrase after a semicolon or em-dash:

The English classic that is commonly served in the late afternoon.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 53 mins (2012-12-18 23:00:07 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

@James

My thought also was that "served" might be a touch too formal. Perhaps it depends on the tone and content of the rest of the text--and on the target audience.

The problem with "served" seems logical in nature, given that most people drinking Earl Gray in the late afternoon are likely preparing it for, and serving it to, themselves. :)
Note from asker:
Loving "quintessential", thanks, Robert, it hadn't occured to me...
Yeah, I'm totally structuring complete sentences in the English. Works far better. However, I also have several hundred of these to do, and very limited time, so this help is great. Thanks again!
And seasons greetings! :)
Hey again: your point about “served” is great; it’s more or less the same concern I originally had about “high”. I really like “served” myself, but I’m not sure if it’s a bit OTT for the context. Maybe I’m focusing on everyday usage too much...
Well the brief I was given about this job was that these descriptions are gonna be used in “an internet-database, accessible by multiple platforms, that aims to be as the herbal tea bible”. So I guess I need to be as general as possible I suppose.
Peer comment(s):
agree Noni Gilbert Riley : Yes, this reads v well
1 min
Thank you, Noni. Happy Holidays.
agree Lisa McCarthy : Nice! ;-) Happy hols to you too, Robert!
4 mins
Thank you, Lisa. As an American, it is especially gratifying to suggest something that might be plausible in a UK context. Happy Holidays.
agree Jenni Lukac (X) : You too!
8 mins
Thank you, Jenni. Happy Holidays.
agree liz askew : Nice one Robert!
37 mins
Thank you, Liz. Happy Holidays.
agree Rick Larg
38 mins
Thanks, Rick. Happy Holidays.
agree Rosa Paredes
58 mins
Gracias, Rosa. Felices fiestas.
agree Yvonne Gallagher : Nice one. I for one would not use "high tea" here at all. "quintessential" is perfect and "served" is fine too. Top of the class!
1 hr
Thank you, Gallagy. Happy Holidays.
agree Christine Walsh : Spot on. I'd avoid 'high tea' too; it somehow makes it sound less elegant.
2 hrs
Thank you, Christine. Happy Holidays.
agree Charles Davis : This Brit approves as well. NOT high tea, which is the traditional early evening meal of the working classes and would normally include mugs of strong blended Indian tea with milk and sugar, not Earl Grey.
4 hrs
Thanks so much, Charles. Happy Holidays.
agree neilmac : Love "quintessential". Not high tea though, which calls for buns, biscuits and and little old ladies...
10 hrs
Cheeky monkey you are, mate. Go on! Thanks so much Neil. Happy Holidays to you and yours. :)
agree Cristina Gonzalez : LOL... I first read "flores de ANCIANO" on the original...still laughing
11 hrs
I had the same misreading. I had not seen "aciano" before. Thanks, Cristina. Happy Holidays.
agree Carol Gullidge : yes, quintessential, and I dn't know where the idea of high tea that everyone is insisting on comes from! High tea is a meal and not a drink//yes, happy Christmas!
11 hrs
Thank you, Carol. Happy Holidays.
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "You know, I'd murder a cup of Earl Grey right now! Ha! Had to shorten it slightly, Robert, because of website restrictions... Thanks again, folks - and Season's Greetings! ;-)"
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