English translation: If the cap fits, wear it / The Wounded Goose
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Czech to English translations [PRO] Art/Literary - Tourism & Travel
Czech term or phrase:Potrefená Husa
Hallo,
I know it is a restaurant chain in Prague but I need to know what it means. I am translating from German to English and the German says "shot at goose".
Thanks
Gillian
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 4 mins (2008-12-11 09:21:36 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
something that you say to tell someone that if they are guilty of something bad, they should accept criticism
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 15 mins (2008-12-11 09:32:20 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
My translation is based on the main (if not the only) context possible (folk saying): Potrefená Husa nejvíc kejhá = The person concerned/guilty will disclose herself/himself by raising some comments, objections, confirmations, etc.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 1 hr (2008-12-11 10:41:55 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
I translated what it means (as requested), which the translation might not be the best name for a restaurant chain :-))) But who knows, people want to differentiate :-))
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 3 hrs (2008-12-11 13:15:29 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
If you do not want to use the core meaning in terms of proverb, then I suggest the term The Wounded Goose. The main point of “Potrefená” is that the goose is honking then!! But it says nothing about the real meaning of the saying, which the term comes from..
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 3 hrs (2008-12-11 13:16:55 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Oh boy, this goose was really complicated! I now both understand what it means literally and figuratively. I actually went with "gunned down" (I wish I could divide the points) because it sounds good to attract people into a restaurant. 4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer
Hi, so I was in a pub here in Zlin with a Czech friend - a translator too - and I brought up this "potrefena husa", asking what it meant to him. He thought for a long time, and told me what he thought...but just to be sure, he would ask a table full of ladies behind us (one of which was his friend), what they thought...and all of them had the same conclusion - as sexist as it may sound, their consensus was that it is something akin to a "dizzy broad" volne prelozeno "blba zenska priblbla" - a unflattering term where "husa" refers to woman, and jeste navic, je "potrefena"...again disclaimer - I'm not Czech, I don't "feel" it, and I'm not saying it's right or wrong, but it should be food for thought for you Czechs/Slovaks.
yes, martin but the saying comes from behaviour observed in a flock of geese: the goose that's been hit is the noisiest one. the verb mode doesn't matter. from the noise in this pub chain it can be implied everyone is "potrefen/trefen" in his/her way :)
...government officials, the one claims their moral integrity the most is usually the one most affected. And now go ahead and try to translate this :-)
I beg to disagree. Most answers are NOT correct. What they translate is TREFENA husa, not POtrefena. This is a pun, a reference to an old Czech saying - Potrefená husa se vždycky ozve. (Meaning for instance, that if you talk about bribery to a group of ..
I wanted to go an an agreeing spree as well - all answers are 'correct' in the their own way. It just occurred to me if all brands are translated, imagine the sales figures of Škoda cars if they had 'What a waste of money'/'Wie Schade' on the back :)
Thanks Pavel, I indeed may be wrong. Like someone is "postreleny" or "zastreleny" - wounded or shot dead...Hunters finish the job if the bird ain't dead, that's for sure, but if a vet picked him up in time, who knows?:) ALSO NO AGREE/DISAGREE BUTTON
To Scott: (apologizing for not using agree/disagree box - not enabled)
I think you are not right. If you gun down a goose, it will not honk anymore. The main point of “Potrefená” is that the goose is honking then!! I think Wounded Goose is better, but..
The company uses 'Potrefená husa' in all its literature - it would be a mistake to translate it any other way (much as you would not translate 'Staropramen' as 'Old Source', etc :) There's one in Brno, too, but I much preferred the old Bellevue...
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Answers
4 hrs confidence: peer agreement (net): +1
The Wounded Goose
Explanation: I would definitely agree with Pavel's suggestion - The Wounded Goose - as being the only standard translation. There are plenty of examples of english reviews of the restaurant with this name. I also lived in Zlin for a few years and used Wounded Goose to refer to the place, I think it has a very pleasing assonance!
Explanation: This sounds a bit strange, I know, but the idiom goes "Potrefena husa se vzdycky ozve" or suchlike, which literary means "The (shot at and) hit goose always shouts." I was wondering whether there was a similiar proverb in English, but the closest meaning really seems to be the suggested. "If the cap fits, wear it" (although it is not quite the same). I compared it with German where the idiom goes: "Getroffene Hunde bellen/jaulen" (The hit dogs bark/ howl). Meaning: If someone protests very loudly against criticism, then probably the criticism has hit the nail on the head.
Klara Hurkova Local time: 23:08 Works in field Native speaker of: Czech
Explanation: also in Slovak l. " Trafená hus zagága" > it means > a person with a guilty conscience who unwillingly (proti svojej vôli) speaks out > imagine your boss discovered someone used his computer to surf naughty web site. He walks in and says, "who used my computer yeasterday'? and you blurt out, " I don't even like computer porn". http://travel.spectator.sk/articles/129/
the point here is your reaction is unwilling as instinct ...
Maria Chmelarova Local time: 17:08 Works in field Native speaker of: Slovak
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 4 mins (2008-12-11 09:21:36 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
something that you say to tell someone that if they are guilty of something bad, they should accept criticism
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 15 mins (2008-12-11 09:32:20 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
My translation is based on the main (if not the only) context possible (folk saying): Potrefená Husa nejvíc kejhá = The person concerned/guilty will disclose herself/himself by raising some comments, objections, confirmations, etc.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 1 hr (2008-12-11 10:41:55 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
I translated what it means (as requested), which the translation might not be the best name for a restaurant chain :-))) But who knows, people want to differentiate :-))
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 3 hrs (2008-12-11 13:15:29 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
If you do not want to use the core meaning in terms of proverb, then I suggest the term The Wounded Goose. The main point of “Potrefená” is that the goose is honking then!! But it says nothing about the real meaning of the saying, which the term comes from..
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 3 hrs (2008-12-11 13:16:55 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Pavel Prudký Works in field Native speaker of: Czech PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Oh boy, this goose was really complicated! I now both understand what it means literally and figuratively. I actually went with "gunned down" (I wish I could divide the points) because it sounds good to attract people into a restaurant.
The translation workplace 
