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kocht mit Wasser

English translation: not a panacea either


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GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase:kocht mit Wasser
English translation:not a panacea either
Entered by: NicC
Options:
- Contribute to this entry
- Include in personal glossary

04:27 Jan 23, 2009
German to English translations [PRO]
Tech/Engineering - Idioms / Maxims / Sayings / drug trial analysis
German term or phrase: kocht mit Wasser
Auch dieses Medikament "kocht nur mit Wasser"
Ich probiers aus und werde sehen....

Each cell in this data spreadsheet is out of context but it's someone's (sceptical) commentary on various drugs used as antipsychotics etc. I need a good English equivalent for this term
NicC
Local time: 07:16
panacea
Explanation:
kocht mit wasser suggests something that can't be expected to cure all ills; panacea is an elegant English solution.
Selected response from:

Damascene
Grading comment
Thank you, changes misterherrnau's answer into common North American "speak"
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +5isn't a miracle cure-all eithermisterherrnau
5 +1panaceaDamascene
4only does what it says on the tin
Gillian Searl
3isn't going to work overnight
Charles Stanford
3isn't significantly better than the othersBrigitteHilgner


  

Answers


48 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
\"kocht mit Wasser\"
only does what it says on the tin


Explanation:
sounds about right to me

Gillian Searl
Local time: 12:16
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +5
"kocht mit Wasser"
isn't a miracle cure-all either


Explanation:
Turning it around and formulating it in the negative sometimes gets you out of a tight spot.

misterherrnau
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Charles Stanford
2 hrs

agree  katiadegennaro
3 hrs

agree  Cetacea: perfect solution in this context.
5 hrs

agree  Paul Cohen
8 hrs

agree  Harald Moelzer (medical-translator)
3 days42 mins
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
\"kocht mit Wasser\"
isn't going to work overnight


Explanation:
Another possibility. Otherwise I think Misterhernau's solution is better (sorry Gillian - just that your suggestion reminds me of Ronseal wood varnish or whatever and may be a bit Britospecific)

Charles Stanford
Czech Republic
Local time: 13:16
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
kocht auch nur mit Wasser
isn't significantly better than the others


Explanation:
It would be interesting to know the other statements to be able to differentiate this one from these statements.
Please DON'T use quotation marks for your questions - they have to be deleted again to find this question in the glossary.

BrigitteHilgner
Austria
Local time: 13:16
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in category: 28
Notes to answerer
Asker: Unfortunately none of the other statements use this type of language (most of the time it's things like "price", "efficacy" etc and I don't have the column header or original question. It's all on a big data sheet.

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18 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +1
panacea


Explanation:
kocht mit wasser suggests something that can't be expected to cure all ills; panacea is an elegant English solution.

Damascene
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in ArabicArabic
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thank you, changes misterherrnau's answer into common North American "speak"

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  misterherrnau: well put!
9 hrs
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Changes made by editors
Jan 23, 2009 - Changes made by Marcus Malabad:
Term asked\"kocht mit Wasser\" => kocht mit Wasser


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