Der Meister und sein Geselle

English translation: Old "Hammer" Hank and Young "Nail" Ned his Apprentice

18:48 Nov 1, 2007
German to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature / humor
German term or phrase: Der Meister und sein Geselle
Der Meister und sein Geselle.......

....is to be translated into English in a "funny yet sensible" way....it's for a business card.....any GOOD ideas?
- The master craftsman and his....- doesn't really hit the right note....
schnuppe
Germany
Local time: 22:42
English translation:Old "Hammer" Hank and Young "Nail" Ned his Apprentice
Explanation:
"Funny yet sensible"? Hmmm....

Old "Hammer" Hank and Young "Nail" Ned his Apprentice ... Ka-Bong!! Would that fit the tone? What IS the tone, anyway?

Or: "The master and his disciple"

Don't try to CATCH the arrow, grasshopper! You must BE the arrow!!!



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2007-11-01 20:03:16 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

You said "the phrase is on a business card which reflects the face of the receiver - that is why the receiver is the Geselle"

How about something along these lines:

"You're looking at another satisfied customer."

Or: "We get it picture perfect every time."

Or: "Looking for great printing? See for yourself."



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 16 hrs (2007-11-02 11:30:31 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Other ideas:
(playing with the theme of who exactly IS the 'master' here...)
"Look and learn from the master"

(It also occurred to me that the best solution may be to leave 'Geselle' untranslated)
"Let the master take you under his wing..."
Selected response from:

Paul Cohen
Greenland
Local time: 19:42
Grading comment
Thanks Paul - you put me on the righ ttrack
2 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
2 +1Old "Hammer" Hank and Young "Nail" Ned his Apprentice
Paul Cohen
3The Master and His Apprentice
Andras Malatinszky
2viruoso and his vassal
Steven Sidore
2Ventriloquist and his dummy?
Brigitte Albert (X)
2The magician and his famulus
Marcus Malabad
1A professional... serving (fellow-)professionals
Francis Lee (X)


Discussion entries: 14





  

Answers


13 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5
Der Meister und sein Geselle.......
viruoso and his vassal


Explanation:
Not quite sure what effect you want here--you listed this as humor--so here are a few suggestions to get things started

Maestro and his minion
Craftsman and his cub/colt
Ace and his adherent

We can go on forever like this...


Steven Sidore
Germany
Local time: 22:42
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 28
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18 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5
Der Meister und sein Geselle.......
Ventriloquist and his dummy?


Explanation:
If there is a team of comics....one who is the straight man...
this is tough without any context!

Brigitte Albert (X)
Local time: 17:42
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in category: 4
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 1/5Answerer confidence 1/5
Der Meister und sein Geselle.......
A professional... serving (fellow-)professionals


Explanation:
Still not really sure what the message is here. 8-(

As I said above, standard interpretations would be "A master and his disciple/squire/pupil/apprentice/journeyman/heir/kinsman", most of which would seem a tad immodest.

And this is a business card specifically designed for fellow-pros (as opposed to one for customers)?

Perhaps you'll a) have to ask the client and b) charge by the hour. ;-)

Francis Lee (X)
Local time: 22:42
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 80
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5
The magician and his famulus


Explanation:
Simply for the sheer fun of using the quirky word "famulus"


    Reference: http://wordsmith.org/words/famulus.html
Marcus Malabad
Canada
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in TagalogTagalog
PRO pts in category: 8
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19 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Der Meister und sein Geselle.......
Old "Hammer" Hank and Young "Nail" Ned his Apprentice


Explanation:
"Funny yet sensible"? Hmmm....

Old "Hammer" Hank and Young "Nail" Ned his Apprentice ... Ka-Bong!! Would that fit the tone? What IS the tone, anyway?

Or: "The master and his disciple"

Don't try to CATCH the arrow, grasshopper! You must BE the arrow!!!



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2007-11-01 20:03:16 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

You said "the phrase is on a business card which reflects the face of the receiver - that is why the receiver is the Geselle"

How about something along these lines:

"You're looking at another satisfied customer."

Or: "We get it picture perfect every time."

Or: "Looking for great printing? See for yourself."



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 16 hrs (2007-11-02 11:30:31 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Other ideas:
(playing with the theme of who exactly IS the 'master' here...)
"Look and learn from the master"

(It also occurred to me that the best solution may be to leave 'Geselle' untranslated)
"Let the master take you under his wing..."

Paul Cohen
Greenland
Local time: 19:42
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 26
Grading comment
Thanks Paul - you put me on the righ ttrack

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Ingeborg Gowans (X): you are hilarious, after a long dry session at the hotel brochure (which is almost finished) this is like a fresh breath of wind
7 mins
  -> I aim to please, oh great master!
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21 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
The Master and His Apprentice


Explanation:
I assume title case is appropriate, but feel free to change the capitalization to fit your context.

Andras Malatinszky
Local time: 17:42
Native speaker of: Native in HungarianHungarian
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