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Italian: a colpo d'occhio

English translation: effortless



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GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Italian term or phrase:a colpo d'occhio
English translation:effortless
Entered by:Claire Titchmarsh
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8:37pm Oct 13, 2005Login or register (free) for more options.
Italian to English translations [PRO]
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Italian term or phrase: a colpo d'occhio
and finally...

They're still on about creative minds, unfortunately mine is anything but this evening.

SEMBRA CHE SI LAVORI A “COLPO D’OCCHIO”..INVECE E’ LA PROFESSIONALITA’ CHE VINCE SUL FILO DEI SECONDI

Could I get away with "instinct" ?
Claire Titchmarsh
Italy
Clarification request(s) and response
galileo galilei: 8:42pm Oct 13, 2005: at a glance -
galileo galilei: 8:46pm Oct 13, 2005: probabilmente la persona che ha scritto il testo italiano voleva dire "lavorare in modo superficiale, senza preparazione adatta". "lavorare a colpo d'occhio" è un detto che non ho mai sentito. -

effortless
Explanation:
again, far from literal but I've stated my case already ;-)


it looks easy to do but actually requires talent & effort

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Note added at 15 mins (2005-10-13 20:52:31 GMT)
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you'd need to recast the sentence to incorporate this of course

"Results so accomplished they look effortless: but it's professionalism and talent that win the day"
Selected response from:

Linda 969
Italy
Note from asker to answerer
Thanks very much.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +5effortless
Linda 969
5spur of the moment (but change sentence)nyteck


  

Answers

5 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +5
effortless

Explanation:
again, far from literal but I've stated my case already ;-)


it looks easy to do but actually requires talent & effort

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 15 mins (2005-10-13 20:52:31 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

you'd need to recast the sentence to incorporate this of course

"Results so accomplished they look effortless: but it's professionalism and talent that win the day"

Linda 969
Italy
Native speaker of: Native in ItalianItalian, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 38
Note from asker to answerer
Thanks very much.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree Rachel Fell: (or effortlessly) - talent, effort and skill...;-)
6 mins
  -> thanks, Rachel ;-)

agree Enza Longo
8 mins
  -> thanks, Enza!

agree Kimberly Wastler
17 mins
  -> thanks, Kimberly!

agree Michele Fauble
46 mins
  -> thanks, Michele!

agree silvs: linda, great way of turning the phrase around!
9 hrs
  -> thanks, silvs ;-)

neutral Bahram Salehi: immediately
62 days
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11 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
spur of the moment (but change sentence)

Explanation:
I would modify the sentence as well in order to convey the meaning.
"They almost seem to make spur of the moment decisions, while in fact professionalism is behind their excellent results"..
something like that!

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Note added at 11 hrs 44 mins (2005-10-14 08:21:30 GMT)
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sorry, I forgot- I would add "professionalism under pressure" to my above suggestion in order to convey the "filo dei secondi" concept.

nyteck
Italy
Native speaker of: Native in ItalianItalian, Native in EnglishEnglish
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