Italian: arrampicarsi sugli specchiEnglish translation: negotiating a hall of mirrors 
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| GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW) | | Italian term or phrase: | arrampicarsi sugli specchi | | English translation: | negotiating a hall of mirrors | | Entered by: | Fiona Peterson |
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Italian to English translations [PRO]
Cinema, Film, TV, Drama / psychology | | Italian term or phrase: arrampicarsi sugli specchi | I've always translated this term as "clutching at straws". However for this text I need to keep the reference to the mirror. I've found a couple of hits on Google for "climbing on mirrors" to render this concept - can anyone back this up?
"Antonioni mette al centro del suo cinema l’uomo mostrato e interpretato in una chiave “ freudiana “ liberato da maschere e alibi di comodo. La cinepresa lo mostra “ nudo “ mentre cerca di ***arrampicarsi sugli specchi*** nei quali scopre la propria immagine deformata, ma veritiera. Questa “ deformazione “ è il modo più sincero di mostrare le sue più intime verità." |
| | Clarification request(s) and responsepaolamonaco: 3:45am Jun 18, 2006: IMHO puoi anche non necessariamente rimanere sull'idea degli specchi. Puoi anche trovare una metafora che esprima il concetto italiano (non è necessario che sia letterale), giocando su "superfici riflettenti" come l'acqua, il vetro, il cristallo... -
paolamonaco: 3:47am Jun 18, 2006: come già proposto. Devi solo trovare la metafora che si adatta...HTH -
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| | negotiating a hall of mirrors | Explanation:
clutching at straws would be the perfect equivalent, but here maybe one might think of a hall of mirrors in which the main character is sort of trapped... |
| Selected response from:
catux
Italy
| Note from asker to answererI really liked this solution because it managed to express the sense of futility and the deformed image, while keeping the reference to the mirror. Thanks so much, and to everyone who helped out.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer |
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11 mins confidence:  peer agreement (net): +1 |
| climbing mirrors
Explanation:
"run up a wall " climbing mirrors"..many ways of saying it
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Note added at 24 mins (2006-06-17 16:44:26 GMT)
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doing something that is unusual , sometimes futile and requires lots of personal effort
www.adventure16.com/footprints_86.html
|  rfmoon
United States
Works in field
Native speaker of:  Italian, English
PRO pts in category: 16
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5 hrs confidence:  |
| walking on water
Explanation:
Maybe this could work as a metaphor, trying to accomplish an impossible task, while being able to reflect one's image onto the water.
| potra
United States
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Italian, English
PRO pts in category: 20
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5 hrs confidence: |
| climbing glass walls
Explanation:
I have always used the term "climbing walls" so to add glass could give you the reflection angle you need!
The idea you are trying to convey is climbing a surface and sliding back down as it's slippery and shiny, while at the same time reflecting a distorted image of the protagonist!
| Kimmy
Australia
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4
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14 hrs confidence: |
| through the looking glass
Explanation:
I don't know how you could fit this exactly in your text..something along these lines
"intent at unveiling a distorted albeit truthful image through the looking glass"
in this case I think "arrampicarsi sugli specchi" could just be rendered as striving to do do somthing, being intent at...
then if you need to keep the reference to mirrors, the closest thing I can think of is a looking glass
just an idea... :-)
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Note added at 14 hrs (2006-06-18 07:07:10 GMT)
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looking glass = mirror
you would usually be looking AT and not THROUGH, but this could convey the idea of something impossible (arrampicarsi sugli specchi) which might lead to other discoveries
think of Lewis Carrol's book http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Through_the_Looking-Glass
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1 day18 hrs confidence: peer agreement (net): +1 |
1 day21 hrs confidence: |
| negotiating a hall of mirrors
Explanation:
clutching at straws would be the perfect equivalent, but here maybe one might think of a hall of mirrors in which the main character is sort of trapped...
| catux
Italy
Native speaker of: Italian
PRO pts in category: 4
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| Note from asker to answerer| I really liked this solution because it managed to express the sense of futility and the deformed image, while keeping the reference to the mirror. Thanks so much, and to everyone who helped out. |
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1 day21 hrs confidence: |
| tries to save himself by climbing on the mirrors
Explanation:
Since the Italian has a double meaning here which is lost in English I think you need more than just climbing on mirrors. The other meaning of arrampicarsi sugli specchi is, trying to justify your existence, save your skin. My interpretation of this excerpt is that the man is stripped of all his pretences and has nowhere left to hide.
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The translation workplace 
