Spanish: "erudito a la violeta"English translation: sham scholar; farcical scholar 
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| GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW) | | Spanish term or phrase: | "erudito a la violeta" | | English translation: | sham scholar; farcical scholar | | Entered by: | Ltemes |
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Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - History | | Spanish term or phrase: "erudito a la violeta" | | The context is in Enlightenment Spain. Would this be a fake scholar, or an overrated scholar...? |
| | | sham scholar; farcical | Explanation:
According to DRAE (Diccionario de la Real Academia) it refers to:
erudito a la violeta.
1. m. Hombre que solo tiene una tintura superficial de ciencias y artes.
It approximates "fake", rather than "overrated".
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Note added at 1 hr 10 mins (2004-07-09 19:18:24 GMT)
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I\'ve been mulling this over and another word that might work is: CHARLATAN. Merriam-Webster\'s 2nd definition for \"Charlatan\" is:
<<2: one making usually showy pretenses to knowledge or ability>>
Having said that, in Spanish the meaning of the word \"charlatán\", is closer to someone who speaks a lot and withouth substance, someone who is not discreet and doesn\'t have good judgment. But it could work well in English.
good luck! |
| Selected response from:
 Ltemes
United States
| Note from asker to answerer"sham scholar" is good. I liked the alliteration (it's in a speech...)
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer |
|
7 mins confidence:  |
| pseudointellectual
Explanation:
Collins Dictionary
erudito a la violeta.
1. m. Hombre que solo tiene una tintura superficial de ciencias y
artes.
Real Academia Española ©
Reference: http://zaxl16.blogspot.com
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The translation workplace 
peer agreement (net): +3
