to upstage

English translation: Would a native speaker ever use it in a context such as mine?.. YES

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

English term or phrase:	to upstage
Selected answer:	Would a native speaker ever use it in a context such as mine?.. YES
Entered by:	airmailrpl

04:07 May 18, 2007

English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Linguistics / collocation

English term or phrase: to upstage

Hello,

I'm working on a text where the verb "to upstage" is used in connection with a non-animate noun, which I find rather odd. This is the context: "[the product x] is so accurate it upstages a gun", meaning that its aim is unfallible. As far as I can see, "to upstage" (meaning surpass, outdo, steal the show) collocates more frequently with animate nouns - see here http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/upstage
And from the BNC: http://sara.natcorp.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/saraWeb?qy=upstage

Would a native speaker _ever_use it in a context such as mine? Thanks.

Ioana Costache
Romania

YES

Explanation:
Would a native speaker _ever_use it in a context such as mine? Thanks

YES

Apple upstages Microsoft at VSLive? | CNET News.com Apple upstages Microsoft at VSLive? | reporter's notebook Apparently, the iPod is every exhibitor's favorite bait for luring conference goers.
news.com.com/Apple+upstages+Microsoft+at+VSLive/2100-1041_3-5567992.html

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 21 mins (2007-05-18 04:28:52 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Sprint Nextel Upstages Apple [Fool.com] April 05, 2007 Can it crash the iPhone party and live to cell about it?
www.fool.com/investing/general/2007/04/05/sprint-nextel-ups...

Selected response from:

airmailrpl
Brazil
Local time: 23:56

Grading comment

Great, thank you all very much :)
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED

5 +6

YES

airmailrpl

Answers

20 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +6

YES

airmailrpl
Brazil
Local time: 23:56
Meets criteria
Native speaker of:

English,

Portuguese
PRO pts in category: 32

Grading comment

Great, thank you all very much :)

Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

Return to KudoZ list

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

See also:

ProZ.com term search

Search millions of term translations

to upstage

English translation: Would a native speaker ever use it in a context such as mine?.. YES

Answers

KudoZ™ translation help

Your current localization setting

Select a language

to upstage

English translation: Would a native speaker ever use it in a context such as mine?.. YES

Answers

KudoZ™ translation help

You have native languages that can be verified

Your current localization setting

Select a language