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Glossary entry

Dutch term or phrase:

legt verslagen af

English translation:

he hangs up, stunned/dismayed

Added to glossary by MoiraB
Apr 4, 2011 08:09
13 yrs ago
Dutch term

legt verslagen af

Dutch to English Other General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Flemish text for European audience (UK English). This is a "treatment" for a potential TV show, a detailed description of the action. It concerns a group of people smugglers, led by "the Armenian". Rios has a contact at the port (someone he's blackmailing). He's supposed to have got info from his informant, passed it on to Yannick, who in turn passed it on to the lorry driver, Roger. The Armenian has come to tell them that Roger has been stopped at the port.

De Armeniër wil weten wat er echt is gebeurd en dwingt Rios om op speakerphone met zijn informant bellen. De informant (iemand van de havenpolitie) valt uit de lucht. Hij heeft Rios de hele dag niet gehoord, want hij zat in een opleiding, zegt hij. Rios **legt verslagen af**. De informatie aan Roger was verzonnen. Maar Rios geeft zich niet gewonnen. In een laatste wanhoopspoging zegt hij dat het Yannicks idee was om de valse info door te geven.

"verslagen" obviously means beaten/defeated here but what's the sense of "afleggen"? Just "looks defeated/is dismayed"? Don't want to go as far as "admits defeat" because of the "geeft zich niet gewonnen" that follows.
Proposed translations (English)
4 +1 stunned, puts down the phone
4 +4 reported
4 completely overcome he put down the phone

Proposed translations

+1
1 hr
Selected

stunned, puts down the phone

I could be wrong, but 'verslagen afleggen' I have never come across in the sense of 'report', or at least not on its own in a sentence. 'afleggen' is also a word for 'putting down the phone' or 'inhaken'. I am quite sure the man in question is taken aback (who wouldn't be, if this comes ut he is going to go to prison for several years), stunned, as he has just received an alarming telephone call.

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Note added at 1 hr (2011-04-04 09:44:26 GMT)
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'Verslagen' also means defeated, surprised (passively), speechless, alarmed, name it. The word for 'report' would either be 'verslaan' (pp verslagen, rarely used) or 'een verslag doen', 'vertellen' or something of the sort. I don't think I have ever come across anyone who did them in the plural as that does not make sense. There is only one report you can do in one go, per person.

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Note added at 1 hr (2011-04-04 09:44:48 GMT)
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http://en.bab.la/dictionary/dutch-english/verslagen
Note from asker:
Ha, that makes a lot more sense! Prison is the least of his worries - these are the bad guys so he's facing a fate worse than jail time....
Peer comment(s):
neutral Tina Vonhof (X) : Don't forget that this is a Flemish text. It is obvious that Rios does not put down the phone because "in a last desperate attempt he said it was Yannick's idea".
6 hrs
I am Flemish. The phone is put down after Rios was forced to call his informant on speakerphone (start of §). After putting the phone down, in an attempt to possibly save himself from further harm, he blames Yannick. afleggen = inhaken
agree Liesbeth Blom-Smith
21 hrs
Something went wrong...
3 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Plenty of hits for 'hoorn afleggen' e.g. this Siemens phone manual: "Hoorn afnemen, dan programmeertoets drukken (...) Het snelkiesnummer vormen (max. 32 cijfers). x Programmeertoets drukken en hoorn afleggen". Flemish agency client confirms this is the meaning here, and it really does make more sense, as Rios hangs up, realising he's been caught out, then tries to shift the blame to Yannick, presumably knowing what fate awaits him if the Armenian finds out he's been lying... Thanks, everyone."
+4
5 mins

reported

verslag afleggen - it is just put weird in the original text.

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Note added at 34 mins (2011-04-04 08:43:57 GMT)
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Reported does not necessarily mean formal. If I inform you about something, I reported it to you. From what I can see, Rios reported the facts. The information shared with Roger was made-up (untrue). But Rios did not want to leave it there. In a last desperate attempt, he said it was Yannick's idea to supply false information.
Note from asker:
I considered that meaning, but it just doesn't fit in the context IMO. The language in the original is otherwise very informal and colloquial. This seems so formal.
Peer comment(s):
agree dorotheez
1 min
agree Ymkje Kuipers
6 mins
agree Verginia Ophof
6 hrs
agree Tina Vonhof (X)
7 hrs
Something went wrong...
1 day 24 mins

completely overcome he put down the phone

I'm a native Flemish speaker too and according to me in this context the phrase 'verslagen afleggen' means, as mentioned by my colleagues, put down the phone feeling baffled, defeated, conquered (verslagen de telefoon inhaken, het gesprek beeindigen). To avoid using the word 'defeat' , you could make something out of it like: 'completely overcome, he put the phone down.'

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Note added at 1 day25 mins (2011-04-05 08:35:35 GMT)
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sorry, has to be present tense...he PUTS down the phone
Something went wrong...
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