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dandelion-down blanket

English translation: dandelion down quilt

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:dandelion-down blanket
Selected answer:dandelion down quilt
Entered by: Louise Mawbey

11:21 Jun 22, 2005
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature / children's literature
English term or phrase: dandelion-down blanket
The idea of becoming the King’s Treasurer did not seem a blessing to him anymore, he just wanted to be back in his own country, back home again with plenty of food in the kitchen and his wide and soft bed covered with a dandelion-down blanket in the bedroom.

Dear native English speakers!
Please advise if the phrase sounds OK and the idea is clear to you, since I kind of doubt about it.
The character is up in the mountains on his way to the King's palace, and it is a cold night, that is why he's dreaming of his warm blanket (stuffed with dandelion down wich makes it very soft) that he had at home.
This is my translation from Russian.
Andrew Vdovin
Local time: 17:06
quilt
Explanation:
I would swap blanket with quilt - a blanket cannot be stuffed with anything. otherwise I think it's a nice translation

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Note added at 2 mins (2005-06-22 11:23:59 GMT)
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I meant dandelion-down quilt, not just quilt
Selected response from:

Louise Mawbey
Germany
Local time: 12:06
Grading comment
Thank you for your help Louise! Thanks everybody!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
3 +8quilt
Louise Mawbey
3 +4collective comments
Ken Cox
5 +2dandelion-down comforter
lindaellen (X)
4 +2dandelion-down blanket
Michael Bailey
4dandelion-filled
CMJ_Trans (X)
4dandelion fluff
PAS
3regarding down [not for grading]
Balasubramaniam L.


  

Answers


1 min   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +8
quilt


Explanation:
I would swap blanket with quilt - a blanket cannot be stuffed with anything. otherwise I think it's a nice translation

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 mins (2005-06-22 11:23:59 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I meant dandelion-down quilt, not just quilt

Louise Mawbey
Germany
Local time: 12:06
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thank you for your help Louise! Thanks everybody!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  KathyT: yes, and 'soft, wide bed' instead of 'wide and soft bed'.
3 mins
agree  tazdog (X): yes, quilt is better than blanket; and maybe "big, soft bed"
8 mins
agree  Balasubramaniam L.
19 mins
agree  Armorel Young: yes - and, as a minor point, I'd prefer "being" to "becoming" in the opening.
23 mins
agree  Robert Donahue (X)
1 hr
agree  Paula Vaz-Carreiro: yes, just substitute blanket with quilt and your own translation is perfect!
1 hr
agree  Saiwai Translation Services
2 hrs
agree  Alfa Trans (X)
3 hrs
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4 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
dandelion-filled


Explanation:
down - is the feathers of a young bird...

CMJ_Trans (X)
Local time: 12:06
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 52

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Balasubramaniam L.: No, down can also mean the soft fibres of a plant, thistledown, for example.
41 mins
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5 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
dandelion-down blanket


Explanation:
The idea of becoming the king’s treasurer no longer appealed to him, and he longed to be back in his own country, back home again where he had a well-stocked kitchen and a big soft bed covered with a dandelion-down blanket.

Sounds less forced!

Michael Bailey
Austria
Local time: 12:06
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Balasubramaniam L.: Yes, dropping "in the bedroom" as suggested also by Kenneth tightens the sentence. Your version also has better flow than the original.
39 mins
  -> thanks!
agree  RHELLER: nice :-)
3 hrs
  -> thanks!
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6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
dandelion fluff


Explanation:
as in the pretty picture in the link. Like someone before me said - I associate "down" with feathers. Also "fluff" is a softer, more cuddly word...


    Reference: http://www.treknature.com/gallery/North_America/Canada/photo...
PAS
Local time: 12:06
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17 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +4
collective comments


Explanation:
IMO 'quilt' is good (comforter is possible, but quilt is nice & simple and fits the text well), 'dandelion down' is a wonderful image and you shouldn't worry about the usual meaning of 'down'. In your original wording I would eliminate 'in the bedroom', since beds are normally located in bedrooms, so there's no need to mention where the bed is located unless it's not in a bedroom, and in this particular case 'in the bedroom' grammatically refers to the blanket/quilt, not the bed (which isn't what you want). And definitely 'wide, soft' instead of 'wide and soft'.

Ken Cox
Local time: 12:06
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 88

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Louise Mawbey: I agree that dandelion down is a lovely image and does not need to be changed - this is literature, not a technical text
4 mins
agree  Balasubramaniam L.: Comforter could also be an anachronism. Isn't it a recently developed garment? The story seems to be a fairy tale with Kings and Queens. Its setting can't be that recent. Comforter seems to me to be a modern word.
8 mins
  -> my feeling exactly w/r/t 'comforter'
agree  RHELLER: :-)
3 hrs
agree  Saiwai Translation Services
14 hrs
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23 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
regarding down [not for grading]


Explanation:
down doesn't necessarily mean bird feathers. Here is the meaning of the word in Concise Oxford Dictionary:

down n. first covering of young birds; bird's under-plumage, used in cushions etc.; fine short hair, esp. first hair on youth's face; similar substance on plant, fruit, etc; fluffy substance (thistledown).

Balasubramaniam L.
India
Local time: 15:36
Native speaker of: Native in HindiHindi
PRO pts in category: 32
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10 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +2
dandelion-down comforter


Explanation:
A blanket is flat, a quilt is less flat, and a comforter is fluffy and soft and has the advantage of the word "comfort". In Fench the word "duvet" is used (and in the Ger. speaking part of Switzerland). I have also heard it used in the US, but comforter is more comfortable!

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Note added at 7 hrs 51 mins (2005-06-22 19:12:48 GMT)
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Great discussion. Sometimes \"comforter\" is too modern and sometimes old fashioned. Google has over 250000 hits, including LLBean - modern and heirloom - old fashioned. To return to the story, the King\'s Treasurer-to-be, wants the comforts of home -imho.
PS Quilts are less thick than comforters.

lindaellen (X)
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 20

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Michael Bailey: comforter reminds me of a blanket in the sense of Linus and his security blanket - not sure that it what is really required here.
10 mins
  -> I beg to differ, the character wants his own "stuff" those things that make him feel at home and secure.
neutral  Louise Mawbey: This may be a difference between different English dialects buta comforter would mean something very different to me (UK English)
12 mins
neutral  Balasubramaniam L.: Comforter seems to me a modern word. It would be an anachronism to use it in a fairy tale.
31 mins
agree  Kevin Kelly: Comforter is an excellent choice.
41 mins
neutral  Robert Donahue (X): I think it's an excellent suggestion, but it does strike me as being a bit too modern for the given text.
55 mins
agree  Can Altinbay: Duvet is also used widely in Canada.
1 hr
neutral  Nancy Arrowsmith: obviously a BE/AE problem (comforter sounds somewhat old-fashioned in the States). Quilt is more neutral.
5 hrs
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