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die sich wie ein Pesthauch von Verleumdung, Gemeinheit und Luge uber das Leben

English translation: like a miasma of slander, meanness, and lies...

23:20 Mar 2, 2002
German to English translations [Non-PRO]
History / history
German term or phrase: die sich wie ein Pesthauch von Verleumdung, Gemeinheit und Luge uber das Leben
Newspaper caption from a 1918 German newspaper. An attack on the spartacist movement.
Dave Gaertner
English translation:like a miasma of slander, meanness, and lies...
Explanation:
The sentence you give is incomplete. There must be a verb in there somewhere - über das Leben zieht ? über das Leben legt ?

The fragment translates roughly as follows:
which, like a miasma (or fetor) of slander, meanness, and lies, [1...] through the life [2...]
[1...] = the missing verb - maybe penetrates the life ?
[2...] = possibly missing part after life (life of ...? or maybe lives?)

It's also possible that something else is missing after "das Leben" - maybe das Leben der Gemeinschaft/Gesellschaft.

A search on the quote you give came up empty, so it's hard to say what the missing piece(s) is (are).

Anyway, that's the general gist of it. Here are the component parts:
Pesthauch m (poet) miasma (liter) , fetor (liter)
Verleumdung - slander, calumny
Gemeinheit - meanness, nastiness
Lüge - lie, falsehood
Leben - life


HTH
Selected response from:

Ulrike Lieder (X)
Local time: 21:12
Grading comment
Graded automatically based on peer agreement. KudoZ.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +3like a miasma of slander, meanness, and lies...
Ulrike Lieder (X)
4 +1(which spreads) like a pest of slander, meanness and lies into our lifes
swisstell
5which (spread) over people's lives like a plague of slander, maliciousness and lies.
Peter Oram (X)
4See translation
Kim Metzger
4If this is a headline from a newspaper article,
Ursula Peter-Czichi


  

Answers


11 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
(which spreads) like a pest of slander, meanness and lies into our lifes


Explanation:
missing is a verb in that original i.e. bold phrase of yours

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2002-03-06 15:01:45 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

sorry, plural is LIVES of course

swisstell
Italy
Local time: 06:12
Native speaker of: German
PRO pts in category: 12

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Peter Oram (X): pest is wrong, lifes is spelt wrongly
3 days 8 hrs
  -> thanks. and sorry. How embarrassing, this silly oversight
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14 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
See translation


Explanation:
which spreads like a malodorous vapour of slander, nastiness and lies over our lives
This is one possibility

Kim Metzger
Mexico
Local time: 22:12
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 212
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19 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
like a miasma of slander, meanness, and lies...


Explanation:
The sentence you give is incomplete. There must be a verb in there somewhere - über das Leben zieht ? über das Leben legt ?

The fragment translates roughly as follows:
which, like a miasma (or fetor) of slander, meanness, and lies, [1...] through the life [2...]
[1...] = the missing verb - maybe penetrates the life ?
[2...] = possibly missing part after life (life of ...? or maybe lives?)

It's also possible that something else is missing after "das Leben" - maybe das Leben der Gemeinschaft/Gesellschaft.

A search on the quote you give came up empty, so it's hard to say what the missing piece(s) is (are).

Anyway, that's the general gist of it. Here are the component parts:
Pesthauch m (poet) miasma (liter) , fetor (liter)
Verleumdung - slander, calumny
Gemeinheit - meanness, nastiness
Lüge - lie, falsehood
Leben - life


HTH


    Collins Unabridged German <> English
Ulrike Lieder (X)
Local time: 21:12
Native speaker of: German
Grading comment
Graded automatically based on peer agreement. KudoZ.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Maya Jurt: hinzieht (hinziehen) Not "our" lifes. just: life. Bravo, bravissimo!
17 mins
agree  Agnieszka Hayward (X): a fine one. congrats :o)
58 mins
agree  gcaddy: Miasma is the best translation - difficult without the verb.
20 hrs
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
If this is a headline from a newspaper article,


Explanation:
this may work:
A Hellish Breath of Slander, Meanness and Lies about Life!

In this case, there would be a few excessive words at the beginning (die sich wie ein ...)

'Life' here has more the meaning of 'Living Conditions'. The critisized party paints too dark a picture about society.

Just another possibility.

Ursula Peter-Czichi
United States
Local time: 00:12
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3 days 8 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
which (spread) over people's lives like a plague of slander, maliciousness and lies.


Explanation:
'miasma', which was suggested by someone else, is not active enough, and the literal translation 'plague' is 'more appropriate here. 'Over life' is too abstract, 'our lives'too specific, hence 'people's lives'. The sentence is made stronger by putting the three key words at the end, culminating in the strong monosyllable 'lies'.

Peter Oram (X)
Germany
Local time: 06:12
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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