# Norwegian: å surre sammen bord



## ordentlig

Hello,

I'm doing a little translation project, and one bit is about the skills a man learned when he was a kid in the scouts.  One of the skills is "å surre sammen bord," which I understand in a couple of different ways literally, but they don't seem to fit the context of camping in the woods, where I wouldn't expect one to tie together a table   Could anyone help me with what this might mean in such a context?  Tusen hjertelig takk!


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## hanne

I think it means just that: constructing a table using rope and wooden boards/poles/something.


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## basslop

Hanne is right. In Norwegian, and in Danish too I now assume, "bord" can mean two things, table or wooden material that have a notable length compared to its width and thickness. Hence "god til å surre sammen bord" means good at making contructions of whatever you have of wooden material.


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## cocuyo

"Surre sammen bord" indeed is a skill that is taught in scouting and used when camping. 
_Surre_ en Norwegian is _lash_ in English, and the technique is used for making tables while camping in the woods. 

You can have a look at this Dutch scouting page: http://home.kpn.nl/tha/scouting/3D-lash/index.html


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## hanne

Actually I wasn't quite right then - I did take "bord" as meaning "table". But it seems like "bord" then refers to the materials used here, not to the end-product.


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## Ben Jamin

hanne said:


> Actually I wasn't quite right then - I did take "bord" as meaning "table". But it seems like "bord" then refers to the materials used here, not to the end-product.


 Actually the sentence is ambigouos and may be understood both ways:
- to make tables (of any boards found)
- to join boards (in many purposes)


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## Havfruen

The sentence could mean to lash together boards, but I think that you're unlikely to find boards in the woods when camping. Unless the campsite is by the sawmill.

I guess you could find some trees in the woods. So to lash together tables is most likely in this context.


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## Cerb

I agree. I'm certain we're talking about making tables here. Creating things with lashings traditionally involves using only wooden poles (small trees) as it's meant to be a skill you use in the woods without access to other materials. 

The verb "å surre" is used in a slightly confusing manner here in my opinion. A person not familiar with this technique obviously won't get the reference to a lashing/lashings (en surring/surringen) from this sentence.


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## cocuyo

I believe "surre" is a nautical term, in Swedish it is "surra", German "zurren" and Dutch "sjorren". 

The Nordic languages have also another meaning for the verb, onomatepoetic, to produce a buzzing sound, but in nautical texts, it means to lash things together or fasten.


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## ordentlig

Thank you all for the feedback, it has been very helpful!


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