# Whipping Boy



## danalto

Hi, all!
 I sometimes translated this idiom with "capro espiatorio", but I really don't like it in this sentence...
 Any better ideas? 


 (Oh, well, I really should tell you this is the dialogue of a telefilm, so much more different from a "static" translation,)

 thnxs


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## Alfry

danalto said:
			
		

> Hi, all!
> I sometimes translated this idiom with "capro espiatorio", but I really don't like it in this sentence...
> Any better ideas?
> 
> 
> (Oh, well, I really should tell you this is the dialogue of a telefilm, so much more different from a "static" translation,)
> 
> thnxs


If I'm not wrong "capro espiatorio" is "scapegoat" (but today I'm causing a lot of confusion throuout the forum so I'm not so reliable) but it can also be translated with "whipping boy" so I think you are right.


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## danalto

Oh, well, thank you for your...er...explanation...now I'm DA CAPO A DODICI.
(so, come on, translate this idiom for our friends! LOL)


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## Alfry

danalto said:
			
		

> Oh, well, thank you for your...er...explanation...now I'm DA CAPO A DODICI.
> (so, come on, translate this idiom for our friends! LOL)


ahahahahah
really funny...
mumble mumble....
I'm at point 12 again... how's that?


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## danalto

Back to my whipping boy, if I only could use a very, very (let's be honest, VERY ) vulgar Italian idiom, I'll write "How come (Come mai) Sam became the whipping boy for this (se l'è presa in quel posticino...)"?
   But I can't do that! Rai docet (this is latin, boys...)

  ciuz
  dan


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## Alfry

ok
come mai Sam è diventato il capro espiatorio della situazione?
oppppppure come mai Sam è stato usato come capro espiatorio della situazione

cosa c'è che ti suona strano...
ovviamente il senso è qello che hai "velatamente" lasciato intendere


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## Alfry

che ne diresti di pedina sacrificale?


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## danalto

Maybe i could say _"Come mai Sam è stato messo in mezzo"_...but it is way too colloquial...I'm afraid...
_  Come mai Sam è stato coinvolto in questa storia?_ Easier and maybe the better choice?

  (Sam went to prison instead of another man...)


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## danalto

"pedina sacrificale"? Ommioddio, qst non la conoscevo!


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## Alfry

coinvolto is not the same as "capro espiatorio"...
I do not like it


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## Alfry

danalto said:
			
		

> "pedina sacrificale"? Ommioddio, qst non la conoscevo!


lieto di stupirti... 
cmq resto dell'idea che capro espiatorio o vittima sacrificale (visto che non ti piaciono gli scacchi) ci sta bene


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## Alfry

le sto sparando così come mi vengono in mente...
è stato immolato?


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## danalto

I know it hasn't the same meaning, but "capro espiatorio" was just a makeshift...
  And what are you complaining about?  We jumped at the same conclusion, didn't we? And now I'm going to make a nice, hot, black Italian coffeee...*alla faccia vostra*!!
  ALFRY, TRANSLATE THIS PLS


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## Alfry

I'd prefer an aspirina. Doctors say that coffee and headaches don't get along well each other.
arrrgh... difficult to translate.... I give up


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## danalto

Naah, easy! 
*IN SPITE OF YOU! 


*(HEADACHE? Put your thumbs at the nape of your head - you should find a sort of hollows just at the base of the skull...PUSH HARD! It aches, but your headache will go away...)

  oooppps did I jump in the wrong forum???


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## Alfry

great...
are you a doctor?... translating doctor?


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## danalto

Me? No...have a look at my profile, there are two links one in Engl and one in Italian...go there and find out about myself...hoping this will be interesting for you


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## Alfry

grandeeeeee


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## danalto

_hmfphf _(shy...)


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## Alfry

eheheheheh
dovremmo esser noi intimiditi, no?


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## danalto

Um...on my account? 

_*WOW*_​


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## carlafed

Molto interessante la tua intervista, Daniela
Sono sempre stata molto curiosa di come fanno i traduttori a "far entrare nella bocca degli attori" i discorsi in un'altra lingua   
Ma il secondo link http://www.savelfn.org/section/archive/
mi porta a una directory listing ... peccato
Ciao     
Carla

p.s. Pare che per certi tipi di mal di testa il caffè sia un toccasana. Per me non funziona per niente, ma mi hanno detto addirittura che molte medicine contro il mal di testa contengono caffeina. Boh!


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## Alfry

e se mi facessi un bel tazzone di tè?


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## danalto

alfry...una tazza di me? 

   Carla, grazie! Ma PLEASE non chiamare mai traduttore un dialoghista! DEADLY SIN!
 In effetti nn sono riuscita a postare il secondo link al completo -alfry, se nn ho letto male tu dovresti essere un esperto del ramo, any tips?  -
   Non so se posso postare il link intero qui. Infrangerei qualche regola? HELP!
   Let me know, and I'll do it!

   dan


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## DDT

danalto said:
			
		

> Hi, all!
> I sometimes translated this idiom with "capro espiatorio", but I really don't like it in this sentence...
> Any better ideas?
> 
> 
> (Oh, well, I really should tell you this is the dialogue of a telefilm, so much more different from a "static" translation,)
> 
> thnxs



Well, "capro espiatorio" s a good way to render it. Since it's not that suitable, what about "quello che ci rimette sempre"?

DDT


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## danalto

YES! I like it, but unfortunately it doesn't fit in *this *sentence.
  Anyway, I'll keep it for rainy days _-how was this, DDT?_  -
  thank you very very much

  dany


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## carlafed

danalto said:
			
		

> alfry...una tazza di me?
> 
> Ma PLEASE non chiamare mai traduttore un dialoghista! DEADLY SIN!
> 
> 
> dan


oops... scusa sorry   
devo spargermi il capo di cenere?
  
Ho capito perfettamente la differenza. 
Però non siete un tantinello permalosi voi intellettuali di successo?    

buona serata !


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## danalto

Noi? NAAHHHHH 
 (ehm, lo smiley con l'aureola non c'è in qst Forum?)

 Buona serata anche a te!
 dan


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## Silvia

How come Sam became the whipping boy for this?

Come mai Sam è passato per colpevole del fatto?

Something like that... if you really want to avoid "capro espiatorio"


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## Alfry

danalto said:
			
		

> alfry, se nn ho letto male tu dovresti essere un esperto del ramo, any tips?  -
> 
> dan


naaaaa, non mi piace fare il giardiniere 

in effetti non ho capito quale sia il problema....
il secondo link che non va?


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## Alfry

carlafed said:
			
		

> oops... scusa sorry
> devo spargermi il capo di cenere?
> 
> Ho capito perfettamente la differenza.
> Però non siete un tantinello permalosi voi intellettuali di successo?
> 
> buona serata !


well...
bella anche questa della cenere

come si tradurrà 
cospargersi il capo di cenere?


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## danalto

Yes, il secondo link che non riesco a completare: mancano october02page2.htm
 Me li fa scrivere, salvo, controllo e quella parte non c'è.
 Help!


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## Alfry

forse il campo biography è limitato ad un certo numero di byte per cui non si può fare nulla a meno che l'admin. non lo allarghi


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## danalto

alfry said:
			
		

> well...
> bella anche questa della cenere
> 
> come si tradurrà
> cospargersi il capo di cenere?


 Mmmm...STRAW ONE'S HEAD WITH CINDERS?


 (what did I write???)


 hehehe


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## danalto

alfry said:
			
		

> forse il campo biography è limitato ad un certo numero di byte per cui non si può fare nulla a meno che l'admin. non lo allarghi


  beh, la trovi una soluzione del genere *"ah, voi donne siete tutte uguali"* quella di levare HTTP:// e lasciare solo WWW?  così c'entra tutto il link!


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## Alfry

or to spread cinder on one's head...
what about that?


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## danalto

You are the teacher...


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## Alfry

oh nooooo, absolutely noooooo

I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF LESSON NR. 4


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## danalto

Soooooo what? I still have to dress myself, go out, take my bike, look for a bookshop, buy the book, and go to school! 


  Oh, BTW, do you by any chance know a good school?


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## Alfry

are you talking about an English school?


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## danalto

Why? Any tips about OTHER schools, alfry?

 (sriously, I really don't need to go to school, well...if I just had time..._a nice word I never find in my personal Dictionary..._)


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## Alfry

no... I didnt understand
I never attended to an English school... 
what I know is due only to my experience... infact I'm far from being flawless


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## danalto

FLAWLESS nel senso di SENZA MACCHIA?

 (heheh o de NUN FA 'NA PIEGA)(forgive me the dialect)


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## Silvia

The best English school for Italians ever?

It's called full immersion


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## Alfry

perfetto.... si il senso è cmq simile...
adesso belle signore devo andare...
a dopo...
it was a privilege


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## lsp

spargermi il capo di cenere... spread cinder on one's head... this is apparently not one of those sayings that translates literally. I still don't get it exactly. What's the sense of it, when is it used...? Maybe we have something equivalent in English.


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## Alfry

when you make a blunder, or an error you say that you spread cinder on your head (in Italian)
maybe it has something to do with ancient times... but I don't know it precisely, maybe something to say, sorry I made an error and I concede that.


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## lsp

Here's an english equilvalent that hasn't been around very long that means "Sorry I made an error and I concede that." N.B. it's very colloquial and doesn't fit it every situation or group... "My bad."


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## Alfry

thanks to google I found that the cinder was an outcome of the fire, the fire is purifying so to spread cinder on one's head is the a symbol for purification, penance.

it was an habit described in the Old Testament


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## Silvia

Yes, in fact I thought it had to do with religion. Like in "Mercoledì delle ceneri"


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## mimitabby

interesting, I had imagined it had something to do with a person being
soiled because they did something wrong....
(I wash my hands of this... vuole dire.. This is not a problem i am going to
be involved in)

"it stinks" vuole dire "something bad happened here, someone's lying, ecc"


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## leenico

> Yes, in fact I thought it had to do with religion. Like in "Mercoledì delle ceneri"


Here in the states it does for catholics. We also have Ash wednesday.


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## Alfry

mimitabby said:
			
		

> interesting, I had imagined it had something to do with a person being
> soiled because they did something wrong....
> (I wash my hands of this... vuole dire.. This is not a problem i am going to
> be involved in)
> 
> "it stinks" vuole dire "something bad happened here, someone's lying, ecc"


we say 
"me ne lavo le mani" = I wash my hands of this
mi puzza                  = it stinks


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