# Swedish: ta sats



## normordm

What's the meaning of the phrase "ta sats" in the following quote?



> Den enda gången jag backar är när jag tar sats



tack för hjälpen


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## MattiasNYC

I'm too tired to come up with an English translation, but basically if you are about to jump far for example you might back up so you have more distance to accelerate before you take that jump. So "ta sats" is the act of speeding up before for example a jump.

In other words; "The only time I back up is when I prepare to [something Mattias can't remember the name of in English:-(]


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## Ben Jamin

Isn't it "take off"?


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## MattiasNYC

I still haven't had enough coffee, but no I don't think "take off" is correct. It's referring to the part before you actually leap if we're talking about jumping. So during the long jump and high jump the athlete steps back quite a bit and then "tar sats" and finally leap and take off.


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## winenous

I think the English you are looking for @MattiasNYC is "run-up" - what you do before jumping, kicking a standing ball after play has been stopped, pitching or bowling a ball etc.

In jumping sports the more technical term seems to be "approach run" (but I wouldn't use that in normal speech), and there may be equivalents in other contexts.


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## MattiasNYC

Could be. Does "run-up" also function as a verb or is it mostly a noun?


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## winenous

MattiasNYC said:


> Could be. Does "run-up" also function as a verb or is it mostly a noun?


By itself, only as a noun. But you could say "he took a long run-up".


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## MattiasNYC

Thus "Den enda gången jag backar är när jag tar sats" would become "The only time I back up is when I take a run-up". 

As a possibly somewhat "clever" comment does it make sense in English? I feel the Swedish version is possibly more of a figure of speech that is more easily understood as an analogy (or whatever) whereas "run-up" feels decidedly more literal and physical, for lack of better terminology.


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## winenous

"The only time I back up is when I take a run-up" doesn't sounds good. I would say "when preparing for a run-up", and you almost need to be more specific about what the run-up is for. I am really not sure what the best translations would be for that particular sentence (even after plenty of sleep). Perhaps "I only step back when preparing to leap forward" captures the intention...?


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## FluentSpeakerNot

I'm not sure if "ta sats" only refers to the run-up. It wouldn't make sense saying "Den enda gången jag backar är när jag tar sats" if it did, because if you are running forward to jump you cannot back up ("backa") at the same time. I think "ta sats" is also associated with the act of creating a distance between yourself and the take-off point, before you start to run. 

I was going to suggest "The only time I back up is when I prepare for a jump", but I don't think it has to be a jump. If I was going to knock down a door with my shoulder I would also "ta sats", not to jump, but to get enough force to knock it down. It can also be used in a transferred meaning when someone is about to say something and you can see it from the body language but that is obviously not what is meant here.


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## MattiasNYC

I think you two are missing the point here. I probably should have written out what I think is the actual meaning of the phrase.

It doesn't matter at all if a person is preparing to jump or break down a door, what matters in this phrase - the way it reads to me - is that the person is only backing up to then move forward.

Now, I think in both English and Swedish "att backa", to "back up", can refer to retreating when having an argument or dispute for example. So to me the sentence seems to _mean_ that the person speaking is aggressive and "doesn't quit", and therefore the only time that person "backs up" is when they intend to then move forward (with much force or speed perhaps).

So, jump or hit or whatever isn't really the point, and neither is the exact translation of "ta sats". I think the important point is that "ta sats" is a brief backwards motion before exploding forwards, more or less. And that could apply to how to run a political campaign or how to train for an athletic event or how to invest capital in a venture.... and so on...


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## roligfakta

It can also be about two people arguing and one saying hey you back up, and then the other one can answer, The only time I back up is when I take a run up "Den enda gången jag backar är när jag tar sats" in other words he does not move because the other says so


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## MattiasNYC

That's what I was saying in principle, yes...


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## Wilma_Sweden

winenous said:


> "The only time I back up is when I take a run-up" doesn't sounds good. I would say "when preparing for a run-up", and you almost need to be more specific about what the run-up is for. I am really not sure what the best translations would be for that particular sentence (even after plenty of sleep). Perhaps "I only step back when preparing to leap forward" captures the intention...?


I like this! It's metaphorical enough to apply to a wide variety of context, in my opinion.


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