# Swedish: slå till



## Språkliga Möten

I was reading a cartoon and there's this phrase that I didn't understand. A woman gets inspiration from a cookbook and prepares food, and the dog which saw the whole thing thinks "Tina har slagit till igen!" at the end. What does he mean?


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## BlueSuede

I think the dog means something like "Wow, *Tina has done it again!*". Normally the dog is very impressed about Tina's coocing skills, and everytime Tina has prepared something extraordinary, like she often does, then the dog makes this exclamation.

Can you see in the cartoon what Tina has actually prepared? Like a cat-stew, or his masters slippers, or perhaps something with the taste of the mailman's butt?


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## LilianaB

Wouldn't it be something like, she killed it again? She didn't make it right?


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## BlueSuede

No, I don't think so. Actually it is a possibility, but it's far less probable in this context, according to my opinion.

If we have a robber who strikes again, then we might see in the paper headlines that "Rånaren har slagit till igen", so your notion is not entirely wrong. But in the context of a dog and his much loved feeder, no, I don't think so.

Or she did it again, like burnt it in the oven or something, as she usually does? Well, perhaps, but the main feeling I, as a owner of Swedish ears, is that the dog is positive about something, not negative. If someone says this to me, then I hear in his voice if he is ironic or openhearted, you can easily hear it on the tone.

How do you meen, she killed it again? The chicken that is going to be the food she prepares? Or perhaps the dog himself? Or a cat...?


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## LilianaB

No, not like that. Just in a funny way. She wasted the dinner, the ingredients. It would help to listen to the dog, of course, because I have no idea what he wounds like.


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## BlueSuede

Maybe... Actually the tone of the dog would help a lot.

Anyone else having an opinion? Same or different as mine?


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## hanne

"Slå till" means to strike. It is often used about criminals - "the phantom killer strikes again". I think Blue has translated it quite well as "she has done it again" - this could be positive or negative, either she has created a fantastic meal, or she has burnt the turkey to charcoal, you'll need to look at the picture(s) to find out if it's the positive or negative meaning that applies in your case. As the text is from a printed cartoon, it should obviously be understandable without hearing the tone of voice  - but it is just as likely that it can only be understood by considering the pictures.


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## BlueSuede

Språkliga Möten said:


> I was reading a cartoon and there's this phrase that I didn't understand. A woman gets inspiration from a cookbook and prepares food, and the dog which saw the whole thing thinks "Tina har slagit till igen!" at the end. What does he mean?



I have thought about the question some more and found out that I've been wrong from the beginning. Well, not entirely but I've missed the point. "Tina har slagit till igen!" means "Tina has done it again!" alright, but perhaps not in this cartoon.

The key question is, of course, who is Tina? From the beginning I thought it was the lady owning this cat, but it is not true.  Tina is the famous TV-personality in kitchen Tina Nordström, known to all Sweeds as Tina.

So I can imagine that the dog finds his mistress, whos name is unknown, and not (as I thoght before) Tina preparing food that she has never done before. And therefore he, the dog, thinks "Tina har slagit till igen!" For good or for worse, noone knows.

What might that be in English? The meaning is something lik "Now she has seen Nigella too much on TV... (sigh)". Or perhaps "Nigella strikes again". I think there are better translations in this contents.

Sorry I was wrong from the beginning. This is a better answer.


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## hanne

BlueSuede said:


> I have thought about the question some more and found out that I've been wrong from the beginning. Well, not entirely but I've missed the point. "Tina har slagit till igen!" means "Tina has done it again!" alright, but perhaps not in this cartoon.


To summarize, the sentence _does_ still mean "Tina has done it again", the only difference is in the interpretation of who Tina is .


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## BlueSuede

Right! You have done it again, Hanne! To summarize!


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