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Glossary entry

Danish term or phrase:

snak fra de varme lande

English translation:

lame excuse

Added to glossary by Charles Ek
Dec 2, 2014 13:00
10 yrs ago
2 viewers *
Danish term

snak fra de varme lande

Danish to English Other Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
I know it means something between nonsense and BS, I just need to know which end of that spectrum to favor. If you have a favored English idiom for this, all the better. (And an explanation of its origin that doesn't offend anyone would be interesting to have as well.)
Proposed translations (English)
4 half-told story
3 a long rigmarole
2 +1 song and dance
3 that's a likely story
1 blarney

Discussion

Charles Ek (asker) Dec 9, 2014:
Thanks again to all who contributed,. This was a memorable one!
Christine Andersen Dec 3, 2014:
Post that as an answer - I´ll agree Diarmuid, if you post cock and bull story as an answer I'll give you an ´agree´.
At least from this side of the pond.
Diarmuid Kennan Dec 3, 2014:
a cock-and-bull story You forgot to mention this: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Talk:cock-and-bull_story
Charles Ek (asker) Dec 3, 2014:
This has turned into a mildly fascinating case study on intercultural communication. As a native speaker of US English, I can easily envision inserting any of several possibilities in the following:

"When I asked him why he hadn't paid his bill yet, he gave me a fancy excuse/an empty excuse/a song and dance/a long rigmarole/a lot of blarney/some bullshit about why he hadn't done it."

The fact that "song and dance" has a different meaning on the other side of the pond was news to me and slightly terrifying. :-)
Norskpro Dec 3, 2014:
Maybe both "snack" and "sang" are used. I have also seen "historie fra de varme lande".
Diarmuid Kennan Dec 3, 2014:
According to my wife from Aalborg, it's definitely snak, not sang.
But I just wanted to agree with Norskpro that "song and dance" in the UK and Ireland means a "fuss"
Norskpro Dec 3, 2014:
Song and dance In US English it would fit, but maybe not in UK English, which defines it as making a lot of unnecessary fuss about something.
Norskpro Dec 3, 2014:
Song and dance You are right Charles. It is more than "just" a suggestion. I guess I hesitated because to my ears the Danish version sounds so much more poetic than the three-syllable English version.
Charles Ek (asker) Dec 2, 2014:
Tak, Christine!
Chris Says Bye Dec 2, 2014:
sounds like telling a tall story, spinning a yarn, etc
Christine Andersen Dec 2, 2014:
Fra Den Danske Ordbog Jeg kendte ikke udtrykket, men gættede på, at det var i den ´lette´ ende.
1.
overført undvigende, intetsigende forklaring eller svar SPROGBRUG uformelt
Synonym en sludder for en sladder

[læreren] gav os en sang fra de varme lande, om at der ikke var nogen penge til at købe bøger for, og blah blah blah dagbNatm92

http://ordnet.dk/ddo/ordbog?query=land

Fandt også denne side - som er temmelig politisk U-korrekte - så hvis du ikke kan tåle originaludgaverne af Pippi Langstrømpe og Elefantens Vuggevise, nu er du advaret!
http://spademanns.wikia.com/wiki/En_sang_fra_de_varme_lande
en sang fra de varme lande

Men jeg aner ikke, om det er rigtigt.

Proposed translations

46 mins
Danish term (edited): snak fra de varme lande (sang fra de varme lande)
Selected

half-told story

It is not snak but song - en sang fra de varme lande. And it does not mean something between nonsense and bullshit, but some kind of explanation or lame excuse that is absolutely not the truth. I don't know about the origin of the saying.

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Note added at 1 hr (2014-12-02 14:38:53 GMT)
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Okay, Charles, but I just found 'something between nonsense and bullshit' to be a very broad definition compared to the one I offered as bullshit doesn't necessarily have to be evasive. It can also be a way of using boastful language etc.
Regarding the saying - a lot of sayings or idioms are misunderstood by speakers and there are plenty of examples of the results to be found on Google. But even if the source file says 'snak' it doesn't really matter as you can't translate this literally.
Now you force me to switch from my smartphone to pc to look it up in sheer stubborness in order to prove my case :-) You can look the saying up in:
http://ordnet.dk/ddo/ordbog?query=land
You will find the saying listed and explained in Den Danske Ordbog.

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Note added at 1 hr (2014-12-02 14:57:44 GMT)
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How about 'fanciful excuses' - or 'fanciful explanations'? Includes the bullshit aspect too :-)

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Note added at 12 days (2014-12-14 14:06:55 GMT) Post-grading
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Tak for point, Charles!
Note from asker:
Thanks. I found several Google examples using "snak" in addition to my source file. You must have some different understanding of bullshit than I do. :-)
Thanks so much for your detailed answer. What would you think of "empty excuse"?
Now you've really given me something to consider. Thanks so much for all this.
Something went wrong...
3 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks again. I've chosen "lame excuse" as the best fit."
18 hrs

blarney

Just thought I'd throw this into the mix:
http://goireland.about.com/od/historyculture/qt/irish_blarne...
Note from asker:
Gotta love this phrase: "the ultimate weapon of massive distraction". :-) Thanks!
Something went wrong...
19 hrs

a long rigmarole

Just another thought

A long, rambling story or statement: ‘she went into a long rigmarole about the different jobs she’d had’
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/rigmaro...

´The tale of the old iron pot´ was an expression my father (from Bristol) used in my now distant childhood, but I can´t find any examples of it in that sense, and have not heard it for a long time.
Note from asker:
Another good possibility. Thanks!
Something went wrong...
+1
9 hrs

song and dance

Just a suggestion, song being the common word. It is defined as "an interesting but highly implausible story; often told as an excuse".

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Note added at 1 day27 mins (2014-12-03 13:27:38 GMT)
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What about "a long song and a slow dance"? just to give it a bit more laadidaaadidaaa...
Note from asker:
This is more than "just" a suggestion - it is a very good one. Thanks!
Peer comment(s):
agree 564354352 (X)
8 hrs
Thank you.
Something went wrong...
1 day 5 hrs

that's a likely story

in my part of the world (Essex, London and the South East of England), this would be a good fit. I may receive some disagreement naturally. It is always said in a sarcastic and often sullen tone. Also, it is often shortened to "Likely story".
If you google you will find a plethora of contextual examples. Hope this is of help.
Reference:

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/A+likely+story

http://www.ihbristol.com/english-phrases/example/2012-12-23

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