Glossary entry

English term or phrase:

b line

Arabic translation:

خط مستقيم

Added to glossary by Rana Iskandarani
Apr 1, 2005 07:56
19 yrs ago
1 viewer *
English term

b line

English to Arabic Other General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
New Orleans, a city where the saints and sinners come marching in. And make a B-line for Bourbon Street.
Proposed translations (Arabic)
3 +8 خط مستقيم

Proposed translations

+8
31 mins
Selected

خط مستقيم


سر في خط مستقيم إلى
or
إذهب مباشرة إلى

I'm not so sure about this (see confidence level), but Google searches for "make/made/makes a B-Line for" seem to indicate that it means "walk a straight line to" or "take a shortcut to". I don't know if I would choose to write سر في خط مستقيم إلى if I had more context and knew what Bourbon street was all about and why the writer was recommending that a B-line be made to it (because it's worth visiting? because the surrounding streets are too dangerous to walk in?).
If you're not too convinced with my answer or any other answer you receive, it may be worth posting the question on the "English" page on Kudoz.

Check the following sites:

Jim Stangier did not make a B-Line for the official opening of the Millennium SkyTrain line over the long weekend. Instead, he chose to attend the Air ...
www.thenownews.com/issues02/091202/news/091202nn6.html

Once you begin to approach the entrance to the Vault you need to just make a b-line for it. Its surrounded by a bunch of a nastiness. ...
www.aclore.com/hol/pilgrimfiles/atlansparkingstone.htm

that they currently face and look at ways to improve their productivity, not make a B-line for their wallets to improve a one-off quarterly performance. ...
www.laiserin.com/features/issue16/feature03.php

... I guess I would make a b-line for the nearest inhabited planet, one where only warrior males live because their women have all died. ...
www.theromancestudio.com/who10.php

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Note added at 35 mins (2005-04-01 08:32:12 GMT)
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The expression probably comes from the fact that the letter \"B\" is composed of a straight line (|) and two curves. Since the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, then you should \"make a B line\" rather than \"the B curves\" if you want to get somewhere quick.

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Note added at 2 hrs 38 mins (2005-04-01 10:34:50 GMT)
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Thanks to Imane and Mosbadr: The correct expression is \"beeline\", and means, as Imane quotes from Merriam-Webster\'s: a straight direct course (due to the belief that nectar-laden bees return to their hives in a direct line). So my translation was correct, but my attempt at an interpretation wasn\'t!
Peer comment(s):

neutral mosbadr200 : Can the b-line stand for 'bee line',i.e., the way the bee flies; it flies straight and fast ?
58 mins
I retract my skepticism! It turns out you're absolutely right!! (see Imane's note below)
agree Iman Khaireddine : Mosbadr may be right. The "Webster's" defines "beeline" as: a straight direct course (due to the beleif that nectar-laden bees return to their hives in a direct line). "To beeline" is to go quickly in a straight course. So it could be يتجهون مباشرة إلى
1 hr
wow, you're right - that didn't occur to me at all!
agree Mohamed Elsayed
3 hrs
agree Amal Al-Arfaj
7 hrs
agree Omar Ghazal
8 hrs
agree Fuad Yahya
15 hrs
agree A Nabil Bouitieh
18 hrs
agree Dina Abdo
1 day 8 hrs
agree AhmedAMS
6 days
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "thanks nesrin"
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