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in einem grossangelegten Milieu

English translation: large scale, lavish

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase:gross angelegt
English translation:large scale, lavish
Entered by: EJBaumann

02:00 Mar 20, 2002
German to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature
German term or phrase: in einem grossangelegten Milieu
'Zum ersten Male war ich wieder unter freien Menschen in einem grossangelegten Milieu.' The speaker has been in prison for 3 years, and now is on an ocean liner on his way to America. Later on in the text it becomes clear that by the 'Milieu' he means his surroundings on the boat. I'm a little puzzled. Thank you!
EJBaumann
lavishly laid out environment/surroundings
Explanation:
For the first time I was again among free people in a lavishly laid out environment.
There are many meanings for anlegen, and I am going for the meaning of to build, construct, lay out as in architecture. From the little context, I think the image the author wants to convey is that of a man who feels that there is an omniscient power above setting up and organizing his life, just as was done by the prison authorities.
Selected response from:

Kim Metzger
Mexico
Local time: 04:16
Grading comment
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +3in large scale surroundings
Dr. Fred Thomson
4 +2lavishly laid out environment/surroundings
Kim Metzger
4 +1in a luxurious environment
Trudy Peters
5generously designed surroundings
Heidi Varblow
4in a large-scale environment
GBChrista
4wider/broader surroundings
Isabel Cole (X)


  

Answers


3 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
in a luxurious environment


Explanation:
maybe?

Trudy Peters
United States
Local time: 06:16
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 24

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Elvira Stoianov
5 hrs
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15 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
generously designed surroundings


Explanation:
By gross... he could be mean grosszügig

Heidi Varblow
United States
Local time: 06:16
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
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33 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +3
in large scale surroundings


Explanation:
or: expansive surroundings
or: where there was a lot of room
(all this as opposed to a small prison cell.)
or: surroundings on a grand scale
or: in a truly big space.

Dr. Fred Thomson
United States
Local time: 04:16
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 15

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Kathi Stock: surroundings on a grand scale sounds good to me!
3 hrs
agree  Manuela Schilling
5 hrs
agree  Wynona Kaspar
6 hrs
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34 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
lavishly laid out environment/surroundings


Explanation:
For the first time I was again among free people in a lavishly laid out environment.
There are many meanings for anlegen, and I am going for the meaning of to build, construct, lay out as in architecture. From the little context, I think the image the author wants to convey is that of a man who feels that there is an omniscient power above setting up and organizing his life, just as was done by the prison authorities.

Kim Metzger
Mexico
Local time: 04:16
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 213

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Johanna Timm, PhD: very nice!!
2 hrs
  -> Nice words coming from a master.
agree  Kathi Stock
3 hrs
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
in a large-scale environment


Explanation:
I hope this helps

GBChrista
Germany
Local time: 12:16
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
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6 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
wider/broader surroundings


Explanation:
Just a thought. Otherwise I would go for "expansive" or "on a grand scale".
I don't think lavish or luxurious would be right, unless the author was traveling first class (which he probably wasn't; he sounds like a refugee). And I wouldn't interpret the "angelegt" part as literally as Kim does, to imply some kind of intent or grand design. The term is often used quite loosely, and here I think it's being used somewhat oddly!

Isabel Cole (X)
Local time: 12:16
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