arrampicarsi sugli specchi
English translation: negotiating a hall of mirrors
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| 16:19 Jun 17, 2006 |
| Italian to English translations [PRO] Cinema, Film, TV, Drama / psychology | |||||||
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|  Selected response from: Antonio Caselli Italy Local time: 12:04 | ||||||
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| Discussion entries: 2 | |
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Answers
11 mins confidence: 
peer agreement (net): +1
peer agreement (net): +1climbing mirrors Explanation: "run up a wall " climbing mirrors"..many ways of saying it -------------------------------------------------- Note added at 24 mins (2006-06-17 16:44:26 GMT) -------------------------------------------------- doing something that is unusual , sometimes futile and requires lots of personal effort www.adventure16.com/footprints_86.html |
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5 hrs confidence: 
walking on water Explanation: Maybe this could work as a metaphor, trying to accomplish an impossible task, while being able to reflect one's image onto the water. |
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5 hrs confidence:
climbing glass walls Explanation: I have always used the term "climbing walls" so to add glass could give you the reflection angle you need! The idea you are trying to convey is climbing a surface and sliding back down as it's slippery and shiny, while at the same time reflecting a distorted image of the protagonist! |
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14 hrs confidence:
through the looking glass Explanation: I don't know how you could fit this exactly in your text..something along these lines "intent at unveiling a distorted albeit truthful image through the looking glass" in this case I think "arrampicarsi sugli specchi" could just be rendered as striving to do do somthing, being intent at... then if you need to keep the reference to mirrors, the closest thing I can think of is a looking glass just an idea... :-) -------------------------------------------------- Note added at 14 hrs (2006-06-18 07:07:10 GMT) -------------------------------------------------- looking glass = mirror you would usually be looking AT and not THROUGH, but this could convey the idea of something impossible (arrampicarsi sugli specchi) which might lead to other discoveries think of Lewis Carrol's book http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Through_the_Looking-Glass |
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1 day 18 hrs confidence: peer agreement (net): +1
peer agreement (net): +1climbing over a barbed wire fence Explanation: Struggling to climb over a barbed wire fence. "Climbing mirrors" means trying to do something strand or dangerous that seems to be futile. I adding a quotation: "What are you doing... in Italy we call it "climbing mirrors". www.aurdaya-fellowship.com/forums/spiritual-discussions/334... |
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1 day 21 hrs confidence:
negotiating a hall of mirrors Explanation: clutching at straws would be the perfect equivalent, but here maybe one might think of a hall of mirrors in which the main character is sort of trapped... |
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1 day 21 hrs confidence:
tries to save himself by climbing on the mirrors Explanation: Since the Italian has a double meaning here which is lost in English I think you need more than just climbing on mirrors. The other meaning of arrampicarsi sugli specchi is, trying to justify your existence, save your skin. My interpretation of this excerpt is that the man is stripped of all his pretences and has nowhere left to hide. |
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