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  3. Idioms / Maxims / Sayings

(non è) farina del tuo sacco

English translation: not the fruit of your labor/not earned by the sweat of your brow/to try to sell s.o. else's mule/to steal so else's thunder

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Italian term or phrase:(non è) farina del tuo sacco
English translation:not the fruit of your labor/not earned by the sweat of your brow/to try to sell s.o. else's mule/to steal so else's thunder
Entered by: Mara Ballarini

13:38 Jun 7, 2006
Italian to English translations [PRO]
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Italian term or phrase: (non è) farina del tuo sacco
Is there anything else, let's say more idiomatic, than 'this is not your work'?
the phrase to be translated is 'questa non mi sembra farina del tuo sacco'
Mara Ballarini
Australia
Local time: 14:25
not the fruit of your labor (but see below)
Explanation:
Paola ha ragione per quanto riguarda il contesto, ma azzardo questo comunque:

The phrase usually refers to outright plagiarism or taking credit for work that one did not do. Possibilities that come to mind include: "not earned by the sweat of your brow" or "not the fruit of your own labor." More figuratively: "sign your name to something (that you didn't create)", "to steal someone else's thunder," or (very idiomatically) "to try to sell somebody else's mule." I've seen it used semi-apologetically (in the sense of "this wasn't my idea" or "I wasn't responsible for this"), in the pre-emptive sense of "I wish I could take credit for this (but I can't)," as well as in the accusatory sense ("Did you really do this yourself?"). With all of that as prologue, let's see if there's any more context to come.

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Note added at 45 mins (2006-06-07 14:24:03 GMT)
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Oops. Too late I see Mara's added note. Mara is right that "this doesn't look like your own work" is fairly accusatory. I might suggest, "Did anyone help you with this?" or "Did you finish this assignment all on your own?" even if the underlying idea (that Mara suspects otherwise) is going to be clear in any case! W.

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Note added at 2 hrs (2006-06-07 15:40:13 GMT)
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Ah, and yet one more thing comes to mind a bit later: "Not your doing." Doesn't fit Mara's context, but just for the sake of having a fuller list of possibles!
Selected response from:

WendellR
Local time: 06:25
Grading comment
grazie mille a tutti!especially wendell and gian of course. I think I'm gonna go for sth like 'is this the fruit of your own labor?...or did anyone help you with this?...' I like them for this context, but I'll add all your options to my glossaries. very helpful. thank you again!!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +4not the fruit of your labor (but see below)
WendellR
3nota
Gian


Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
nota


Explanation:
vagando in Internet ho trovato che qualcuno commentava questo detto così:

That being said, there's an idiom about plagiarism that I used to hear when I was a kid -- I heard it many times, but I particularly remember my 8th grade English teacher using it. She was teaching us the proper way to cite sources (using quotation marks, footnotes, etc.) when using borrowed material in a written report. She told us, "Don't try to sell me somebody else's mule."

Gian
Italy
Local time: 06:25
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in ItalianItalian
PRO pts in category: 8
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

42 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +4
not the fruit of your labor (but see below)


Explanation:
Paola ha ragione per quanto riguarda il contesto, ma azzardo questo comunque:

The phrase usually refers to outright plagiarism or taking credit for work that one did not do. Possibilities that come to mind include: "not earned by the sweat of your brow" or "not the fruit of your own labor." More figuratively: "sign your name to something (that you didn't create)", "to steal someone else's thunder," or (very idiomatically) "to try to sell somebody else's mule." I've seen it used semi-apologetically (in the sense of "this wasn't my idea" or "I wasn't responsible for this"), in the pre-emptive sense of "I wish I could take credit for this (but I can't)," as well as in the accusatory sense ("Did you really do this yourself?"). With all of that as prologue, let's see if there's any more context to come.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 45 mins (2006-06-07 14:24:03 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Oops. Too late I see Mara's added note. Mara is right that "this doesn't look like your own work" is fairly accusatory. I might suggest, "Did anyone help you with this?" or "Did you finish this assignment all on your own?" even if the underlying idea (that Mara suspects otherwise) is going to be clear in any case! W.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2006-06-07 15:40:13 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Ah, and yet one more thing comes to mind a bit later: "Not your doing." Doesn't fit Mara's context, but just for the sake of having a fuller list of possibles!

WendellR
Local time: 06:25
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 12
Grading comment
grazie mille a tutti!especially wendell and gian of course. I think I'm gonna go for sth like 'is this the fruit of your own labor?...or did anyone help you with this?...' I like them for this context, but I'll add all your options to my glossaries. very helpful. thank you again!!
Notes to answerer
Asker: I don't know exactly how it works, but I think you should add a couple of your options to the kudoz glossaries, if possible. thanks again! have a good day!


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Lesley Burgon: good answer - I like all your suggestions, including those in the added note.
7 mins
agree  Laura Impelluso
9 mins
agree  Romanian Translator (X)
16 mins
agree  Patricia Fierro, M. Sc.
1 hr
neutral  Gian: Se permetti, come tu hai detto a me per "appendere al chiodo" questa non è una frase idiomatica, ma solo il significato della frase
1 day 23 hrs
  -> Sorry Gian. I don't understand what seems to be yr complaint; all the translations are, in fact, idiomatic phrases
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