Apr 22, 2008 07:36
16 yrs ago
Dutch term
de soepele pedaalslag terugvinden
Dutch to English
Other
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Foreword to the employee magazine by the new Managing Director of an international courier company.
1 april. Op die wel heel opmerkelijke datum ben ik hier beginnen werken. Meteen sta ik, samen met jullie, aan het begin van een nieuw tijdperk voor X. En dat gevoel is een sterk gevoel. Het zorgt voor een vliegende start. Ik heb me hier trouwens heel snel thuis gevoeld. Dat zal me helpen om na een lange bewogen periode samen opnieuw **de soepele pedaalslag terug te vinden.**
Possibly some play on words associated with planes (cf vliegende start)?
1 april. Op die wel heel opmerkelijke datum ben ik hier beginnen werken. Meteen sta ik, samen met jullie, aan het begin van een nieuw tijdperk voor X. En dat gevoel is een sterk gevoel. Het zorgt voor een vliegende start. Ik heb me hier trouwens heel snel thuis gevoeld. Dat zal me helpen om na een lange bewogen periode samen opnieuw **de soepele pedaalslag terug te vinden.**
Possibly some play on words associated with planes (cf vliegende start)?
Proposed translations
(English)
| 3 +2 | recover / get back to a smooth pace |
Ken Cox
|
| 4 | get back into the groove |
Marie Brotnov
|
| 3 | regain the smooth pace / regain the smooth swing |
Max Nuijens
|
Proposed translations
+2
27 mins
Selected
recover / get back to a smooth pace
... or something along these lines.
This is a cycling metaphor (is your text Belgian?), and 'soepele pedaalslag' literally means a smooth, easy pedaling cadence, which is desirable for efficient cycling (good endurance).
This is a cycling metaphor (is your text Belgian?), and 'soepele pedaalslag' literally means a smooth, easy pedaling cadence, which is desirable for efficient cycling (good endurance).
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
writeaway
: they don't cycle anymore in NL? the international courier company does sound suspiciously Belgian though. ;-) /wow! I never heard that about the RvV. Sounds a bit OTT.
8 mins
|
|
Cycling is THE national sport in Belgium, and cycling metaphors are very common (and Leterme said that the RvV is actually the national holiday)
|
|
| agree |
Tina Vonhof (X)
: or rhythm.
7 hrs
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks, everyone. Liked the 'groove' idea, but it wasn't quite the right register here."
5 hrs
Max Nuijens
Netherlands
Netherlands
Native in Dutch
Netherlands
Energy & Environment, MSc
Native in: Dutch (Variant: Netherlands) 
Works in: English to Dutch
Related KudoZ points
:
11
regain the smooth pace / regain the smooth swing
regain fits better to terugvinden or hervinden, because of the hard work involved to get back into shape, to follow the bicycling metaphore.
If a smooth translation is required, rather than a wordly account of what is said, 'smooth swing', which relates to golf, would be an option.
This would match the 'vliegende start', which is a swift and fast start, since smooth swings result in golfballs flying high.
If a smooth translation is required, rather than a wordly account of what is said, 'smooth swing', which relates to golf, would be an option.
This would match the 'vliegende start', which is a swift and fast start, since smooth swings result in golfballs flying high.
8 hrs
Marie Brotnov
United States
United States
Native in Dutch
&
English
United States
ATA Certified, Medical & Pharmaceutical
Native in: Dutch 
, English
Works in: Dutch to English
get back into the groove
it is, indeed, a cycling term, and it's about finding an easy rhythm so the work feels more or less effortless. I think "get back into the groove" expresses that same feel.
Discussion