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malhar com as costas
Caseiro
Jan 13, 2022 11:46
2 yrs ago
28 viewers *
Portuguese term

Quem morde em Deus quebram-se-lhe os dentes

Portuguese to English Art/Literary Slang
Uttered by a very pissed off wife
She has found a magazine under his pillow and he says 'Por amor de Deus'
to which she replies Quem morde em Deus quebram-se-lhe
os dentes
Proposed translations (English)
3 Don't take the Lord's name in vain (or He'll punish you/you'll be smitten/damned)
3 Whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death (Lev 24:16)
2 +1 Now heaven's wrath will be poured on you.
3 If God only knew...
4 -2 You shouldn't bite the hand that feeds you.
2 Any goddamn gobber will end up a toothless tiger

Discussion

Mario Freitas Jan 14, 2022:
Also... It is also worthy to note that the expression in Portuguese is not a common saying and has a very poor word choice. This is clearly an "invention" of the author, so the translator has a certain freedom to create, too.
Lara Barnett Jan 14, 2022:
@ Oliver As Mario has also recognised, the term God could work, but the point is that "Lord" is a very formal register, while saying God is more general and relaxed, which would suit the characters better.
...that is unless of course (if you step away from this context) you were to use the term "good lord" or something in a light-hearted ironic way, which is what is done at times, but this is precisely because the term "Lord" has a very lofty and sacred nuance.
But at the end of the day, we are discussing the phrasing of two distinct characters, and this is not an official text of any sort, i.e. there is a dramatic context here that allows for personality of the speaker above that of official correctness of language rules.
Mario Freitas Jan 13, 2022:
@ Lara I posted my suggestion before Douglas mentioned they're not religious. But God must be in the translation anyway. I agree "Lord" would not be suitable here.
Oliver Simões Jan 13, 2022:
@Lara I am with you on that. If they are not a religious couple, invoking the name of God/Lord sounds a bit off, IMHO. In this particular case, I think it's important to know the motive behind her utterance. What did she really want to accomplish? Whatever it is, that would be the right translation regardless of what she said outwardly. I have more questions than answers on this one.
Lara Barnett Jan 13, 2022:
Lord I think the use of "Lord" sounds a bit clumsy if these are not an essentially religious couple - I think "don't take god's name in vain" would reflect the characterisation better, as this is commonly used but not religiously formal.
Douglas Bissell (asker) Jan 13, 2022:
@Mario. The idea is that her husband ( a pide inspector, by the way) 'invoked' God by blurting 'Oh for the love of God' during a quarrel. There seems to be little actual religious meaning here as if someone said 'Jesus H Christ', but she picks up on the reference to snipe back at him. Luciano's idea of 'Don't take the Lord's name in vain' seems a good translation so far. It was what I thought of later.
Mario Freitas Jan 13, 2022:
@ Douglas Despite not being religious, she used a phrase mentioning "those who bite God". There is no way you can take God away from the translation. Now, who she's associating God with is the big question here. Who did the husband offend? Who was he unthankful with?
Douglas Bissell (asker) Jan 13, 2022:
It's a fight between a husband and wife in the mid 1960s in Portugal. They are not particularly religious so it seems like a 'desabafo'
Lara Barnett Jan 13, 2022:
@ Douglas Are there distinctive characters involved in this conversation? It seems like there is some kind of dramatic context here, so surely the way this is phrased, or the attitude taken would be relevant to the actual phrasing here.

Proposed translations

6 mins
Selected

Don't take the Lord's name in vain (or He'll punish you/you'll be smitten/damned)

Não conhecia essa expressão em português, mas, dado o contexto, creio que se entende facilmente. Infelizmente não tenho nada melhor para oferecer em inglês, mas a ideia é essa.
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks, that's great"
1 hr

Whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death (Lev 24:16)

Something went wrong...
+1
2 hrs

Now heaven's wrath will be poured on you.

If you translate
"Por amor de Deus" as "For Heaven's sake",
then maybe my suggestion could work...

https://www.google.com/search?q="god's wrath poured"&oq="god...

https://www.google.com/search?q="heaven's wrath" "upon you"&...
Example sentence:

Has your life been lived in such a way that you are assured that God is pleased or is wrath stored up for you to be poured upon you

His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by him

Peer comment(s):
agree Antônio Souza
13 hrs
Obrigada, Antônio!
Something went wrong...
-2
3 hrs
Portuguese term (edited): Quem morde em Deus quebram-se-lhe os dentes.

You shouldn't bite the hand that feeds you.

Mine is a FREE translation. I would need more context before deciding this is it. For example, what's the relationship between this couple? What kind of magazine are we talking about? What's the larger context in which the conversation takes place?

I have a different take on the meaning of this expression. Although apparently religious, the phrase (I think) is meant to shame her husband over the magazine she found under his pillow. Was it a porno magazine? :-) It would be important to know more.

I am not a Bible expert, but from what I know, the expression doesn't seem to be based on any biblical verse whatsoever. I never heard of God breaking anybody's teeth (lol) and I would resist the temptation of interjecting biblical verses that are unrelated. A quick search for "God/Lord" + "break your bones" resulted pretty much in "stick and stones may break your bones, but words won't hurt you", which is not the meaning here.

In my perception, Portuguese speakers have a tendency (at least in Brazil) to refer to God more often than English speakers. This is especially true as the evangelical movement took root in this major Catholic country. This is something culturally relevant, to be taken into account. For example, in my search for New Year's videos on YouTube, I was flabbergasted by the number of God/Jesus references in them. When I searched in English, the outcome was very different, it was more language-neutral so to speak. My best advice: leave God out of the equation. He has nothing to do with the couple's marital affairs. :-)

bite the hand that feeds you
to act badly toward the person who is helping or has helped you
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/bite-...



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs (2022-01-13 15:22:19 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

PS: I meant to mark it confidence level 3.
Peer comment(s):
disagree Richard Purdom : Wrong saying. Read your own definition at the end of your rambling text. Who helped who exactly? In any case you've quoted the expression WRONGLY, it's 'Never/Don't bite the hand that feeds you', it's not a suggestion
6 hrs
Inappropriate? Based on what argument(s)? I never presented it as a definite translation. Please reread my opening sentence. Any frozen expression can be adjusted to fit into a dialogue. Nothing is etched in stone.
disagree Antônio Souza : A expressão original tem cunho religioso, que foi totalmente ignorado e deixado de lado na tradução.
12 hrs
Something went wrong...
10 hrs

If God only knew...

I can imagine a discussion going this way!
Peer comment(s):
disagree Oliver Simões : Not at all, you totally missed the boat. And you didn't justify your choice.
2 hrs
agree Marjolein Snippe : I can almost hear some couples bickering like this!
11 hrs
Something went wrong...
1 day 2 hrs

Any goddamn gobber will end up a toothless tiger

No need to invoke the name of the Lord or God, for that matter, but query whether gobber ('gobbing-off') is predominantly BrE.
Example sentence:

gobber someone who argues an arbitrary point and refuses to end the argument regardless of evidence provided or outcome.

A toothless tiger is an empty threat or an aggressive but harmless person.

Reference:

http://translate.vc/pt/en-pt/shut_your_gob

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