pilfinger

English translation: the inquisitive

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Danish term or phrase:pilfinger
English translation:the inquisitive
Entered by: Michele Fauble

20:08 May 4, 2008
Danish to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Slang
Danish term or phrase: pilfinger
A shop is described as being a 'slaraffenland for pilfingre'.
logan
the inquisitive
Explanation:
a 'paradise for the inquisitive'
Selected response from:

Michele Fauble
United States
Local time: 09:16
Grading comment
Thank you!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +1the inquisitive
Michele Fauble
4a curious George
Hanne Rask Sonderborg
3 +1someone with sticky fingers - rephrase here
Christine Andersen


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


12 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
the inquisitive


Explanation:
a 'paradise for the inquisitive'


Michele Fauble
United States
Local time: 09:16
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thank you!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Diarmuid Kennan
11 hrs
  -> thanks
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6 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
a curious George


Explanation:
Vinterberg da > eng:
Ikke pille! = Don't monkey with that!

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Note added at 6 hrs (2008-05-05 02:20:36 GMT)
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Two examples:

"If, like me, you happen to be obsessively curious, then perhaps you want to know what carbonic maceration is. For the curious Georges amongst us, here's...............carbonic maceration."

http://basicjuice.blogs.com/basicjuice/2006/03/carbonic_mace...

"What's worse is that the Curious Georges can still browse your other friends' lists (considering that their settings aren't on blocked)."

http://kotaku.com/gaming/upgrades/xbox-360-fall-update-comin...



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Note added at 18 hrs (2008-05-05 14:41:57 GMT)
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The term Pilfinger was coined in Denmark in 1933: "Prins Pilfinger". Prins Pilfinger was a Danish cartoon figure, comparable to Curious George.
http://www.seriejournalen.dk/tegneserie_indhold.asp?art=&ID=...


Hanne Rask Sonderborg
Denmark
Local time: 17:16
Native speaker of: Native in DanishDanish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Diarmuid Kennan: This expression is not one that I have ever heard before.
5 hrs
  -> It is often used in the United States. It's from a children's book (1941) "Curious George" that has since become a classic. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curious_George It has been translated into Danish and called Peter Pedal in Danish.
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11 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
someone with sticky fingers - rephrase here


Explanation:
I think if I met this expression I would rephrase it.

There are lots of expresisons like' children who poke their fingers everywhere'

(The shop was an invitation to poke fingers in here and there / everywhere.)

'toddlers who are into everything'

'can't keep their fingers to themselves' (This one is less innocent and tends towards meddling, so I would not use it here.)

"The shop looks like one big hands-on experience"

I thought of 'fiddlefingers' - which is in the DA-EN dictionary, and certainly exists verbally, but has not made it to the mono-English dictionaries! It would be understood, but is not nearly such an everday word as the Danish 'pilfinger'.


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Note added at 11 hrs (2008-05-05 07:45:03 GMT)
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everyday, of course...

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Note added at 1 day10 hrs (2008-05-06 06:31:38 GMT)
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Mads definitely has a point. If it is that kind of 'pilfingre' = folk, der elsker pillearbejde' - I would call them people with nimble fingers, or the nimble-fingered.

Christine Andersen
Denmark
Local time: 17:16
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 7

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Suzanne Blangsted (X): your examples are great - easy to fit into any text about "pilfingre"
12 hrs
  -> Thanks!

neutral  Michele Fauble: IMO having 'sticky fingers' means having a tendency to pilfer, and 'a paradise for sticky fingers' would mean 'a paradise for shoplifters'./Probably a difference in US vs. British usage.
12 hrs
  -> I see your point - and in a shop it would be relevant, but as children we were always being told not to poke our 'sticky fingers' into everything - and that expression is still definitely in use! Perhaps it should be 'sticky little fingers'.
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