luna a dondolo

English translation: Crescent moon

19:50 Jan 2, 2019

Italian to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Idioms / Maxims / Sayings

Italian term or phrase: luna a dondolo

I am having trouble translating "la luna a dondolo" featured in a poem.

Italian ST: "...per guardarti mentre riconosci in quel fiume i tuoi capelli, in quel cielo i tuoi occhi, in quella luna a dondolo il tuo sorriso"
English TT: "...just to watch you see your hair in that river, your eyes in that sky, your smile in that .... moon"

Could anyone explain what it is, I presume it is a metaphor or possibly a children's toy as the poem is about school children and love.

Alysia Fletcher KudoZ activity Questions: 4 (none open) (1 without valid answers) Answers: 7 Italy
Local time: 18:52

English translation:Crescent moon

Explanation:
.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2019-01-02 22:03:24 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Apparently it does translate literally as "rocking moon" - like a rocking horse but in the shape of a moon. Not a term I'd ever heard before. My translation does reflect the shape though :-)
https://www.google.com/search?q=rocking moon&tbm=isch&tbo=u&...

Selected response from:

Fiona Grace Peterson
Italy
Local time: 18:52

Grading comment

Thank you for your response.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

3 +4

Crescent moon

Fiona Grace Peterson

Rocking moon

Alessandro Toto

Answers

10 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +4

Crescent moon

Fiona Grace Peterson
Italy
Local time: 18:52
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 18

Grading comment

Thank you for your response.

4 hrs confidence:

Rocking moon

Explanation:
I also agree the expression is related with the shape of the moon literally. There is also a nursery rhyme where I have found the same expression

Example sentence(s):

Il meglio da fare è di darla ai bambini, che non si fanno pagare a giocare coi palloncini: se ci salgono a cavalcioni chissà che festa; se la luna va in fretta, non gli gira la testa, anzi la sproneranno la bella luna a dondolo, lanciando grida di gio

Reference: http://https://www.filastrocche.it/contenuti/la-luna-bambina...

Alessandro Toto
Paraguay
Local time: 12:52
Native speaker of: Italian

Notes to answerer

Asker: Thank you so much for this explanation and the link to the nursery rhyme it has solved the puzzle! :)

Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

Return to KudoZ list

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

See also:

ProZ.com term search

Search millions of term translations

luna a dondolo

English translation: Crescent moon

Answers

KudoZ™ translation help

Your current localization setting

Select a language

luna a dondolo

English translation: Crescent moon

Answers

KudoZ™ translation help

You have native languages that can be verified

Your current localization setting

Select a language