The marinated octopus beggars description......

[Theseus]

On the back of the first edition (the best in my opinion) of a well-known phrase book this short paragraph is written to illustrate the necessity of learning Greek. The scenario depicts an imaginary conversation (που λέγεται με πνεύμα χιούμορ) between a Greek monolingual beauty and a tourist who knows very limited Greek. In English it is as follows:-

The marinated octopus beggars description. Helen smiles, offering nothing. John nods, she smiles. So it goes, nod, smile, nod, smile. Desperate to break the cycle, John remembers scraps of Greek. Somehow, "I have a pet cat" seems inappropriate. As another romance fades with the sunset, John laments his lack of foresight.

I found in my notes of long ago this translation from somebody I asked but it sounds terribly stilted to a more experienced me[!] and somehow reads like a translation. Can wiser colleagues suggest corrections?

Το μαριναρισμένο χταπόδι είναι υπεράνω περιγραφής. Η Ελένη χαμογελά, δεν προσφέρει τίποτα. Ο Τζον γνέφει, αυτή χαμογελά. Κι έτσι συνεχίζεται, νεύμα, χαμόγελο, νεύμα χαμόγελο. Προσπαθώντας απελπισμένα να σπάσει τον φαύλο κύκλο, ο Τζον θυμάται κάποια ψήγματα Ελληνικών. Η φράση "έχω ένα γατάκι", ωστόσο, δεν του φάνηκε κατάλληλη. Καθώς ένα ακόμη ειδύλλιο αργοσβήνει στο φως του ηλιοβασιλέματος, ο Τζον θρηνεί την έλλειψη προνοητικότητας του.
:blush::huh::mellow:

 

[Earion]

Το μαριναρισμένο χταπόδι είναι ανώτερο πάσης περιγραφής.* Η Ελένη χαμογελά, αλλά δεν κάνει άλλη κίνηση. Ο Τζων γνέφει, εκείνη χαμογελά. Κι έτσι συνεχίζεται, νεύμα, χαμόγελο, νεύμα χαμόγελο. Προσπαθώντας απελπισμένα να σπάσει τον πάγο, ο Τζων ανασύρει από τη μνήμη του κάποια ψήγματα ελληνικών. Η φράση «έχω ένα γατάκι» για κάποιο λόγο δεν του φαίνεται κατάλληλη. Καθώς ένα ακόμη ειδύλλιο αργοσβήνει στο φως του ηλιοβασιλέματος, ο Τζον θρηνεί την έλλειψη προνοητικότητάς του.

*A more juicy rendering would be: τόσο νόστιμο που να γλείφεις τα δάχτυλά σου (finger-licking good)

 

[nickel]

The marinated octopus beggars description.

Alternatives:
Το μαριναρισμένο χταπόδι...
(formal) είναι πέραν πάσης περιγραφής.
(colloquial) ξεπερνά κάθε περιγραφή
(informal) δεν περιγράφεται.

 

[Theseus]

Thanks, both. The improvements are excellent. I think I have come across an idiom δεν λέγεται, which is similar to, but not as good as, the alternative suggestions proposed by Nickel. I wonder if 'finger-licking good' is derived from the Greek idiom. It seems somewhat of a coincidence.:)

 

[drsiebenmal]

I think that the marinated octopus doesn't belong in this small text (unless they were previously talking about 007's "Octopussy" or John had thoughts involving his own tentacles); so here comes my attempt at translation, a little less on the "true side" -- and without obvious tentacles.

Η Ελένη χαμογελάει, μα δεν του δίνει σπιθαμή περισσότερο. Ο Τζον την κοιτάζει με νόημα, εκείνη του χαμογελάει. Ο χορός δεν σταματάει: ματιά-χαμόγελο, ματιά-χαμόγελο. Ο Τζον θέλει απεγνωσμένα να σπάσει τον φαύλο κύκλο και ψάχνει λύση σε κάτι λείψανα από τα ελληνικά που θυμάται. Καταλαβαίνει όμως πως εδώ μάλλον δεν ταιριάζει η φράση «μου αρέσει να χαϊδεύω ένα φουντωτό γατάκι». Καθώς σβήνει ο ήλιος, σβήνει άλλη μια ρομαντική ιστορία πριν ανατείλει καν και ο Τζον κακίζει τον εαυτό του που δεν πρόβλεψε να εφοδιαστεί με τα στοιχειώδη.

 

[SBE]

The marinated octopus sets the scene. A restaurant, in the summer, in Greece. Without it it could be at an office in Hong Kong and Eleni could be a tourist.

 

[drsiebenmal]

The marinated octopus sets the scene. A restaurant, in the summer, in Greece. Without it it could be at an office in Hong Kong and Eleni could be a tourist.

You could be right, of course. I thought it was a snippet from a bigger text, since "marinated octopus + Helen" are not patented Greek concepts per se. Besides, the Greek language is mentioned anyway. :)

 

[Neikos]

Ωραία απόδοση, Ντόκτορ. Μερακλίδικη. Εγώ πάντως πιστεύω πως αν της σιγοψιθύριζε κάτω από το φως του ηλιοβασιλέματος «μου αρέσει να χαϊδεύω ένα φουντωτό γατάκι» θα είχαν ζήσει αυτοί καλά κι εμείς καλύτερα. :)

 

[Theseus]

Sorry for not having replied sooner, Dr. I've been laid up in bed with a terrible bout of flu, which I can't seem to shake off & my wife has gone away with her brother to a Scottish island in the Inner Hebrides. Surviving the day requires a gargantuan effort.

I did say that 'on the back of the first edition (the best in my opinion) of a well-known phrase book [δηλ. Lonely Planet Greek] this short paragraph is written to illustrate the necessity of learning Greek. So SBE is right, as you indeed thought possible. I agree with Neikos's comment but am not sure at all about the meaning of his closing remarks: a double entendre perhaps?

 

[Neikos]

Theseus, it's just a typical fairytale ending phrase : και ζήσανε αυτοί καλά κι εμείς καλύτερα = and they lived happily ever after.

 

[pontios]

Theseus, it's just a typical fairytale ending phrase : και ζήσανε αυτοί καλά κι εμείς καλύτερα = and they lived happily ever after.

I think Theseus was trying to figure out why "I have a pet cat" was interpreted and treated as if having the meaning "I pet a cat" (=χαϊδεύω γάτα, by dr7x) which may have been a subtle double-entendre (in English, at least; if you allow your dirty mind to run free)?
I see a bon mot of triple ambiguities - octo"pus/cat/pussy", so I'm beyond salvation; and it's all your fault, Theseus, as well as dr7''s - intentional pun or not.

 

[Earion]

You hit the mark, Pontios!

 

[drsiebenmal]

Δεν έμεινε να προσθέσω τίποτ' άλλο εκτός από «περαστικά» στον Θησέα. :)

OK, and guilty as charged for translating "I have a pet cat" as meaning the same with "I have a cat to pet"... :)

 

[Theseus]

I wished I had known the Greek for 'and they all lived happily ever after'. I didn't understand the final bit of the sentence, hence I wanted to know the meaning of θα είχαν ζήσει αυτοί καλά κι εμείς καλύτερα. As usual I learn the hard way. I couldn't understand it so I was asking if I had missed a dubious nuance. Mea culpa!
The good Dr's 'happy ending' has now led me astray since the passage ends on the opposite note.:laugh: