This site uses cookies. Some of these cookies are essential to the operation of the site, while others help to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used. For more information, please see the ProZ.com privacy policy.
Cookie settings
Verkaufsgewölbe
Schaumschale
Jun 8, 2007 15:23
16 yrs ago
German term

mächtig vor die Fresse knallen

German to English Art/Literary Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
From a novel:

Alle, die von einer schweren Krankheit getroffen werden, durchlaufen in ihrem Inneren bestimmte Phasen. [...] Diese erste Phase wird an Kürze von der zweiten Phase, der des „renitenten Begreifens“, sogar noch übertroffen. Irgendetwas, so viel steht fest, hat dir *mächtig vor die Fresse geknallt.*

So far I've only come up with "smacked you right in the face", but that doesn't seem strong enough. The disease is fatal, by the way. American English, please.

Thanks!
Proposed translations (English)
2 +2 hit you right between the eyes
3 +3 hit you like a load of bricks
4 hit like a bolt from the blue
3 stop you in your tracks/stop you cold/pull the rug from under your feet
2 slammed in front of your face
Change log

Jun 11, 2007 16:18: Steffen Walter changed "Field (write-in)" from "Kulturwissenschaft" to "(none)"

Discussion

Nadine Kahn Jun 11, 2007:
Or otherwise "... hat dir IN die Fresse geknallt"
Nadine Kahn Jun 11, 2007:
Ehm... "irgendetwas + hat geknallt"? *eek* It's not idiomatic in my point of view. The sentence is wrong. Es wird... (etwas) vor/geknallt.
mill2 (asker) Jun 11, 2007:
Hi Enkay, to me there is nothing strange about the German. It may not make a lot of sense if you take the phrase apart grammatically, but it is idiomatic, I think.
Nadine Kahn Jun 9, 2007:
Perhaps they mixed it up with "jemandem eins vor den Latz knallen"? - paste so. one, paste up/ zap so. one
Nadine Kahn Jun 9, 2007:
to think, sth non-physical would be more appropriate here. I never heard the combination of "etwas hat... + VOR die Fresse". "In die Fresse hauen" und "vorknallen" is common.
Nadine Kahn Jun 9, 2007:
I'm asking, because there's a difference between "jemandem etwas VOR die Fresse knallen" (vor knallen) and "jemandem etwas IN die Fresse knallen". First one is supposed to mean, he gave it to me straight... nothing physical. It's not clear vor me. I tend
Nadine Kahn Jun 8, 2007:
Ist hier "mächtig vor.." = "mächtig in..."?
hirselina Jun 8, 2007:
Something hit you like a truck?
mill2 (asker) Jun 8, 2007:
right upside the face? still not strong enough...

Proposed translations

+2
1 hr
Selected

hit you right between the eyes

yet another

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2007-06-08 16:35:52 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

crept up from behind and bit you in the butt

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2007-06-08 16:39:39 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

knocked the wind out of you / knocked you on your ass / hit by a bold of lightening
Peer comment(s):
agree Evi Wollinger : I was trying to think of "knocked the wind out of you" - I like that one!
1 hr
agree Courtney Sliwinski : I like hit you right between the eyes
1 hr
neutral Lancashireman : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUKOebCbINc
5 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "This was hard. I liked hit you like a ton of bricks a lot too, but in the end I think knocked you on your ass fits the register of the original the best. Thanks a lot for all your help!"
+3
26 mins

hit you like a load of bricks

or:

hit you like a ton of bricks
hit you over the head
made your lights go out
crossed your plans in a nasty way
threw a crossbar between your legs
gave you a major wake-up call
dumped ice-cold water on you
......

maybe some of them are a little off, just being creative
I also like"hit by a truck", the first suggestion - should be posted



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 27 mins (2007-06-08 15:51:14 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

pounced on you out of nowhere and took your breath away...
Peer comment(s):
agree Ingeborg Gowans (X)
1 hr
agree earthreptile
2 hrs
neutral Courtney Sliwinski : I think we're mixing metaphors here. Isn't the saying "go down like a ton of bricks"? Which in this context would not be appropriate.
2 hrs
agree Paul Cohen : Evi, I'd go with "gave you one HELL of a wake-up call" - (the caps are just for emphasis here, not for the final text). It matches the register of the source text better than "hit you right between the eyes" (my other favorite).
21 hrs
Something went wrong...
32 mins

hit like a bolt from the blue

Another idea; M-W: a complete and stunning surprise.
Something went wrong...
6 hrs

stop you in your tracks/stop you cold/pull the rug from under your feet

the British equivalent (and an almost direct translation) would be the detestable "gob-smacked", but you want US English

the other version is "stop you dead in your tracks" - which might be too appropriate
Something went wrong...
2 days 5 hrs

slammed in front of your face

Like in "the door slammed in front of my face/eyes"

Don't know how to fit the "mächtig" in. Perhaps "hard"...

As I said, I'm not sure about "vor" in the original. Could also mean "I was struck by..."



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 days5 hrs (2007-06-10 20:58:55 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Lightning struck in front of me/my face/my eyes...

Captures the severeness imho.
Something went wrong...
Close search
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search