an etwas gelegen sein

Englisch translation: to be opposed to

Glossareintrag (aus Frage unten abgeleitet)

Deutsch Begriff oder Satz:	an etwas nicht gelegen sein
Englisch Übersetzung:	to be opposed to
Eingetragen von:	LP Schumacher

05:24 Feb 7, 2008

Übersetzungen Deutsch > Englisch [PRO]
Art/Literary - Idiome/Maximen/Sprichwörter

Deutsch Begriff oder Satz: an etwas gelegen sein

The phrase is: Den Briten war an einer weiteren Ausdehnung der burischen Macht ohnehin nicht gelegen

and it's part of the larger paragraph:

Als in den Jahren nach 1860 das Reich der Basuto am Rand des Untergangs stand, bat Moshoeshoe I. die englische Kolonialmacht um Schutz. Den Briten war an einer weiteren Ausdehnung der burischen Macht ohnehin nicht gelegen und sie erklärten das Reich Moshoeshoes I. 1868 zum Protektorat Basutoland.

I'm just a little bit unsure how to translate this phrase. I know "liegen an" means "due to/caused by"...but the dative use of Den Briten at the start is confusing me a bit. Does it mean the British had never been fussy on the Boer power spreading? I'd be very grateful if someone could just put me on the right track.

Many thanks in advance!

Emily Plank KudoZ-Aktivität Fragen: 105 (none open) (3 closed without grading) Antworten: 2 Australien
Local time: 11:36

were opposed to

Erklärung:
My first instinct was actually to go with Edith's definition (which I do still agree with).

However, considering Andries' description of the context, I would suggest using the verb "to be opposed to" -- which is a bit more "active" in the political context, as described in the text.

The British were opposed to the further expansion of...

Ausgewählte Antwort von:

LP Schumacher
Deutschland
Local time: 05:36

Grading comment

Thanks for this. Yes, in this case I think "opposed to" fitted slightly better than "not interested in", but everyone's answers helped me understand the gist, so thanks to all!
4 KudoZ-Punkte wurden für diese Antwort vergeben

Zusammenfassung aller eingereichten Antworten

3 +13

they were not interested in

Edith Kelly

4 +1

were opposed to

LP Schumacher

to be dissatisfied, annoyed with

Andries Conradie

that did not matter to them, that was not important for them

babli

Diskussionseinträge: 1

Antworten

4 Min. Antwortsicherheit:

Zustimmung (Netto): +13

liegen an (this context) they were not interested in

Erklärung:
the dative is fine here ... The British were not interested in a ... It did not suit the British ...

this is the meaning, maybe someone can come up with a snappier wording

Edith Kelly
Schweiz
Local time: 05:36
Muttersprache: Deutsch, Englisch
PRO-Punkte in Kategorie: 39

2 Stunden Antwortsicherheit:

liegen an (this context) to be dissatisfied, annoyed with

Erklärung:
I know the historical context a little bit! To say that the British had no interest is quite an understatement, because they were chasing the Boers, who had left the Cape Colony, and annexed every territory they claimed as theirs, i.e. the Free State, Transvaal, Natal. So, in this context the Basuto king played his last card: he didn't want to lose his independence to either the Boers or the British, but found him in a desperate situation and knowing that the British were doing everything in their power to annex Boer territory he decided to become a Proctetorate BECAUSE THE BRITISH MADE UP THEIR MIND TO PREVEND BOER INDEPENDENCE

Andries Conradie
Local time: 05:36
Muttersprache: Englisch

3 Stunden Antwortsicherheit:

Zustimmung (Netto): +1

liegen an (this context)

were opposed to

LP Schumacher
Deutschland
Local time: 05:36
Muttersprache: Englisch
PRO-Punkte in Kategorie: 4

Grading comment

Thanks for this. Yes, in this case I think "opposed to" fitted slightly better than "not interested in", but everyone's answers helped me understand the gist, so thanks to all!

4 Stunden Antwortsicherheit:

liegen an (this context) that did not matter to them, that was not important for them

Erklärung:

es liegt mir viel daran. an etw. liegen - to be down to something

Quelle: http://www.riverso.net

babli
Local time: 09:06
Muttersprache:

Hindi

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Englisch translation: to be opposed to

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