Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term or phrase:
klaren Wein einschenken
English translation:
with talk as plain as his wine was true
German term
United Kingdom
For the Love of Language
Native in: English
Works in: German to English, French to English
klaren Wein einschenken
Is there any way of keeping the wine-related idiom or would it be better to go for something like "he served up the plain truth"?
"Ein weiterer Kafka betrieb in Prag eine Weingroßhandlung: Heinrich Kafka, ein Bruder des angesehenen Angelus. Schon an der Ladenfront in der Fischmarktgasse Nr. 24 **schenkte er den Kunden klaren Wein ein**: "Kavka rád prodáva ale na dluh nic nedáva" (Kavka verkauft gern, aber auf Pump
gibt er nichts)."
| 3 +6 | with talk as unadulterated as the wine he sold |
Helen Shiner
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| 4 | to tell somebody the truth or to come clean with sb. |
Ellen Kraus
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| 4 | (to tell someone) the unvarnished truth |
John Fenz
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Jun 12, 2009 14:04: Helen Shiner Created KOG entry
Non-PRO (1): Sabine Akabayov, PhD
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Proposed translations
United Kingdom
Arts/Academic translator - Art historian
Native in: English
Works in: German to English, French to English
with talk as unadulterated as the wine he sold
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Note added at 38 mins (2009-06-08 20:52:45 GMT)
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or 'his manner of speech as unadulterated as the wine he sold'
'his manner of speech as plain as his wine was good/unadulterated/etc.'
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Note added at 39 mins (2009-06-08 20:53:51 GMT)
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'his manner of speech as plain as his wine was true/pure'
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Note added at 3 days17 hrs (2009-06-12 14:06:32 GMT) Post-grading
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Thanks for the points, Rachel - I've put one suggestion in the glossary - perhaps you might like to put your final version in there, too?
| agree |
Ingeborg Gowans (X)
: I was thinking along the same lines,; was puzzled by the German term: Klarer" Wein; Ionly know this expression as "reinen Wein einschanken, which would be closer to your suggestion: unadulterated wine (nothing added to it)
5 mins
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Thanks, Ingeborg
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| agree |
Kim Metzger
: Like it, but isn't this something written on a sign?/Oh, right.
6 mins
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Thanks, Kim - I think the slogan on the sign is what follows.
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| agree |
Ellen Kraus
: excellent ! of stunning inventiveness.
10 mins
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Thanks, Ellen!
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| agree |
Barbara Wiebking
52 mins
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Thanks, kriddl
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| neutral |
John Fenz
: An elegant solution, but I just don't think "klaren Wein einschenken" is so opaque an idiom as to require special translation. :-(....See references from Duden
2 hrs
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But the asker wanted to retain the allusion to wine, hence my suggestion. Yours does not offer that, however literal it is.
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| neutral |
Erich Friese
: ...awe come one...! All it means is to...'come clean', 'level with someone', basically: to tell the truth....nothing more nothing less....
6 hrs
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I am responding to our Asker's request, nothing more. Thanks, Erich, for your contribution, but please read the Asker's question especially where she asks for a wine-related solution. Otherwise, I understand the phrase perfectly well, thanks.
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| agree |
franglish
: I like 'his speech was as plain as his wine was true'
10 hrs
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Thanks, franglish
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| agree |
conny
12 hrs
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Thanks, conny
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Austria
more than thirty years of experience
Native in: German 
Works in: Greek to German, English to German, Greek to English, and 5 more.
to tell somebody the truth or to come clean with sb.
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Note added at 11 Min. (2009-06-08 20:26:19 GMT)
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in the first alternative you may add the adjective PLAIN , i.e. the plain truth
| I know it's a well known idiom, I wanted to see if anyone can come up with a way of working in the wine reference! |
| neutral |
Kim Metzger
: You don't seem to have read the question well. The asker's preliminary solution is "he served up the plain truth." She wants to know if there's a way to keep the wine-related idiom.
14 mins
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(to tell someone) the unvarnished truth
I don't think you need to include "plain" in order to get across the meaning of the German idiom, but including it wouldn't hurt.
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Note added at 2 hrs (2009-06-08 22:55:10 GMT)
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References to German dictionaries:
Duden - Deutsches Universal Woerterbuch:
*jmdm. reinen/**klaren** W. einschenken (jmdm. die volle Wahrheit sagen, auch wenn sie unangenehm ist);
Duden - das grosse Woerterbuch der deutschen Sprache:
*jmdm. reinen/**klaren** W. einschenken (jmdm. die volle Wahrheit sagen, auch wenn sie unangenehm ist):
"Ich habe Aimée eines Abends reinen W. eingeschenkt (Perrin, Frauen 289);
"Sind Sie schon so gefürchtet, dass Ihre nächsten Berater und Mitarbeiter Ihnen nicht mehr **klaren** W. einzuschenken wagen? (Benrath, Konstanze 108)
unvarnished - free from any effort to soften to disguise; "the plain and unvarnished truth";
Discussion