Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term or phrase:
an der falschen Stelle sparen
English translation:
trying to save money in the wrong places
Added to glossary by
Eszter Bokor
Aug 1, 2007 17:17
16 yrs ago
1 viewer *
German term
Austria
EU, politics, EWCs
Native in: German (Variant: Austrian) 
, Hungarian (Variant: Hungary) 
Works in: English to German, Hungarian to German, German to English, and 3 more.
an der falschen Stelle sparen
German to English
Art/Literary
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Lehrer müssen bestimmte Unterrichtsmaterialien selbst bezahlen. Aufruf des Direktors: "Ich bitte jedoch nicht an der falschen Stelle zu sparen, da alle Muster
auch bei späteren Schulungen bzw. Präsentationen eingesetzt werden können."
auch bei späteren Schulungen bzw. Präsentationen eingesetzt werden können."
Proposed translations
(English)
Change log
Aug 1, 2007 17:22: writeaway changed "Level" from "PRO" to "Non-PRO"
Aug 1, 2007 20:37: Marcus Malabad changed "Term asked" from "\"an der falschen Stelle sparen\"" to "an der falschen Stelle sparen" , "Level" from "Non-PRO" to "PRO" , "Field" from "Other" to "Art/Literary" , "Field (specific)" from "General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters" to "Idioms / Maxims / Sayings"
Proposed translations
+1
17 hrs
Selected
trying to save money in the wrong places
I'm not keen on 'make false economies' as an imperative and the others sound a bit too whimsical. Why not a fairly direct translation?
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Francis Lee (X)
6 hrs
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you!"
+2
18 mins
Maureen Millington-Brodie
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
Works in field
United Kingdom
33 years of experience
Native in: English
Works in: Arabic to English, German to English
Related KudoZ points
:
36
German term (edited):
"an der falschen Stelle sparen"
do not make any false economies
this is how I would say it
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Armorel Young
: yes, maybe "this is not a time for making false economies"
19 mins
|
| agree |
Alf Hall
2 hrs
|
| neutral |
Francis Lee (X)
: I've never heard of this phrase - is it really that common? ;-)
23 hrs
|
| neutral |
Cilian O'Tuama
: "false economies" ist ein Begriff, klar, but I must admit I haven't heard this phrase before either
2 days 7 hrs
|
48 mins
German term (edited):
"an der falschen Stelle sparen"
don't go cutting the wrong corners
idiomatic
11 mins
German term (edited):
"an der falschen Stelle sparen"
penny wise, pound foolish /
The director is saying not to save money on the wrong place, i.e. buy the cheapest material that will also have a short "life" - since the material can be used later, and therefore should be durable.
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Note added at 2 hrs (2007-08-01 19:18:48 GMT)
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Yes, you're right - save money in the wrong place, but save money on cheap products.
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Note added at 2 hrs (2007-08-01 19:18:48 GMT)
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Yes, you're right - save money in the wrong place, but save money on cheap products.
Note from asker:
| Would you actually say "save money ON the wrong place"? I assumed it's "IN the wrong place". |
+1
2 hrs
German term (edited):
"an der falschen Stelle sparen"
spend less now, pay more later
I would turn this around, along the lines of 'Please bear in mind that... can be also be used again for..., so if you spend less now, you may end up paying more later'.
Some of the other suggestions, such as 'don't make any false economies' or 'don't go cutting the wrong corners', could be used equally well in this construction.
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Note added at 2 hrs (2007-08-01 20:12:25 GMT)
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or 'don't save money in the wrong places'
Some of the other suggestions, such as 'don't make any false economies' or 'don't go cutting the wrong corners', could be used equally well in this construction.
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Note added at 2 hrs (2007-08-01 20:12:25 GMT)
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or 'don't save money in the wrong places'
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Francis Lee (X)
: don't save money in the wrong places
20 hrs
|
|
I stole this from a sales pitch often used to try to pursuade customers to buy top-end products.
|
23 hrs
Cilian O'Tuama
Germany
Germany
Native in English
Germany
Quality Translations since 1986
Native in: English
Works in: German to English, English, German, and 6 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
109
Do not spoil the ship for a ha'porth of tar
an old-fashioned equivalent to am falschen Ende sparen
Discussion