Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Dutch term or phrase:
een luis in de pels
English translation:
a thorn in one\'s side
Added to glossary by
Jacqueline Sieben
May 29, 2010 18:03
13 yrs ago
4 viewers *
Dutch term
een luis in de pels
Dutch to English
Other
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
wetenschappelijk artikel
Hij is een luis in de pels en iemand met aanzien en daarom ook een voorbeeld.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 3 +1 | a thorn in one's side |
Verginia Ophof
|
| 3 | a burr under the saddle |
Hermeneutica
|
References
| just A FEW examples |
Barend van Zadelhoff
|
Proposed translations
+1
14 mins
Verginia Ophof
Belize
Belize
Native in English
Specializes in field
Belize
Near Native Proficiency in Source langua
Native in: English
Works in: Portuguese to English, Dutch to English, French to English
Related KudoZ points
:
16
Selected
a thorn in one's side
........
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 16 mins (2010-05-29 18:19:54 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
a gadfly - "Gadfly" is a term for people who upset the status quo by posing upsetting or novel questions, or just being an irritant.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 16 mins (2010-05-29 18:19:54 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
a gadfly - "Gadfly" is a term for people who upset the status quo by posing upsetting or novel questions, or just being an irritant.
Note from asker:
| Thanks for the gadfly! |
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
writeaway
: as always there is 0000 context (highly secret translation apparently) but how does your suggestion tie in with the rest: en iemand met aanzien en daarom ook een voorbeeld.
9 mins
|
|
He is a gadfly and a prominent person (Highly respected) and therefore an example. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_is_Socrates_referred_to_as_a_g...
|
|
| agree |
Barend van Zadelhoff
: also thorn in the flesh / the source seems to be 2 Cor 12: 7 - 10 / the figurative thorn in his flesh made Paul more perfect / to be a "luis in de pels" generally has a positive meaning
35 mins
|
|
Thank you Barend van Zadelhoff !
|
|
| neutral |
Carolyn Gille
: JA!! You're right! Sorry (past my bed time!) I think 'gadfly sums up the the idiom very well.
3 hrs
|
|
Carolyn, I believe you are refering to my response to Writeaway ?
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
16 mins
Hermeneutica
Switzerland
Switzerland
Native in English
Works in field
Switzerland
Accurate, idiomatic value and service
Native in: Spanish 
, English
Works in: Dutch to English, German to English, French to English, and 16 more.
a burr under the saddle
I am assuming that this is the same as "Laus im Pelz" in German, then
dict.cc | burr | Wörterbuch Englisch-Deutsch - [ Traduire cette page ]idiom to have a burr under one's saddle · eine Laus im Pelz haben [fig.] » Weitere 1 Übersetzungen für burr innerhalb von Kommentaren ...
www.dict.cc/?s=burr - En cache
Something a bit like a thorn in the side of ... [context]?
English definition:
Urban Dictionary: burr under the saddle - [ Traduire cette page ]burr under the saddle - 1 definition - an annoyance or irritation.
www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term... - En cache
dict.cc | burr | Wörterbuch Englisch-Deutsch - [ Traduire cette page ]idiom to have a burr under one's saddle · eine Laus im Pelz haben [fig.] » Weitere 1 Übersetzungen für burr innerhalb von Kommentaren ...
www.dict.cc/?s=burr - En cache
Something a bit like a thorn in the side of ... [context]?
English definition:
Urban Dictionary: burr under the saddle - [ Traduire cette page ]burr under the saddle - 1 definition - an annoyance or irritation.
www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term... - En cache
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
writeaway
: assuming that Dutch and German mean the same thing can lead to probs. this too is negative-how does it tie in with the rest of mysterious sentence?
7 mins
|
|
It can, but it needn't; and it would mean that the person is, as Verginia says, a gadfly; and that being somebody with some prestige or standing, then they could also be an example, a role model, and all the more pesky if such influence is not desired.
|
|
| neutral |
Carolyn Gille
: I agree that this might be too negative.
3 hrs
|
|
What is it that might be too negative?? I mean, did you read what I wrote in response to writeaway?
|
Reference comments
5 hrs
Barend van Zadelhoff
Netherlands
Netherlands
Native in Dutch
Netherlands
TR is the most intimate act of reading.
Native in: Dutch 
Works in: English to Dutch, Dutch to English, Dutch
Related KudoZ points
:
12
Reference:
just A FEW examples
role of the press:
While the scrutiny of the press was not always welcome, it is a fundamental and necessary part of any society whose government and institutions purport to be accountable. Is it not the press’s role to be a THORN IN THE SIDE of the authorities, at every level of society? UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova asked.
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=10394
rol van de pers
Eén van mijn persoonlijke boegbeelden van de vorige eeuw, Walter Cronkite (92), is onlangs in New York overleden. Zijn naam staat gelijk aan integriteit, betrouwbaarheid en een vermogen tot kritische (zelf)reflectie. Hij werd niet altijd gewaardeerd door beleidsmakers en bestuurders en werd soms zelfs openbaar tegengewerkt. Maar, zoals het een goede LUIS IN DE PELS betaamd, stond hij altijd met de juiste vragen klaar om de antwoorden te verkrijgen.
kritisch ondervragen
‘Wij hebben geen last van de ambtenaren, zij hebben juist te weinig last van wetenschappers. Wat ontbreekt is de LUIS IN DE PELS. Wetenschappers moeten hun stem verheffen. Zoals de Landelijke Studentenvakbond de LUIS IN DE PELS is bij de politiek en onderwijsinstellingen, zo zouden wetenschappers ook een bond voor hun belangen moeten vormen.’
http://www.folia.nl/nieuws/wetenschap-ontbeert-luis-in-de-pe...
If a single person deserves the title of serial THORN IN THE SIDE of the Israeli state, Uri Davis, a professor of critical Israel studies at al-Quds University on the outskirts of East Jerusalem, might be the one to claim it.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10727.shtml
Still, she always took great pride in her role as a THORN IN THE SIDE of an unjust system. I interviewed her extensively for my book “Rivonia’s Children,” about the rise of the apartheid police state, and on that last visit she introduced me at a book talk in Johannesburg. She beamed as I read a passage about her lonely stand against the other lawmakers in Parliament. “They never knew what hit them,” she told the audience.
http://glennfrankel.com/blog/2009/01/02/a-thorn-in-the-side-...
ETC.
While the scrutiny of the press was not always welcome, it is a fundamental and necessary part of any society whose government and institutions purport to be accountable. Is it not the press’s role to be a THORN IN THE SIDE of the authorities, at every level of society? UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova asked.
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=10394
rol van de pers
Eén van mijn persoonlijke boegbeelden van de vorige eeuw, Walter Cronkite (92), is onlangs in New York overleden. Zijn naam staat gelijk aan integriteit, betrouwbaarheid en een vermogen tot kritische (zelf)reflectie. Hij werd niet altijd gewaardeerd door beleidsmakers en bestuurders en werd soms zelfs openbaar tegengewerkt. Maar, zoals het een goede LUIS IN DE PELS betaamd, stond hij altijd met de juiste vragen klaar om de antwoorden te verkrijgen.
kritisch ondervragen
‘Wij hebben geen last van de ambtenaren, zij hebben juist te weinig last van wetenschappers. Wat ontbreekt is de LUIS IN DE PELS. Wetenschappers moeten hun stem verheffen. Zoals de Landelijke Studentenvakbond de LUIS IN DE PELS is bij de politiek en onderwijsinstellingen, zo zouden wetenschappers ook een bond voor hun belangen moeten vormen.’
http://www.folia.nl/nieuws/wetenschap-ontbeert-luis-in-de-pe...
If a single person deserves the title of serial THORN IN THE SIDE of the Israeli state, Uri Davis, a professor of critical Israel studies at al-Quds University on the outskirts of East Jerusalem, might be the one to claim it.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10727.shtml
Still, she always took great pride in her role as a THORN IN THE SIDE of an unjust system. I interviewed her extensively for my book “Rivonia’s Children,” about the rise of the apartheid police state, and on that last visit she introduced me at a book talk in Johannesburg. She beamed as I read a passage about her lonely stand against the other lawmakers in Parliament. “They never knew what hit them,” she told the audience.
http://glennfrankel.com/blog/2009/01/02/a-thorn-in-the-side-...
ETC.
Discussion