Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term or phrase:
Arme-Sünder-Briefe
English translation:
repentant-sinner letters
Added to glossary by
Kevin Pfeiffer (X)
Aug 3, 2004 15:02
19 yrs ago
1 viewer *
German term
Arme-Sünder-Briefe
German to English
Other
Other
Idioms
[Auch wenn ich es tun soll,] "...mag ich doch keine Arme-Sünder-Briefe schreiben, zur Entschuldigung!"
Do we have an English expression for this? In this case it concerns someone who is apologizing in a letter for not having gone too long without writing.
Do we have an English expression for this? In this case it concerns someone who is apologizing in a letter for not having gone too long without writing.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +2 | repentent sinner |
Dr. Fred Thomson
|
| 4 +3 | grovelling letters of apology |
IanW (X)
|
| 1 | I'm not going to plead for clemency |
Jonathan MacKerron
|
Proposed translations
+2
14 mins
Dr. Fred Thomson
United States
United States
Native in English
United States
A lawyer, technician, nuclear power optr
Native in: English
Works in: German to English
Related KudoZ points
:
67
German term (edited):
Arme-S�nder-Briefe
Selected
repentent sinner
repentent sinner letter
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 17 mins (2004-08-03 15:20:09 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
armer Suender usually means \"poor devil or wretch,\" but I don\'t believe this translation works here.
What the guy is saying is that he hates the idea of apologizing, but he knows that he must at least mention that he has been remiss.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 17 mins (2004-08-03 15:20:09 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
armer Suender usually means \"poor devil or wretch,\" but I don\'t believe this translation works here.
What the guy is saying is that he hates the idea of apologizing, but he knows that he must at least mention that he has been remiss.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Susan Keller
: Yes, I personally prefer repentent to grovelling
1 hr
|
|
Thanks, Susan
|
|
| agree |
babbelbekkie
: Yes, especially as this guy is definitively not repentent
4 hrs
|
|
Thank you, Annelie
|
|
| neutral |
Marcus Malabad
: Fred and everybody, it's repent*a*nt
16 hrs
|
|
Thanks, Marcus.
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks, Doc! Ian's answer was quite good, but yours had a certain lightheartedness that works well in this case. Thanks also to Marcus for keeping us on our toes."
+3
3 mins
German term (edited):
Arme-S�nder-Briefe
grovelling letters of apology
Or "letters grovelling for forgiveness", something along those lines ...
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Trudy Peters
24 mins
|
| agree |
Annika Neudecker
: Nice :-)
1 hr
|
| agree |
Renate FitzRoy
1 hr
|
3 hrs
Jonathan MacKerron
Native in English
Retired as of Jan 2019!
Native in: English
Works in: German to English, French to English
Related KudoZ points
:
45
German term (edited):
Arme-S�nder-Briefe
I'm not going to plead for clemency
another approach
Discussion