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Liten tuva stjälper stora lass

English translation: A small stone in the way overturns a great wain

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Swedish term or phrase:Liten tuva stjälper stora lass
English translation:A small stone in the way overturns a great wain
Entered by: Jan Schauseil

06:28 Oct 1, 2008
Swedish to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature
Swedish term or phrase: Liten tuva stjälper stora lass
Swedish proverb
Jan Schauseil
Local time: 02:41
A small stone in the way overturns a great wain
Explanation:
according to Norstedts Ordspråksordbok (SV/EN/DE/ES/FR).
Selected response from:

Erik Hansson
Germany
Grading comment
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +2A small stone in the way overturns a great wain
Erik Hansson
4 +2A small leak will sink a great ship
asptech
5Small tuft topples big load
George Hopkins
4little strokes fell great oaks
arvendal
3 -2the straw that broke the camel's back
Larry Abramson


  

Answers


16 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
A small stone in the way overturns a great wain


Explanation:
according to Norstedts Ordspråksordbok (SV/EN/DE/ES/FR).

Erik Hansson
Germany
Native speaker of: Native in SwedishSwedish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Anders Dalström: didn't know what 'wain' meant, but having looked it up this is a very good translation and it also carries the somewhat archaic tone of the Swedish phrase.
1 day 3 hrs
  -> Tack, Anders!
agree  orhon int: I also like this better than the small leak. A leak is an inherant flaw in the ship. The stone is an external factor causing devastation.
2 days 1 hr
  -> Tack!
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35 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
A small leak will sink a great ship


Explanation:
Different metaphor, same meaning.

asptech
Local time: 21:41
Native speaker of: Native in SwedishSwedish
PRO pts in category: 26

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  arvendal
4 hrs
agree  Eva-Marie Adams
5 hrs
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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
little strokes fell great oaks


Explanation:
Enligt Norstedts Stora

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 hrs (2008-10-01 11:51:48 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

According to Norstedts Stora. Although I think it's a slight shift in meaning towards "constant dripping wears away a stone" rather than the meaning of "liten tuva..." = small thing causes mayhems...

In the pale cast of thought I suppose I would bet my money on "A small leak will sink a great ship" instead.

arvendal
Sweden
Local time: 21:41
Native speaker of: Native in SwedishSwedish
PRO pts in category: 4
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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): -2
the straw that broke the camel's back


Explanation:
Pretty close...straw and tuva.....and same meaning

Larry Abramson
United States
Local time: 15:41
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Eva-Marie Adams: I don't think it means the same thing-- This would be like saying "droppen som fick bägaren att rinna över" which doesn't say the same thing.
48 mins
disagree  hravdal: The meaning is not the same. I agree with the comment above. And a straw is one piece of grass, while a "tuva" is a tussock, a hillock... essentially a bump in the road.
6 hrs
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7 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
Small tuft topples big load


Explanation:
Or: Little sod topples big load. Which can be interpreted in two ways.

George Hopkins
Local time: 21:41
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 12
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