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a great sort of rush

English translation: a terrific spurt of activity

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:a great sort of rush
Selected answer:a terrific spurt of activity
Entered by: Tony M

11:44 Apr 19, 2011
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature / Dogs
English term or phrase: a great sort of rush
Throughout his career, Graham was very particular about his work routine. He would work in the mornings and evenings purely, and never in the afternoons, which he dedicated to golf. In the evenings, after 5.30pm, he would invent and in the mornings he would draw. Sometimes, he’d have an “off-day”, and other days he’d have “a
great sort of rush,” he told Cartoonist Profiles.

'He'd have a great sort of rush' - does this mean 'worked in a hurry' or something like 'worked like a beaver'?
Or, may be, there is another meaning of this?
Natalia Zakharova
Ukraine
Local time: 13:38
a terrific spurt of activity
Explanation:
No, it's nothing to do with being in a rush or a hurry.

This is like an 'adrenalin rush', for example — it might be a sudden surge of inspiration, or energy, etc.

Hence why it is being contrasted with "off-day" — this would be very much an "on-day"!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 21 minutes (2011-04-19 12:06:03 GMT)
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'like crazy', but 'like a wind-up toy' isn't very idiomatic in EN, IMHO.

The key point, though, is that this is a positive thing: he suddenly found he had a load of energy, was working feverishly to get his ideas down on paper, etc. — the trouble with some of the synonyms is that they suggest someone was obliged to work hard / fast (for example: to meet a deadline), but I don't think that idea is intended here.

We also say in English "on a bit of a roll", if you know that expression, which I feel would have a similar connotation here.
Selected response from:

Tony M
France
Local time: 12:38
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +9a terrific spurt of activity
Tony M
4 +2many ideas would suddenly occur to him that he had to get down on paper
Jenni Lukac (X)
5a burst of inspiration
Glenda Janssen
3worked like a beaver, in a great hurry
Jack Doughty
3worked his head off/his heart out/worked like mad
Thayenga


  

Answers


5 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
worked like a beaver, in a great hurry


Explanation:
I think both your ideas are along the right lines and I would try to incorporate both of them.

Jack Doughty
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:38
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 518

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Tony M: Although I think on these days he might have been working rapidly, beavering away, I think it doesn't mean he was in a rush in the sense of needing to complete something quickly, as I suspect Asker was thinking.
1 min
disagree  Glenda Janssen: He is not working in a rush but experiencing a great rush. A rush in this context has a different meaning, comparable to "a rush of adrenaline"
1 day 5 hrs
agree  Thuy-PTT (X)
1 day 14 hrs
  -> Thank you.
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14 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
worked his head off/his heart out/worked like mad


Explanation:
Also: worked like a mad man

Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 12:38
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in category: 12
1 corroborated select project
in this pair and field What is ProZ.com Project History(SM)?
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4 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +9
a terrific spurt of activity


Explanation:
No, it's nothing to do with being in a rush or a hurry.

This is like an 'adrenalin rush', for example — it might be a sudden surge of inspiration, or energy, etc.

Hence why it is being contrasted with "off-day" — this would be very much an "on-day"!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 21 minutes (2011-04-19 12:06:03 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

'like crazy', but 'like a wind-up toy' isn't very idiomatic in EN, IMHO.

The key point, though, is that this is a positive thing: he suddenly found he had a load of energy, was working feverishly to get his ideas down on paper, etc. — the trouble with some of the synonyms is that they suggest someone was obliged to work hard / fast (for example: to meet a deadline), but I don't think that idea is intended here.

We also say in English "on a bit of a roll", if you know that expression, which I feel would have a similar connotation here.

Tony M
France
Local time: 12:38
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 260
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
Notes to answerer
Asker: 'Worked like crazy, worked like a wind-up toy'?

Asker: 'like crazy', but 'like a wind-up toy' isn't very idiomatic in EN, IMHO. Sure, I know. Thank you! :) Actually, I am translating this from English into Russian, just need to know if I am on the right track. ;)


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  MedTrans&More
7 mins
  -> Thanks, MTM!
agree  David Hollywood: in the sense of adrenaline rush ...he had an inspirational burst of activity
30 mins
  -> Thanks, David! Exactly!
agree  Arabic & More: Agree with adrenaline rush and inspirational burst of activity...in short, a highly productive day
44 mins
  -> Thanks, Amel! Absolutely! (I could do with one of those right now!)
agree  Lara Barnett: I prefer "on a (bit of a ) roll".
53 mins
  -> Thanks, Lara! Yes, I think that's more current, though I fear it might be equally incomprehensible to Natalia!
agree  Tania McConaghy
1 hr
  -> Thanks, Tania!
agree  eski: Stupendous, Tony! Saludos, eski :))
3 hrs
  -> íGracias, Eski!
agree  Cilian O'Tuama: a particularly productive day
9 hrs
  -> Thanks, Cilian!
agree  Phong Le
17 hrs
  -> Thanks, Phong Le!
agree  Glenda Janssen: Oh, duh, I now see that your explanation carried the thrust of what I offered as an answer below. The reason why I posted my own, initally, was because from the simple definition it seemed your interpretation focus more on productivity.
1 day 5 hrs
  -> Thanks, Glenda!
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35 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
many ideas would suddenly occur to him that he had to get down on paper


Explanation:
This is really along the lines of what Tony was saying. I remember the painter Audrey Flack once saying that if an artist didn't have ideas or couldn't manage to express him or herself well on a given day, it was better not to force it. She said it was better to go dancing. Obviously for Graham it was better to play golf or do something else that wasn't connected with writing. After "ruminating" (yes, like a cow), suddenly all the ideas become clear in a writer's head and it is important to write them down quickly before they evaporate into thin air. In the same way, painters go weeks without painting and then suddenly paint day and night because an inspiration has hit them. Tony's "wind-up toy" is a metaphor for all the ideas that have built up and need to be released on paper. The "rush" is like the rush of a stream after a good rain.

Jenni Lukac (X)
Local time: 12:38
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 167

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  eski: Claro que también vale! Saludos: As long as it's not "Dead & buried" : No fear!: besos, :)) eski
2 hrs
  -> OK. Buried with work on this end!
agree  Tina Vonhof (X): There is an element of creativity in it, not just hard work.
3 hrs
  -> Cheers and thanks, Tina.
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1 day 5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
a burst of inspiration


Explanation:
Not that the other interpretations are wrong, but I believe this is the most accurate interpretation of this phrase in this context, since it is mentioned in opposition to creatively "off-days"



Glenda Janssen
Local time: 05:38
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in ItalianItalian, Native in DutchDutch
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