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on a hiding to nothing

Persian (Farsi) translation: دو سر باخت

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:on a hiding to nothing
Persian (Farsi) translation:دو سر باخت
Entered by: SeiTT

09:20 Sep 26, 2012
English to Persian (Farsi) translations [PRO]
Social Sciences - Philosophy / Christian Living
English term or phrase: on a hiding to nothing
Greetings,

Frequently in this world people fall into temptation, sometimes very seriously so. One temptation that can have particularly nasty consequences is for someone to fall in love with another man’s wife.

As Christians, we believe very strongly that it is not a sin to be tempted but only to act on that temptation. However, when people are in the grips of such temptations it can be extremely difficult for them, and in Christian counselling it is important to be able to encourage them so that they resist the temptation and do not act on it.

Of course, you must actively fight the temptation in your spirit too.

One of the ideas I've had is to make the following point: many people in the grip of temptation feel that they're on a hiding to nothing, i.e. if they act on the temptation they stand to lose an awful lot but if they don't act on it they don't gain anything (except a lousy feeling). However, this is totally wrong: so long as we resist these evil temptations, God uses them to build character in us, to make us stronger and more mature in our Christian life (Romans 5: 1-5, James 4:7).

So I want to tell them that they are most certainly not on a hiding to nothing! It's not just a question of not doing something you're not supposed to but rather of positively obeying God and enjoying the rich rewards of doing so.

Please see:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/on-a-hiding-to-nothing.ht...

Best wishes, and many thanks,

Simon
SeiTT
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:05
دو سر باخت
Explanation:
دو سر باخت is also common; when both winning or losing are considered as a defeat...

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Note added at 2 hrs (2012-09-26 11:59:33 GMT)
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/do sar baaxt/ as opposite to دو سر بُرد /do sar bord/

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Note added at 2 days5 hrs (2012-09-28 14:24:59 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

No! It's more like "two ends of a line or route ...two poles of a string... two extremes ... "
Even سر can be regarded as سرانجام :(end/ultimate result)
Selected response from:

Zeynab Tajik
Spain
Local time: 17:05
Grading comment
Many thanks, most elegant.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +2محکوم به شکست
Ehsan Alipour
5آب در هاون کوبیدن
Rez1 Dpr
5(محاوره) هیچ شانسی برای موفقیت نداشتن
skn.nosrati
5دو سر باخت
Zeynab Tajik


  

Answers


40 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +2
محکوم به شکست


Explanation:
.

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Note added at 41 mins (2012-09-26 10:01:43 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

'feel that they're on a hiding to nothing' translates as
حس میکنند که محکوم به شکستند.

Ehsan Alipour
Local time: 17:05
Native speaker of: Native in Persian (Farsi)Persian (Farsi)
PRO pts in category: 12

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Mahmood Haerian-Ardakani
1 hr
  -> Thanks!
agree  Zeynab Tajik
1 hr
  -> Thanks!
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
آب در هاون کوبیدن


Explanation:
To translate it idiomatically we can also use:
آب در هاون کوبیدن

Rez1 Dpr
Native speaker of: Native in Persian (Farsi)Persian (Farsi)
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

1 day 1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
(محاوره) هیچ شانسی برای موفقیت نداشتن


Explanation:
To be completely wasting your time trying to do something.(Longman dictionary)

skn.nosrati
Native speaker of: Native in Persian (Farsi)Persian (Farsi)
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
دو سر باخت


Explanation:
دو سر باخت is also common; when both winning or losing are considered as a defeat...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2012-09-26 11:59:33 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

/do sar baaxt/ as opposite to دو سر بُرد /do sar bord/

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 days5 hrs (2012-09-28 14:24:59 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

No! It's more like "two ends of a line or route ...two poles of a string... two extremes ... "
Even سر can be regarded as سرانجام :(end/ultimate result)

Zeynab Tajik
Spain
Local time: 17:05
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in Persian (Farsi)Persian (Farsi)
PRO pts in category: 44
Grading comment
Many thanks, most elegant.
Notes to answerer
Asker: Many thanks, Zeynab - does سر here refer to a side of a coin?

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