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  3. Business/Commerce (general)

but close enough for government work.

21:11 Dec 1, 2013
English to Portuguese translations [PRO]
Business/Commerce (general)
English term or phrase: but close enough for government work.
As Mark Twain observed, everybody talks about the Dow Theory, but nobody does anything about it. Perhaps that is not precisely what Twain said, but close enough for government work. As further inquiry into the inner workings of the Theory I have initiated a series of studies of the record with Brian Brooker, MS Finance, Golden Gate University. Following are some of the results of our study, from the monograph, Dissecting Dow Theory.
Annay Borges (X)


Summary of answers provided
4 +1perto o suficiente / o bastante
Tim Friese
5suficiente para quebrar o galho.. mas dá pra quebrar o galho
airmailrpl
4mas suficiente para o trabalho governamental
Mariana Moreira


  

Answers


11 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
mas suficiente para o trabalho governamental


Explanation:
penso que o sentido seja este

Mariana Moreira
Portugal
Local time: 09:04
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 395

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Marlene Curtis
4 hrs
  -> Marlene, obrigada
disagree  Tim Friese: no, this is an idiom and it is not appropriate to translate it literally
4 hrs
  -> concordo em discordar
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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
perto o suficiente / o bastante


Explanation:
This is an idiom and means "not that good / not that close". It has a variant "good enough for government work". As an idiom, it shouldn't be translated literally.

Only use my suggestion if you think the sarcasm and conversational tone comes through in the Portuguese. If not, insert your own favorite expression to mean "close enough".

See here among many other places:

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Good Enough for Governme...

Tim Friese
United States
Local time: 03:04
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Paulinho Fonseca
7 hrs
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13 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
suficiente para quebrar o galho.. mas dá pra quebrar o galho


Explanation:
but close enough for government work => suficiente para quebrar o galho.. mas dá pra quebrar o galho

orkut - O Kit é suficiente para quebrar um galho?
www.orkut.com › ... › Forum‎Translate this page
Nao amigo , mas as empresas , sempre fazem um Kit , com uma coisa mais simples , q as vzs nao é util pra vc ,justamente pra vc comprar cada vez mais lentes !

airmailrpl
Brazil
Local time: 05:04
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 204
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