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  3. Poetry & Literature

sem tréguas

English translation: relentlessly

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Portuguese term or phrase:sem tréguas
English translation:relentlessly
Entered by: Oliver Simões

10:56 Aug 11, 2017
Portuguese to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature / Short Story
Portuguese term or phrase: sem tréguas
"A chuva caía sem tréguas e as calçadas brilhavam úmidas à luz das lâmpadas."

The sentence is from a story story by Clarice Lispector. I thought of copiously, unrelentlessly, or unabatedly. Any other option that is more idiomatic?

The scene takes place on the street. This is what I have right now:

The rain was pouring down copiously, and the sidewalks were shining wet under the light of the street lamps.
Oliver Simões
United States
Local time: 15:11
relentlessly
Explanation:
Sugestão.

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Note added at 19 mins (2017-08-11 11:15:59 GMT)
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Tem sempre a hipótese "it was raining like cats and dogs" ;)
Selected response from:

Ana Vozone
Local time: 23:11
Grading comment

Thank you, Ana.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +3relentlessly
Ana Vozone
4it was pouring with rain /the rain was chucking it down
Douglas Bissell
4Without respite
airmailrpl
2 +1Under a driving rain[storm]
Robert Forstag
3nonstop
Mario Freitas


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


18 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +3
relentlessly


Explanation:
Sugestão.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 19 mins (2017-08-11 11:15:59 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Tem sempre a hipótese "it was raining like cats and dogs" ;)

Example sentence(s):
  • For a while it was the gusty winds we had to contend with but then the rained poured relentlessly at 3:30 PM, just an hour before Emily w
  • The umpires finally gave up and stopped the game after about 30 minutes of play.... as the rained poured relentlessly!
Ana Vozone
Local time: 23:11
Does not meet criteria
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 25
Grading comment

Thank you, Ana.
Notes to answerer
Asker: I'm still mulling over this choice. A Google search shows several instances of 'relentless rain'. I'll probably end up combining the suggestions. Thank you all. https://www.google.com/search?q=relentless+rain&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-US:IE-Address&ie=&oe=&rlz=1I7GGNI_enUS644&gws_rd=ssl

Asker: I ended up choosing this option (my favorite from the very beginning). Thank you, Ana, for catching the typo, and thank you all for your suggestions. Robert's glisten suggestion was very valuable. I wish I could split the points, but I had to make a decision based on the main entry.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Katarina Peters
2 hrs
  -> Thank you, Katarina!
agree  Marian Vieyra
3 hrs
  -> Thank you, Marian!
agree  Irene Berlin
3 hrs
  -> Thank you, Irene!
neutral  Robert Forstag: "Relentlessly" generally doesn't work well as an adverb for modifying "falling rain." More to the point, using the word here will make it impossilbe to produce a sentence that sounds remotely natural in English.
5 hrs
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31 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
it was pouring with rain /the rain was chucking it down


Explanation:
More suggestions from '50 words for rain': http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-18461189

Douglas Bissell
Portugal
Local time: 23:11
Does not meet criteria
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 20
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54 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): +1
A chuva caía sem tréguas
Under a driving rain[storm]


Explanation:
Either "rain" or "rainstorm" would work here.

I do not think the Asker's translation or any of the previous suggestions would produce a sentence that sounds natural - at least in US English.

The whole sentence could be:

Under a driving rainstorm, the sidewalks glistened beneath the light of the streetlamps.

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Note added at 57 mins (2017-08-11 11:54:29 GMT)
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You could also try to consult the English translation of the story.

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Note added at 1 hr (2017-08-11 12:15:29 GMT)
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Well, of course, IF there is an English translation. 😊

Robert Forstag
United States
Local time: 18:11
Does not meet criteria
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 8
Notes to answerer
Asker: Robert, thank you for your suggestion and comments. I prefer to keep "under a driving rain" at the beginning of the sentence (as suggested), since this seems to be the emphasis that Lispector wants to give. I'm also incorporating "streetlights" as suggested by Charles. Thank you both.

Asker: PS: I'm still considering other options and perhaps combining the suggestions. We'll see.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Charles R. Castleberry: The sidewalks glistened beneath the streetlights and the pounding rain
1 hr
  -> Perhaps your version would work better (but I still prefer "driving" to pounding, given that the original doesn't really suggest that it was a particularly heavy downpour). Thank you, Charles.
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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
nonstop


Explanation:
Sugestão

Mario Freitas
Brazil
Local time: 19:11
Meets criteria
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 38
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1 day 3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Without respite


Explanation:
sem tréguas => Without respite

airmailrpl
Brazil
Local time: 19:11
Meets criteria
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 68
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