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  3. General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters

Trockenschwimmer

English translation: [is a bit of a] theoretician / can often find himself out of his depth

19:59 Oct 18, 2021
German to English translations [PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters / Wine / Oenology / Viticulture
German term or phrase: Trockenschwimmer
Der Master of Wine ist ein Trockenschwimmer. Er weiss über alles ein wenig Bescheid, aber wenn er richtig Hand anlegen sollte, braucht es Spezialisten vor Ort.
Anne Egli
Switzerland
Local time: 19:33
English translation:[is a bit of a] theoretician / can often find himself out of his depth
Explanation:
"In short, the executive shows up here as a bit of a theoretician while we suspect he likes to think of himself as a man of action."
https://hbr.org/1965/09/personal-values-and-corporate-strate...

A person associated with the theory (as opposed to practical aspects) of a subject
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theoretician



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Note added at 25 mins (2021-10-18 20:24:40 GMT)
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I wouldn't think that anything too derogatory was appropriate in the context, i.e. Master of Wine.

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Note added at 28 mins (2021-10-18 20:27:34 GMT)
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"out of his/her depth" retains the swimming/bathing imagery.

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Note added at 22 hrs (2021-10-19 18:51:52 GMT)
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Master of Wine (MW) is a qualification (not an academic degree) issued by The Institute of Masters of Wine in the United Kingdom. The MW qualification is generally regarded in the wine industry as one of the highest standards of professional knowledge. The Institute was founded in 1955, and the MW examinations were first arranged in 1953 by the Worshipful Company of Vintners and the Wine and Spirits Association.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_of_Wine

I am dismayed that visitors to this page hold the Master of Wine qualification in such low esteem!
Selected response from:

Lancashireman
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:33
Grading comment
Hi! I went with "a bit of a generalist" because I liked the juxtaposition with "specialists" afterward. Thank you everyone!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +8dabbler/dilettante/armchair expert
philgoddard
3 +2[is a bit of a] theoretician / can often find himself out of his depth
Lancashireman
Summary of reference entries provided
Trockenschwimmen
Kim Metzger

Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


15 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +8
dabbler/dilettante/armchair expert


Explanation:
I haven't found any reliable references yet, but I imagine the idea is they swim without getting their feet wet. We could do with some more of the surrounding text, but presumably it's saying that they know all about the theory of wine, but not much about the practice of making it.

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Note added at 19 mins (2021-10-18 20:18:52 GMT)
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'Unleugbar trägt Kafkas Heiratsantrag den Makel einer bizarren Komik, vergleichbar den gewissenhaften Übungen eines Trockenschwimmers.'
http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/trockenschwimmer.1954...
This presumably means he's going through the motions, making a marriage proposal by the book because he doesn't know how.

philgoddard
United States
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 44

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Kim Metzger
5 mins
agree  Barbara Schmidt, M.A. (X): agree
6 mins
agree  Steffen Walter: I've also thought of "jack of all trades, master of none", or of a "superficial generalist".
24 mins
  -> Good ideas. Thanks.
agree  Andrew Bramhall: Neither "jack of all trades, master of none", nor "superficial generalist" would work here, with the latter not even a recognised colloquialism.
3 hrs
  -> I think they're fine - it doesn't have to be a recognized colloquialism to work. But thanks.
agree  Cillie Swart: nice solution
12 hrs
agree  uyuni: "Armchair expert" ist gut! Jemand mit einem "gut fundierten Halbwissen" eben...;.))
14 hrs
agree  AllegroTrans: dabbler would be my choice
17 hrs
agree  Michele Fauble: armchair expert
1 day 4 hrs
neutral  British Diana: Why three terms? I thought the idea was to propose one translation.
1 day 10 hrs
  -> I'm surprised to see you asking this, as someone who's been on the site for a long time. People do this every day - Lancashireman has done it below. The more valid translations to choose from, the better.
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22 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
ist ein Trockenschwimmer
[is a bit of a] theoretician / can often find himself out of his depth


Explanation:
"In short, the executive shows up here as a bit of a theoretician while we suspect he likes to think of himself as a man of action."
https://hbr.org/1965/09/personal-values-and-corporate-strate...

A person associated with the theory (as opposed to practical aspects) of a subject
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theoretician



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 25 mins (2021-10-18 20:24:40 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I wouldn't think that anything too derogatory was appropriate in the context, i.e. Master of Wine.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 28 mins (2021-10-18 20:27:34 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"out of his/her depth" retains the swimming/bathing imagery.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 22 hrs (2021-10-19 18:51:52 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Master of Wine (MW) is a qualification (not an academic degree) issued by The Institute of Masters of Wine in the United Kingdom. The MW qualification is generally regarded in the wine industry as one of the highest standards of professional knowledge. The Institute was founded in 1955, and the MW examinations were first arranged in 1953 by the Worshipful Company of Vintners and the Wine and Spirits Association.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_of_Wine

I am dismayed that visitors to this page hold the Master of Wine qualification in such low esteem!

Lancashireman
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:33
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 143
Grading comment
Hi! I went with "a bit of a generalist" because I liked the juxtaposition with "specialists" afterward. Thank you everyone!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Steffen Walter: ... or a generalist just scratching the surface (of viticulture and oenology practice), or "jack of all trades, master of none" (except that there's only one "trade" involved here).
19 mins
  -> Scratching the surface captures the idea well. // Kudoz to Steffen!
agree  Veronika Neuhold
3 days 14 hrs
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Reference comments


21 mins peer agreement (net): +5
Reference: Trockenschwimmen

Reference information:
das eigentliche Erlernen des Schwimmens vorbereitende Übung
https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Trockenschwimmen

Statt auf klassische Vorlesungen und Seminare setzt die Hochschule [in Weimar] im Gestaltungs‑Studium stark auf Projekte, in denen die Studenten fächerübergreifend Ideen austüfteln und in den Werkstätten umsetzen können. Das Ziel: »kein Trockenschwimmen, sondern Probieren am Beispiel«. https://www.dwds.de/wb/Trockenschwimmen

Kim Metzger
Mexico
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 100

Peer comments on this reference comment (and responses from the reference poster)
agree  philgoddard
56 mins
agree  writeaway
3 hrs
agree  Ramey Rieger (X): Master of research
10 hrs
agree  Sarah Bessioud
14 hrs
agree  AllegroTrans
17 hrs
neutral  Lancashireman: Very good, but dilettante? dabbler?
2 days 1 hr
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