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e non è stato scoprire l'acqua calda.

English translation: It was an exciting discovery, but hardly earth shaking

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Italian term or phrase:e non è stato scoprire l'acqua calda.
English translation:It was an exciting discovery, but hardly earth shaking
Entered by: Shera Lyn Parpia

15:40 Oct 23, 2021
Italian to English translations [PRO]
Poetry & Literature / book
Italian term or phrase: e non è stato scoprire l'acqua calda.
Not sure what it means in this context.

. Solo che è tutto fermo perché subito dietro le mura hanno trovato dei reperti archeologici che risalgono all`epoca romana. E non è stato scoprire l`acqua calda! La parte storica di questa città sorge esattamente sopra il tracciato del Castrum realizzato dai Romani, che giunsero qui circa nel 300 Avanti Cristo, dopo aver sconfitto la coalizione di Umbri, Etruschi e Sanniti nella battaglia del Sentino.
Maria Burnett
United States
Local time: 13:17
It was an exciting discovery, but hardly earth shaking
Explanation:
If I understand it correctly, they're saying it's what you'd expect to find in such a place - not as revolutionary as hot water.
Selected response from:

philgoddard
United States
Grading comment
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +4and it wasn't a minor discovery
Lisa Jane
4and it wasn't just as discovering America.
EleoE
3 +1It was an exciting discovery, but hardly earth shaking
philgoddard
3And they could just as easily have invented the wheel!
Andrew Bramhall
3was hardly the discovery of rocket science
Lara Barnett


Discussion entries: 3





  

Answers


16 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +4
e non e' stato a scoprire l'acqua calda.
and it wasn't a minor discovery


Explanation:
It means the opposite of 'a major/significant discovery.

So minor/insignificant, or trivial as suggested by a colleague, would work here.

Lisa Jane
Italy
Local time: 19:17
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in ItalianItalian
PRO pts in category: 136

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Alfonso De Luca
18 mins
  -> Thanks Alfonso!
neutral  philgoddard: You haven't said how you arrive at this.
1 hr
  -> It is the opposite of an ironic idiom that describes the discovery of hot water as a significant discovery, see http://blog.rubinetteria.com/origine-detto-hai-scoperto-acqu...
agree  Michele Fauble
3 hrs
  -> Thanks Michele!
agree  martini
1 day 16 hrs
  -> Thanks martini!
agree  Ian Mansbridge
4 days
  -> Thank you Ian!
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40 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
e non e' stato a scoprire l'acqua calda.
And they could just as easily have invented the wheel!


Explanation:
Except that everything stopped because just behind the walls they found archaeological finds dating back to Roman times. And they might just as easily invented the wheel! The historical part of this town rises exactly above the route of the Castrum built by the Romans, who arrived here around 300 BC after defeating the coalition of Umbrians, Etruscans and Samnites at the Battle of Sentino.


Andrew Bramhall
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:17
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Cilian O'Tuama: Oops.
8 hrs
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53 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
e non e' stato a scoprire l'acqua calda.
and it wasn't just as discovering America.


Explanation:
Scoprire l'acqua calda is an idiom. https://dizionario.internazionale.it/parola/scoprire-lacqua-...
https://www.wordreference.com/iten/scoprire l'acqua cal...

EleoE
Local time: 10:17
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in ItalianItalian, Native in Serbo-CroatSerbo-Croat
PRO pts in category: 16

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  philgoddard: Thanks for the references - I wasn't familiar with this term - but your translation doesn't really work in English.
39 mins
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
e non e' stato a scoprire l'acqua calda.
It was an exciting discovery, but hardly earth shaking


Explanation:
If I understand it correctly, they're saying it's what you'd expect to find in such a place - not as revolutionary as hot water.

philgoddard
United States
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 65

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Lisa Jane: In the Italian idiom, the scoperta dell'acqua calda is NOT considered a revolutionary discovery!!.
8 mins
agree  Andrew Bramhall: Yes, Phil's got the irony here, although " earth-shattering" possibly better;
1 hr
neutral  Barbara Carrara: Wouldn't it work better if you dropped the first part and combined it with the next sentence, 'Hardly an earth-shaking discovery, considering...', or sth along these lines?
11 hrs
  -> The first part was poetic license - they're saying it was an important discovery, but not surprising.
neutral  martini: s. Lisa's comment
2 days 14 hrs
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2 days 19 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
e non e' stato a scoprire l'acqua calda.
was hardly the discovery of rocket science


Explanation:
One idea, taken from and adapted from the highly common use of the "rocket science" idiom (at least in UK anyway).
Although this term is often used to determine how easy-to-do something is, it is the "discovery" of rocket science that is the breakthrough idea here.

Example sentence(s):
  • "There was no discovery of rocket science in saying so."

    Reference: http://bestofindiarestofindia.blogspot.com/2015/08/
Lara Barnett
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:17
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 36
1 corroborated select project
in this pair and field What is ProZ.com Project History(SM)?
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