This site uses cookies. Some of these cookies are essential to the operation of the site, while others help to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used. For more information, please see the ProZ.com privacy policy.
Cookie settings
pipes
this side of normal

Glossary entry

English term or phrase:

gin

English answer:

Smell of gin on her breath

Added to glossary by Mohamed Fouda
Mar 9, 2022 11:42
2 yrs ago
30 viewers *
English term

gin

Non-PRO English Other General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters dialogue in a TV series
Rumpel: Any last words?
Maleficent: I'm not alone.
Rumpel: The Sea Witch!
The Sea Witch: Such a pretty thing. Seems a shame
I'll have to crack her pipes.
Rumpel: Harm one hair on her head, Maleficent burns.
Cruella: And Ursula will kill your maid. And where will that leave us?
Rumpel: Cruella! Thought I caught a whiff
of desperation and gin. I must say, I'm surprised to see you all here.

Once Upon a Time show
Responses
4 Smell of gin on her breath
5 +2 Gin
Change log

Mar 9, 2022 11:56: writeaway changed "Field" from "Art/Literary" to "Other" , "Field (write-in)" from " " to "dialogue in a TV series"

Discussion

Lara Barnett Mar 10, 2022:
@ Arabic& More I was not disputing that or preventing you from discussing, I was just trying to help suggest further opinions.
You actually suggested to Daryo that "If you do not speak Arabic or know the culture, then you should not say what makes sense (or doesn't).", which is a fair comment, but this made me think further to the actual context of the discussion.
Arabic & More Mar 10, 2022:
@Lara We are just having a discussion.
Lara Barnett Mar 10, 2022:
Alcohol in Arabic culture Surely there are discussions on the alcohol in translation issue within the Arabic>English and English>Arabic kudoz section.
It is an interesting issue, but this is English Monolingual section and might not be designed to provide the feedback required for the language and cultural issues that Daryo and Arabic&More were highlighting.
Arabic & More Mar 9, 2022:
To be fair, perhaps what you meant is that it makes no sense to assume that the meaning is "jinn" in the original (English) sentence. If this is the case, then I have no problem with your statement, although the Asker never said he thought that the meaning of gin was in fact "jinn."

However, I initially read your statement to mean that it would make no sense to assume that the meaning was "jinn" in Arabic (if translated)...and this is what I was reacting to.
Arabic & More Mar 9, 2022:
The problem is when you said the following:

"assuming that it's in fact about "jinn" makes no sense"
Daryo Mar 9, 2022:
I know perfectly well what are jinns, and I'm perfectly aware how "jin" could be confusing in an Arab country. Where is your problem???
Arabic & More Mar 9, 2022:
@Daryo If you do not speak Arabic or know the culture, then you should not say what makes sense (or doesn't). Those of us who work with the Arabic language are in a far better position to make these judgments and decisions about the most appropriate way to translate a specific word or term. My comment here is in response to what you said below (under Zaneta's answer):

"assuming that it's in fact about "jinn" makes no sense"

I agree with your other comment (in this thread) that another word can be used or substituted.
Daryo Mar 9, 2022:
Well you could always replace "gin" with some other strong alcohol, to avoid the confusion with "jinn". It doesn't make any difference which strong alcohol is named.

The mention of the "whiff of gin" is there only to reinforce the suggestion that Cruella is getting desperate - desperate to the point that she's getting drunk on the strongest alcohol available to forget how dire is here situation.
Arabic & More Mar 9, 2022:
I might agree with you in other (similar) cases, but not in this specific one for the reasons already stated. Jinn has a very specific meaning in Arabic that cannot easily be distinguished in translation in this specific context. It might be different if one were writing a book with the opportunity to provide some explanation of the term. Also, most viewers in the Arab world will not care about the specific type of alcohol...the most important thing here is that her breath smelled of hard liquor...and even this has the potential to be changed in some countries due to the generally conservative nature of our societies.
Lara Barnett Mar 9, 2022:
GIN Hey, I think Phil has a good point. And also worth considering that, as the film is set in the English-speaking world, it would not sound odd just to leave it as Gin. Even if the audience don't recognise the word, hearing about cultural things like this is one way we learn about other cultures.
philgoddard Mar 9, 2022:
Fascinating! Presumably this would not be a problem on, say, a bar menu.

I see the word "jinn" at least once a week because it's very useful in my endless games of computer Scrabble.
Arabic & More Mar 9, 2022:
@philgoddard It would actually be VERY confusing in Arabic to use the word gin...because it is the same spelling as the other word (jinn). In addition, gin (the drink) is not widely known in the Arab world. So it would be like saying (in English): I caught a whiff of desperation and demons.
philgoddard Mar 9, 2022:
Surely it's obvious from the context that the smell on her breath is not jinn!
Mohamed Fouda (asker) Mar 9, 2022:
@ Arabic & More That's the problem. Gin is written the same as the powerful unseen creatures in Arabic, Jinn. Tricky!
Arabic & More Mar 9, 2022:
Yes...a totally different type of "spirit."
Yvonne Gallagher Mar 9, 2022:
@ all if gin can't be used then just use "Thought I caught a whiff
of desperation and alcohol" rather than replacing it with another drink
Mohamed Fouda (asker) Mar 9, 2022:
@ Arabic & More That's the problem. Gin is written the same as the powerful unseen creatures in Arabic, Jinn. Tricky!
Arabic & More Mar 9, 2022:
@Yvonne The problem is that the word "jinn" has a totally different meaning in Arabic.
Yvonne Gallagher Mar 9, 2022:
@ Asker Definitely not wine. You need to use an equivalent drink that has a fairly strong smell. But whiskey ( for example) is associated with men whereas gin (and tonic) is seen as a woman's drink and already conjures an image in English. So really not replaceable IMHO
Lara Barnett Mar 9, 2022:
Spirit on the breath The basic idea is self-medication. If you can recognize somebody coming due to the smell of alcohol on their breath, they are obviously known as somebody who drinks a lot of it regularly - so whatever is known for this amongst the target audience. I agree that "wine" sounds a bit tame for this.
Lara Barnett Mar 9, 2022:
RE: Arabic & More Yes, this could be the solution. Or, either some other form of distilled alcoholic drink that is more widely known to the respective audience, or whatever they may generally use to curb nerves, keep going and keep their spirits up !
Arabic & More Mar 9, 2022:
I would not necessarily use "wine" in translation, because gin is stronger than that (falling under the category of hard liquor). Maybe call it hard liquor (or an equivalent term that gets the point across).
Mohamed Fouda (asker) Mar 9, 2022:
https://youtu.be/-tf9mlQpOqs?t=83

Responses

23 mins
Selected

Smell of gin on her breath

Whiff - a faint or quick smell of something
Gin - a clear alcoholic spirit distilled from grain or malt and flavoured with junipers
.
He is expressing his NON-surprise that she has arrived, saying that he had just caught the smell (a whiff) of "desperation and gin", suggesting that this character carries an air of hopelessness or neediness around with her and tends to drown her problems in gin.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 25 mins (2022-03-09 12:07:48 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

The idea of smelling her "desperation" is a rather ironic reference to the smell of the gin also - so this is quite a sarcastic and familiar statement to her.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 26 mins (2022-03-09 12:09:11 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

i.e. - the suggestion is that her desperation has led her to regularly drink gin, which clearly lingers on her breath.

"Gin /ˈdʒɪn/ is a distilled alcoholic drink that derives its predominant flavour from juniper berries ."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gin

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 35 mins (2022-03-09 12:18:13 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Yes, that could be a good idea. Basically, whatever people would use, in the target language/country, to calm their nerves or to keep going mentally. This is basically like a vice or a drug in this context.
The key is also in the Wikipedia article, where "a distilled alcoholic drink" of some sort could also be an idea.
Note from asker:
I wonder if it's ok to just say wine instead. The viewers may not be familiar with 'gin'. So, I'm torn between credibility and what practically serves the purpose. Even if I associate 'gin' with a word like drink or something, I'm not sure it'll be understood.
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks, everyone!"
+2
19 mins

Gin

Gin - the drink

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 19 mins (2022-03-09 12:02:28 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

with other words: I believed I could smell desperation and gin
Peer comment(s):
agree Yvonne Gallagher
39 mins
agree Daryo : assuming that it's in fact about "jinn" makes no sense
7 hrs
Something went wrong...
Close search
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search