savory sweets

English translation: bittersweet events

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

English term or phrase:	savory sweets
Selected answer:	bittersweet events
Entered by:	Lara Barnett

19:30 Mar 5, 2019

English language (monolingual) [PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters

English term or phrase: savory sweets

Dear colleagues, may I ask how you interpret “savory sweets” in the passage below? A little context: at the beginning of the passage, the author refers to an old saying, according to which consciousness is like a container of water. If you take a tablespoon of salt and place it in a small container, say, the size of an espresso cup, the water most certainly will be too salty to drink. But if your container is much larger—say it is capable of holding many, many gallons of water—that same tablespoon of salt, now placed into this vast amount of liquid, will taste fresh. Same water, same salt; simply a different ratio, and the experience of drinking is totally different. Consciousness is like that. When we learn to cultivate our capacity for being aware, the quality of our life and the strength of our mind are enhanced.
thank you so much for your help!

****

Remember how we began our journey reflecting on that cup of water? As I take my walk smelling those roses, I’ve expanded my cup of water, and whatever salt life puts in or whatever *** savory sweets *** arise, I am ready to drink.

haribert KudoZ activity Questions: 289 (none open) (1 without valid answers) (1 closed without grading) Answers: 524
Local time: 18:57

bittersweet events

Explanation:
"bittersweet" is a commonly used English term:

"BITTERSWEET
--adjective--
1. ...
2. both pleasant and painful or regretful:
a bittersweet memory.
--noun--
3. ...
4. ...
5. pleasure mingled with pain or regret:
the bittersweet of parting."
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/bittersweet

Selected response from:

Lara Barnett
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:57

Grading comment

Thank you so much, Lara, for your help! Many sincere thanks also to all other participants!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED

4 +1

bittersweet events

Lara Barnett

Desirable/pleasing mental experiences

Sina Salehi

pleasing sweets/sensations

Juan Arturo Blackmore Zerón

the pleasurable events that arise, even if these have to be taken with a grain of salt

JohnMcDove

tastes which are at once salty and sweet

British Diana

Discussion entries: 2

Answers

34 mins confidence:

pleasing sweets/sensations

Explanation:
My option is to undertand that it is always some pleasing in taste or smell sweetness as far as you are trained to get it from wathever you want the same way your conscience can be trained to do so, no matter how little sweetness is in it.

Juan Arturo Blackmore Zerón
Mexico
Local time: 11:57
Native speaker of: Spanish

Notes to answerer

Asker: Thank you very much, Juan Arturo, for your contribution!

1 hr confidence:

Desirable/pleasing mental experiences

Explanation:
As you talk about consciousness in your text, which I think is created through mental experiences, then I suggest "desirable/sweet mental experiences."
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-conscious...

Sina Salehi
Germany
Local time: 18:57
Native speaker of:

Persian (Farsi)
PRO pts in category: 4

Notes to answerer

Asker: Thank you so much, Sina, for your help!

1 hr confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

bittersweet events

"The storytelling never wavers, and BITTERSWEET EVENTS are laced with gentle humor. A modern novel with the feel of a classic.”

https://www.greensborofreelibrary.org/2015/06/09/new-arrivals-june-2015/

Lara Barnett
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:57
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 16
1 corroborated select project
in this pair and field

Grading comment

Thank you so much, Lara, for your help! Many sincere thanks also to all other participants!

Notes to answerer

Asker: Thank you so much, Lara! Actually i was thinking about this 'double' meaning too

3 hrs confidence:

the pleasurable events that arise, even if these have to be taken with a grain of salt

Explanation:
with reservations...

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/take_something_...

and whatever salt life puts in or whatever ***sweets *** arise that we enjoy with a pinch of salt, I am ready to drink.

4.1 sweets The pleasures or delights found in something.
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/sweet

A little bit on the spirit of "always look on the bright side of life"...

If life gives you lemons, make a lemonade...

But if life gives you pleasurable moments, don't be totally gleeful, and be aware of the salty aspect of these moments or events.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 3 hrs (2019-03-06 22:35:16 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

You're welcome, Haribert.

Yes, in Spanish we also have the "agrodolce" (agridulce). The only point would be that the original seems to be more on the "dolce" side of things, with just a pinch of salt... I.e., the "sour" or "bitter" aspect is much more toned down, in my view.

JohnMcDove
United States
Local time: 09:57
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

Spanish
PRO pts in category: 8

Notes to answerer

Asker: Thank you very much, John, for your contribution: the example of lemonade is absolutely funny! Actually I think that "savory sweets" might mean experiences that combine positive and negative aspects at the same time... ("dolceamaro" or in some cases "agrodolce")

1 day 19 hrs confidence:

tastes which are at once salty and sweet

Explanation:
I understand the passage "As I take my walk smelling those roses, I’ve expanded my cup of water, and whatever salt life puts in or whatever *** savory sweets *** arise, I am ready to drink". as meaning that the writer has learned how to "cultivate (his) capacity for being aware". He is now in a position to drink his "cup of water" because it is no longer concentrated but enhanced. Thus is is possible to drink something which in a concentrate state would be unpalatable, for example something which is at once savoury/salty and sweet. Think of some of those very sweet, very bitter, very salty 85% chocolate specialites which I personally cannot eat!

British Diana
Germany
Local time: 18:57
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 8

Notes to answerer

Asker: Thank you very much, Diana!

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English translation: bittersweet events

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