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Sentence

English translation: proverb

09:23 Jun 23, 2004
Greek to English translations [Non-PRO]
Other
Greek term or phrase: Sentence
'Οσα δε φτανει η αλεπου, τα κανει κρεμασταρια.

I'm trying to decipher some notebooks found among my late father's possessions. He was learning Greek and this sentence is one of a couple of hundred similar ones, all of them accompanied by rather nice little drawings. This sentence had with it a picture of a fox and some coathangers and I'm baffled as to what that is about. Is a just a sentence to help beginners learn some grammar, or is it perhaps a proverb or something?
Armorel Young
Local time: 06:10
English translation:proverb
Explanation:
Sorry I don't know an English equivalent, perhaps somebody else can provide one. But it has do do with an Aesop story where a fox can't reach the grapes on a vine branch above him, and thus says to himself "they are not ripe/too sour anyway".
The modern Greek proverb is used when somebody shows contempt for something just out of jealousy, because he or she would never be able to reach it.

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Note added at 23 mins (2004-06-23 09:46:53 GMT)
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For the literal meaning: κρεμαστάρια usually means \"coat-hooks\". But now in my dictionary I also found the meaning \"in old farmhouses, fruit hung up on the ceiling\".
So the sentence means \"What the fox doesn\'t reach, he makes it hung up fruit.\"

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Note added at 28 mins (2004-06-23 09:52:00 GMT)
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The drawing shows that your father had learned the more common meaning \"coathanger\" and so probably found funny the usage of this word in connection with the fox\'s story.

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Note added at 39 mins (2004-06-23 10:02:37 GMT)
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Of course tyrem is right, but I hope my explanation is useful as well ;-)
Selected response from:

Maria Ferstl
Malta
Local time: 07:10
Grading comment
Thank you for explaining the literal meaning of the Greek - that is what I was looking for.
3 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +6it's sour grapes
Emmanouil Tyrakis
5 +2proverb
Maria Ferstl


Discussion entries: 3





  

Answers


8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +6
it's sour grapes


Explanation:
-

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Note added at 9 mins (2004-06-23 09:33:14 GMT)
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proverb

Emmanouil Tyrakis
Local time: 08:10
Native speaker of: Native in GreekGreek
Grading comment
I'm looking for a word for word translation of the Greek, and "it's sour grapes" can't possibly translate an entire Greek sentence

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  sassa: kalimera :) ... interesting link: http://www.learn-english-today.com/idioms/idioms_proverbs.ht...
7 mins
  -> Ευχαριστώ Σάσσα μου
agree  Calliope Sofianopoulos (X)
15 mins
  -> Ευχαριστώ
agree  Nadia-Anastasia Fahmi
30 mins
  -> Ευχαριστώ Νάντιά μου
agree  Vicky Papaprodromou
2 hrs
  -> Ευχαριστώ Βίκυ μου
agree  Spiros Doikas
3 hrs
  -> Ευχαριστώ
agree  Valentini Mellas
7 hrs
  -> Ευχαριστώ
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)
The asker has declined this answer
Comment: I'm looking for a word for word translation of the Greek, and "it's sour grapes" can't possibly translate an entire Greek sentence

16 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +2
proverb


Explanation:
Sorry I don't know an English equivalent, perhaps somebody else can provide one. But it has do do with an Aesop story where a fox can't reach the grapes on a vine branch above him, and thus says to himself "they are not ripe/too sour anyway".
The modern Greek proverb is used when somebody shows contempt for something just out of jealousy, because he or she would never be able to reach it.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 23 mins (2004-06-23 09:46:53 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

For the literal meaning: κρεμαστάρια usually means \"coat-hooks\". But now in my dictionary I also found the meaning \"in old farmhouses, fruit hung up on the ceiling\".
So the sentence means \"What the fox doesn\'t reach, he makes it hung up fruit.\"

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 28 mins (2004-06-23 09:52:00 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

The drawing shows that your father had learned the more common meaning \"coathanger\" and so probably found funny the usage of this word in connection with the fox\'s story.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 39 mins (2004-06-23 10:02:37 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Of course tyrem is right, but I hope my explanation is useful as well ;-)

Maria Ferstl
Malta
Local time: 07:10
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
Grading comment
Thank you for explaining the literal meaning of the Greek - that is what I was looking for.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Katerina Nikopoulou (X)
5 hrs
agree  Valentini Mellas: Explanation of the sentence good to show the meaning behind it. But she is asking for a translation not consolation (in reagrds to your note about sympathy) :) ... kremastaria are still used nowadays for raising making :)
6 hrs
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