"המלך הוא עירום"

English translation: The King is in the altogether...

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Hebrew term or phrase:"המלך הוא עירום"
English translation:The King is in the altogether...
Entered by: judithyf

10:32 Jan 25, 2012
Hebrew to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Journalism / ביטויים
Hebrew term or phrase: "המלך הוא עירום"
מה השווה ערך באנגלית לביטוי זה? אני לא רואה שיש תרגום מילולי המקובל כביטוי עם אותה המשמעות שיש לו בעברית...
JeSsRockiT
Local time: 09:33
The King is in the altogether...
Explanation:
A song by Danny Kaye

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Note added at 29 mins (2012-01-25 11:02:10 GMT)
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"Look at the King! Look at the the King! Look at the King, the King, the King!
The King is in the altogether
But altogether the altogether
He's altogether as naked as the day that he was born.
The King is in the altogether
But altogether the altogether
It's altogether the very least the King has ever worn."

Selected response from:

judithyf
Local time: 09:33
Grading comment
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5The emperor has no clothes
elli_fischer
5The King is in the altogether...
judithyf
5The Emperor's New Clothes
Ty Kendall
5 -1The king is naked / The king has nothing on / The king is not wearing any clothes
moshiachnow
3'Elephant in the room"
Gad Kohenov


  

Answers


12 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
The emperor has no clothes


Explanation:
This is the common usage.
See the linked Washington Post article from 5 days ago, for an example of usage.


    Reference: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/post/the-empe...
elli_fischer
Local time: 09:33
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): -1
The king is naked / The king has nothing on / The king is not wearing any clothes


Explanation:
הביטוי הוא מהסיפור
The Emperor's New Clothes
מאת הנס קריטיאן אנדרסון



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Note added at 20 mins (2012-01-25 10:52:21 GMT)
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Elli,

You are correct, I answered too hastily, it should have been the Emperor is naked / the Emperor has nothing on / etc.

Thanks for pointing that out.


    Reference: http://www.andersen.sdu.dk/vaerk/hersholt/TheEmperorsNewClot...
moshiachnow
Israel
Local time: 09:33
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
Notes to answerer
Asker: THNX folks - I grew up on good old Hans and am well aware of the origin of the saying :-) I must not have explained myself clearly - Eli - your'e absolutely right - I'm looking for the IDIOMATIC translation.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  elli_fischer: Literally corect, but not the way it is used idiomatically
7 mins
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26 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
'Elephant in the room"


Explanation:
Elephant in the room" is an English metaphorical idiom for an obvious truth that is being ignored or goes unaddressed. The idiomatic expression also applies to an obvious problem or risk no one wants to discuss.[1]

It is based on the idea that an elephant in a room would be impossible to overlook; thus, people in the room who pretend the elephant is not there have chosen to avoid dealing with the looming big issue.

The same idea without a literal translation.



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 26 mins (2012-01-25 10:59:13 GMT)
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_in_the_room

Gad Kohenov
Israel
Local time: 09:33
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench, Native in HebrewHebrew
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26 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
The King is in the altogether...


Explanation:
A song by Danny Kaye

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 29 mins (2012-01-25 11:02:10 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"Look at the King! Look at the the King! Look at the King, the King, the King!
The King is in the altogether
But altogether the altogether
He's altogether as naked as the day that he was born.
The King is in the altogether
But altogether the altogether
It's altogether the very least the King has ever worn."



judithyf
Local time: 09:33
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4
Notes to answerer
Asker: THNX J' - that's exactly the kind of answer I was looking for as I am in fact referring to a a person and not a situation. THNX everyone 4 ur input. Can't believe I didn't think of Danny Kaye's song...

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19 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
The Emperor's New Clothes


Explanation:
As you will see from the following link, it is often the title itself used in colloquial speech to describe the situation:
"The title is often used to describe a situation in which people are afraid to criticize something because everyone else seems to think it is good or important."
http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/Emperor-s-New-Clothes-...

Also, for reference from Rosenthal's מילון הצירופים
"הכבוד והסגולות המיוחדות שיוחסו למנהיג התגלו חסרי כיסוי וכוזבים. מקור הניב בסיפור "בגדי המלך החדשים" מאת הסופר הדני הנס כריסטיאן אנדרסן, וראו בגדי המלך החדשים. "אני הוא הילד שרץ ברחובות - אני הוא המלך, עירום מתקווה"."

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Note added at 23 mins (2012-01-25 10:55:33 GMT)
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"If only that were true. Because, from where I’m sitting, Discover not only isn’t customized, it also isn’t useful and it isn’t entertaining. Instead, it’s The Emperor’s New Clothes of Twitter features – by all accounts, not much more than a randomly-generated list of popular news stories and trending topics, and a waste of everybody’s time."
http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/twitter-discover_b1794...

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Note added at 2 days27 mins (2012-01-27 10:59:44 GMT)
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NOTE:
Can also describe a person:
"Don't fall for the hype about her, she is the "Emperor's New Clothes" of the BBC just now and is just not remotely even amusing, let alone funny!"
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2074068/Michael-Mc...

"I agree completely about Ibrahimovic in that he is the Emperor's New Clothes of football players."
http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=275027...

"Either I'm missing some humor gene to 'get' what makes them funny OR they are the Emperor's New Clothes of comedy."
http://forum.rpg.net/archive/index.php/t-410650.html

Ty Kendall
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:33
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
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