Oct 28, 2010 08:28
13 yrs ago
1 viewer *
German term

affig sein

German to English Art/Literary Slang drug consumption
During a police interrogation, the suspect says:
"XXX brachte mir ein bisschen Kokain, weil ich „affig" war."

I assume that it means he was in need of a fix. Is there a corresponding English slang term?

Discussion

John Jory (asker) Nov 1, 2010:
@ Helen First of all, thank you very much for your input & comments.
My translation is for a German lawyer defending a Nigerian.
I presume that the accused needs to know what has been brought against him in (German) questionings of other people, police surveillance reports, etc.
For want of anything better, I have used "jonesing" in inverted commas. It seems that jonesing is not entirely unknown in the UK. There are quite a few references when googling only UK sites.
Helen Shiner Nov 1, 2010:
Jonesing , as I have said elsewhere, is incomprehensible to a British audience and John is British. Whether that means his client is, is for him to know.
Melanie Mueller, PhD (X) Nov 1, 2010:
@ John: If you want slang use 'jonesing'.
AgriTech Oct 31, 2010:
Good reference for "jonesing" and more Look here:
http://books.google.de/books?id=h1AnD8ePW9MC&pg=PA372&lpg=PA...
John Jory (asker) Oct 30, 2010:
Perhaps not quite clear I'm hoping for the English slang equivalent of "affig", which is German slang and therefore quoted in inverted commas in the transcript of the interrogation.
Part of the problem surely lies in the fact that the number of translators with practical experience in this field is rather limited :-)
John Jory (asker) Oct 28, 2010:
Cold turkey From Wikipedia and other sources it seems that "cold turkey" is the result of an abrupt withdrawal from an addictive drug. The symptons are severe: sweating, spasms (that can even be fatal), etc.
This is not what is meant by "affig". As shown in Helen's entry, it is the urgent need ("itch") for another dose of the drug, well before the severe symptoms of cold turkey become apparent.
Helen Shiner Oct 28, 2010:
Example of meaning of 'affig sein': mich würde mal etwas zum Thema affig sein interessieren. Mein Freund ist aufgewacht, hat wohl gekotzt und dann rumgejammert, wie schlecht es ihm geht! Erst jetzt hat er mir gesagt, das er da affig war, ich habe ihn bisher zu diesem Tag nie vorher so erlebt. Ich habe ihm dann gesagt er soll sich hinsetzen, hat er auch gemacht, ich daneben. Ich hab ihn gestreichelt, er hat mich in den Arm genommen und gedrückt und geküsst. Er war plötzlich so ruhig. Dann ist er wieder aufgestanden, hat sich irgendwas angezogen und fing wieder an rumzuschreien und aggressiv zu sein. weiß nicht mehr warum, auf jeden Fall hab ich ihn irgendwie berührt, er war wieder ganz ruhig, und hat durch Zufall auf unser Foto geschaut (hab ich erst neu an die Stelle gestellt) und er hat ganz lieb gesagt "Das sind ja wir beide". Dann wollte er wieder unbedingt und schnell heim.

ich versteh diese Verhalten nicht! Wieso ist es möglich einen affigen Menschen irgendwie kurzfristig davon abzulenken oder was ist das passiert. ich hab wirklich keine Ahnung!
http://forum.suchtmittel.de/viewtopic.php?p=27176
Alison MacG Oct 28, 2010:
A quick google search led to this forum, which may give you some ideas (NB. some bad language):
Cold Turkey: A compendium of synonyms for opiate-withdrawal from around the world.
http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=70268
seehand Oct 28, 2010:
"temporary cold turkey" Leider weiß ich nicht, ob man "cold turkey" auch benutzt, wenn man nur eine Weile keine Droge hat ...

Proposed translations

+1
2 hrs
Selected

jonesing for something

Here, I might say XXX brought me some cocaine because I was totally jonesing for it.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=jonesing
Especially:
Exhibiting a strong craving or desire for something eaten, imbibed, or taken as a drug. Comes from opiate culture.
Man, I'm *really* jonesing for a cup of coffee right about now.

Comes from the street term for heroin, and associated with an addiction or craving. Not affiliated with 'keeping up with the jones'.
It's Friday night and I'm jonesing for a drink!
Peer comment(s):

neutral Helen Shiner : I don't think anyone in the UK would understand this at all, but clearly fine for the US.
9 mins
neutral Stephen Sadie : with Helen
1 hr
agree Melanie Mueller, PhD (X) : Really like the translation, if it is for US!
3 hrs
neutral Lancashireman : Definitely not for England. Maybe OK for Wales, though. There's a lot of them there (Jones, not necessarily addicts).
13 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "See my discussion posting above."
25 mins

a bit down

just a hunch, John - maybe it will help
Something went wrong...
+4
28 mins

I was dying for a hit

one possibility

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 37 mins (2010-10-28 09:05:54 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I could have killed for a hit
Peer comment(s):

agree Cilian O'Tuama : (with the added info from Helen and John) maybe simply "I needed another hit"
11 hrs
agree Harald Moelzer (medical-translator)
11 hrs
agree Thayenga
20 hrs
agree AgriTech : Maybe "dying for a line" rather than a "hit"
2 days 23 hrs
Something went wrong...
+1
1 hr

to be climbing the walls

I imagine there are lots of expressions you could use. This is just one suggestion:

Speaking at their new home in Cobham, Surrey - where they moved to escape the dealers who fed their addictions - Karen sobbed: "We had been clean for months thanks to dad's help and support. But the move meant we were unable to get our methadone prescriptions from a newclinic for three weeks.

"In the end we were climbing the walls and the only thing that would calm us down was heroin.

"I tracked down a dealer and we spent £20 each on a hit at home.

http://www.people.co.uk/archive/other/2006/08/06/johnny-s-he...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2010-10-28 09:34:08 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Though there might be different expressions depending on the withdrawal symptoms from the particular drug in question.
Peer comment(s):

agree Colin Rowe : Sounds highly plausible - and perfect context!
22 mins
Thanks, Colin - I'm just waiting for someone to say that cocaine doesn't have that effect on you and this is heroin-specific!
Something went wrong...
1 hr

to be/feel (foolishly) in the mood

how I'd understand it here.

as in "it seemed like a good idea at the time"
Peer comment(s):

neutral Melanie Mueller, PhD (X) : http://www.suchtzentrum.de/drugscouts/dsv3/stoff/erfahrber/e... affig sein kommt von 'Affen schieben' = Entzugsymtpome haben
9 hrs
ich dachte eher an "sich affig anstellen/verhalten", also being silly, foolish, behaving in an untypical or abnormal manner. Die andere Bedeutung kenn ich gar nicht, also halte ich jetzt das Maul.
Something went wrong...
+1
5 hrs

craving for something

Oder mehr umgangssprachlich 'itching for something'


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 11 hrs (2010-10-28 19:46:01 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

http://www.suchtzentrum.de/drugscouts/dsv3/stoff/erfahrber/e...
den Affen schieben = Entzugssymptome haben
Peer comment(s):

agree AgriTech : Maybe "craving a line"?
2 days 18 hrs
Something went wrong...
21 hrs

withdrawal

After reading some posts in the link posted in the discussion (http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=70268), I think "under/in withdrawal" might be a good neutral term, works in both US and UK English...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day2 hrs (2010-10-29 10:33:57 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

or maybe better "suffering from withdrawal"...
Something went wrong...
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search