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Ausfall Pharmaabfall
ersten Tag des Folgemonats des Endes der Vereinbarung
Dec 3, 2012 13:36
11 yrs ago
1 viewer *
German term

werden es ihm so schnell nicht vergessen.

German to English Art/Literary Idioms / Maxims / Sayings Art book
I'm a bit puzzled by this sentence in the text on Mucha. It refers to Mucha's first return visit to Prague in 1902, when he was horrified by what he saw as mimicry of Paris and Vienna in the art there. I presume the "he" is Mucha and that it means they'll hold it against him, but I'm not sure if there's a "lassen" missing, or if it should be "verzeihen".

"[Es war] ein hartes, mit Blick auf die Künstlergeneration rund um Mikolaš Aleš (1852-1913), die sich vor allem im Bau und Ausschmückung des Tschechischen Nationaltheaters ein würdiges Denkmal gesetzt hat, auch ungerechtes Urteil. **Die Prager werden es ihm so schnell nicht vergessen**."

Thanks for any suggestions,
Rachel
Proposed translations (English)
3 +1 Resentment about that still lingers
4 +7 They won't forgive him in a hurry.
5 +2 "They will always hold it against him" or "They will never let him forget it"
5 they would not forgive him/let him off the hook so easily
3 They will always keep it against him

Discussion

Rosa Paredes Dec 3, 2012:
@asker Your own answer is the best with the correction pointed out by Kate: They would hold it against him for a long time/for years to come.
Kate Collyer Dec 3, 2012:
Just wondering... if this is a historic present. To my mind it feels much more natural if "will" is turned into "would", particularly since the person in question is now dead.
franglish Dec 3, 2012:
you've understood it correctly, Rachel ...won't forgive it him that easily / quickly

Proposed translations

+1
2 hrs
Selected

Resentment about that still lingers

Other possibilities..

The citizens of Prague ("Praguers") won"t let go of this easily/any time soon

Or:

- won't let this (one) go easily

- are not likely to let this (one) go easily


The only drawback with these suggestions is that Mucha is not mentioned directly. On the other hand, the context leaves little doubt who's getting the blame..
Peer comment(s):
agree CMFTrier : This seems to fit as more formal than some of the other suggestions.
1 day 34 mins
Thanks. Getting the register right is a challenge in this case..
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks for an alternative phrasing. "
+2
25 mins

"They will always hold it against him" or "They will never let him forget it"

I think the expression from British Diana is mostly fine, but I am not familiar with "keeping" something against somebody, unless this is in fact very British. I am Canadian and it sounds a little strange to me.
Example sentence:

The people of Prague will always hold this against him.

The people of Prague will never let him forget this.

Peer comment(s):
agree Nicola Wood
1 min
agree Rebecca Garber
10 mins
neutral Cilian O'Tuama : there's no "never" or "always" in the German
25 mins
Something went wrong...
+7
27 mins

They won't forgive him in a hurry.

http://tinyurl.com/ctpn5q5
I agree with your interpretation. The people of Prague will not readily forgive him for having made such a harsh judgement (ein ungerechtes Urteil). They will 'hold' (not 'keep') it against him. The verb 'vergessen' refers to the locals here, not to Mucha.
No missing 'lassen' here, as far as I can see.
Peer comment(s):
agree Rebecca Garber : morning, Andrew :)
8 mins
Afternoon, Rebs.
agree Cilian O'Tuama : knowing what help is helps
23 mins
Apparently, "resentment about that still lingers".
agree Usch Pilz : I like your answer because it doesn't have the 'never ever' ring to it. Would it be possible to say: "They won't forgive him for quite some time."?
40 mins
Thanks, Usch. "for quite some time" would be OK. Not quite as snappy in the context, however.
agree Edwin Miles
40 mins
agree Ramey Rieger (X) : Good evening, Sir Andrew.
1 hr
Good day to you, Dame Ramey.
agree philgoddard : Did they leak the new year's honours early?
2 hrs
agree Helen Shiner : Since Mucha is long dead, I would change the tense, but otherwise, this is the way to go. They wouldn't forgive him in a hurry?/As ever, we can't see enough of the surrounding text to tell.
7 hrs
Thanks, Helen. Argument for (based on Rachel's own phrasing): "...it means they'll hold it against him...". Argument against (based on Rachel's own phrasing): "[Es war] ein hartes..." On balance, you're probably right. // Bizarre: Resentful Praguers...
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16 mins

They will always keep it against him

jemandem (dat.) etwas nie/nicht vergessen (jemandem für sein Verhalten in einer bestimmten Situation immer böse sein)

It is a veiled threat because they do not accept the verdict

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Note added at 36 mins (2012-12-03 14:13:28 GMT)
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I've just been checking and it would seem that "keep it against s.o." is a highly colloquial and (dare I say it) rather uneducated-sounding variation on "hold it against s.o."

JDPhoenix: Oh, I don't mind, really, you're reviewing now aren't you? Adam has ... "She named me Jenny's godfather, right kiddo?" ... I won't keep it against you." ...
Peer comment(s):
neutral Horst Huber (X) : Very interesting with regard to usage. Around here people would say "hold it against him".
9 days
Something went wrong...
6 hrs

they would not forgive him/let him off the hook so easily

Or as you said yourself Rachel : They would hold it against him. But definitely "would" not "will".
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