Surprisingly Hard to Translate
Mar. 2nd, 2010 06:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kaitouJapanese Coworker: < What does 'Big Feet' mean? No, no, 'Big Shoes' >
Me: *discarding immediate dirty thought*
Me: *discarding immediate dirty thought*
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Japanese Coworker: < What does 'Big Feet' mean? No, no, 'Big Shoes' >
Me: *discarding immediate dirty thought* <Uh, Big Shoes? Like, did they say "Big Shoes to Fill?">
JC: <Yes! That was it. >
....You know, 'Having Big Shoes to Fill' is a <i>remarkably</i> hard concept to explain. There were detours around little kids playing dress up, the 'walk a mile in other people's shoes' proverb, and trying to explain that it's a compliment to the person leaving the shoes, not an insult to the person filling them. It was all very odd and interesting.
Me: *discarding immediate dirty thought* <Uh, Big Shoes? Like, did they say "Big Shoes to Fill?">
JC: <Yes! That was it. >
....You know, 'Having Big Shoes to Fill' is a <i>remarkably</i> hard concept to explain. There were detours around little kids playing dress up, the 'walk a mile in other people's shoes' proverb, and trying to explain that it's a compliment to the person leaving the shoes, not an insult to the person filling them. It was all very odd and interesting.
