از دماغ فیل افتاده

Question

ضرب المثل برای فرد متکبر

 

Answer 1

Hi

1. He thinks he is the cat's whiskers.

the cat's whiskers (or chiefly North American meow or pyjamas) (informal): An excellent person or thing:

 

2. He is as proud as a peacock.

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/proud+as+a+peacock

Answer 2

Hi

He is full of himself / toffee-nosed

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/full+of+oneself

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/toffee-nosed

Comments

Very good answers; nevertheless, it should be noted that when there is the name of an animal in an idiom or a proverb, it is preferable to find an equivalent idiom or proverb in the target language containing the name of an animal.

It also holds true about other elements of idioms or proverbs; elements like body parts, colors, motion verbs, etc.

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@ E-Hamzeluyi

Hi. Thanks for your helpful comments on this community. But over here I don't agree with you. We don't have to keep the the looks of an idiom while translating. Suppose we're going to translate "He has a sweet tooth" or "She has a green thumb" into Persian. Is it plausible to include Persian body parts in our translation? I don't think so. Anyway thanks again

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Thank you too.

Let me make my point clear. I said "it is preferable to ..."

I meant we should try to find an equivalent containing the same element (animal for animal, color for color, .etc) as long as there is any in the target language. Otherwise, we have to consider all other choices that can convey the intended message.

In the case of the proverb "از دماغ فیل افتاده", we do have an English equivalent with animal element, that is "as proud as a peacock". Please correct me if I'm wrong.

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@ E-Hamzeluyi

It's very nice of you to answer my comment. Well, I don't think it's etched in stone to find an idiom with the same structure in the target language. As far as meaning is conveyed it's ok, unless we are playing with words. Consider this example:

- Hey I'n not on the mood. Go fly a kite

- ha ha ha! My kite won't fly!

 

The same thing happens in this conversation in Persian:

- حوصله ندارم بابا برو کشکت رو بساب

- هه هه کشکمون تموم شده!

 

I think in these contexts, we need to find a good equivalent to serve the purpose of the pun, otherwise the audience won't get the message. At the end, your point does deserve attention and I'll ask my colleagues to see what they think.

 

Regards

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Dear Masood, it's just a matter of priority. When the 1st priority is not possible, the 2nd should be taken into account, and so on. To get a better grasp of these priorities, take a look at this plz:

http://translatorthoughts.com/2013/10/translation-techniques-idioms/

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Thanks for your pursuit and consideration. That was helpful. You're an asset to the community.

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That's very kind of you. Thank you.

Answer 3

To swagger

pompous

smart-arse

She's so stuck up; she won’t even talk to me.

A bunch of stuck-up snobs.

Answer 4

This is just to add to the existing answers. -To act high and mighty-