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Scheinwerfereinstellgeräte
Fremdstarten
Mar 14, 2004 12:15
20 yrs ago
German term

Ich geb mir die Kugel

German to English Marketing Advertising / Public Relations
HELP!!!!
I know what it means, something along the lines of "I am going to shoot myself".
I have to retain the "Kugel", however, as the text is referring to a past advertising campaign for chocolate candies that come in a ball shape. Apparently the baron in the advertisement commented "I geb mir die Kugel" before popping one of these chocolates into his mouth.
How on earth can I translate that into English while retaining the Kugel/ball imagery relating to the shape of the chocolate???
Proposed translations (English)
2 +2 I will bite the bullet
3 +5 I'm having a ball
4 +2 Another round of pleasure ...
5 I'll put a bullet in my head
5 I'll put a bullet in my head
4 bite the bullet
4 I am gonna shoot the ball up my mouth
5 -1 Aaaah, the perfection of the sphere!
5 -1 riding the crest of success with (on) xxx balls or balls from..
4 The ball is in my corner
4 choc(k)s away
3 you'll have to change it somehow ...
3 new balls please
3 -1 Better than a silver bullet

Discussion

Non-ProZ.com Mar 20, 2004:
Thank you. Aghh, sorry guys, I am still adjusting to this new system and always forget I have to add my commentary first before selecting the answer. Many, many thanks to everyone for your help with the difficult question. I thought "bite the chocolate bullet" and "the ball is in my corner" were both very good ideas.
The customer and I went round and round on this and in the end they decided to leave the German as is because the text I was translating was not for the public, it was for advertising executives who were already very familiar with the German campaign even though they aren't German speakers. My humble apologies for thus torturing you all unecessarily, but that was cleared up with them later. Have a nice weekend.
Hermeneutica Mar 14, 2004:
... and my flakkers assume it's for a translation of a past slogan. Even if so, caution is required so as not to put across the impression that the "wrong" imagery has been used.
HTH further!
Hermeneutica Mar 14, 2004:
I've been getting you've got no idea what amount of flak all based on the fact that I have based my ansower[s] on the belief that the "Geb mir die Kugel" phrase is for a future campaign and so you needed suggestions for a suitable EN version, and my ... f
Non-ProZ.com Mar 14, 2004:
Hi Dee and Edith In answer to your questions, there are no pictures in the text and it is UK English. It is a summary of past advertising campaigns for this brand of chocolate and suggestions for a new one.


Proposed translations

+2
5 mins
Selected

I will bite the bullet

I know that "Ferrero Rocher" are not quite bullet shaped, but I don't think it is possible to keep the suicede image and retain the ball shape at the same time unless you contemplate something like suicide by cannon ball.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 8 mins (2004-03-14 12:24:04 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Another pun could by along the lines of \"taking a round\" could also be possible, also I have to admit that this one almost hurts.
Peer comment(s):
agree IanW (X) : I can hardly believe that you and I had the same idea, Lars! With such a weird question on a Sunday afternoon, I thought I could take my time for once ...
6 mins
The idea did suggest itself.
disagree Hermeneutica : Biting the bullet is facing up to something unpleasant. Hardly a recommendation!
20 mins
I know! "Sich die Kugel geben" is not something pleasent either. It actually means the same thing to inted to take your own life with a gun, both pharses are often used figuratively. They are often used ironically like in the Ferrero advertisment.
disagree Dr.G.MD (X) : Means facing something unpleasant, to give in...
42 mins
Yes, but so does "sich die Kugel geben." The "I give up" or "shoot me now" attitude and how little it fit with the actual action of eating sweets was the entire point of the slogan.
agree gangels (X) : why not "I'll bite the chocolate bullet"
1 hr
agree Lori Dendy-Molz : With "... chocolate bullet." I think this is the only way to keep the double entendre, though it's true English speakers won't associate a round ball with a bullet.
5 hrs
agree Fantutti (X) : That's it for me!
12 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
-1
4 mins

Better than a silver bullet

How about a 'silver bullet'. Silver bullets are virtually omnipotent but is not as good as your golden bullet...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 mins (2004-03-14 12:22:18 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Whoever needs an extra \"is\" - please help yourself.
Peer comment(s):
disagree Hermeneutica : Because the Silver Bullet is the advertising slogan for Coors Beer, an inferior American example of that brew. In addition, Coors has a strong negative rep for the exclusion of/being anti certain groups of the population [lifestyle preferences]
23 mins
Thanks, I wasn't aware of Coors using "silver bullet" in their ads.
Something went wrong...
9 mins

bite the bullet

I know it's more of a ball than a bullet, but how about something along the line of "Time to bite the bullet"?

My Merriam-Webster's defines this as "to enter with resignation upon a difficult or distressing course of action" - a stark contrast with eating chocolate, just like it is in German.
Peer comment(s):
agree Lars Helbig : my thoughts exactly :)
12 mins
disagree Hermeneutica : Biting the bullet is facing up to something unpleasant. Hardly a recommendation!
16 mins
And killing yourself is a recommendation, then???
disagree Dr.G.MD (X) : Means facing something unpleasant, to give in...
38 mins
See above
agree Trudy Peters : Exactly! Or, "I'm going to bite the bullet." Same idea as in the German version.
1 hr
Thanks Trudy
Something went wrong...
+5
9 mins

I'm having a ball

though not sure whether this might be an Irish idiom meaning: I'm having fun

It would fit because:
Background info:
This comes from a Ferrero ad - they are big round chocolate balls packed in gold foil. *Ich geb mir die Kugel* is not from past ads but very much alive still. It shows a man who opens his lips and put this ball into his mouth, enjoying himself and saying *Ich geb mir die Kugel*

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 22 mins (2004-03-14 12:38:04 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

www.amarillonet.com/stories/022801/spo_aball.shtml

seems to be known also outside of Eire
Peer comment(s):
agree IanW (X) : Good idea! No, it's standard English.
3 mins
Thanks Ian, but is this BE or AE or just our own Irish English?
neutral Hermeneutica : I like this! Works for US too. Could be a little too slangy though, up to you to see if your text can bear it!
20 mins
Why too slangy, it's ads language all right, and just as ambigous as the original
agree writeaway : having a ball is just plain English-used on both sides of the pond
48 mins
Thanks.
disagree Margaret Marks : It sounds vulgar to me. Has no-one else got a dirty mind? In connection with putting something in one's mouth, I mean. -I know you wouldn't say it, but it's bad advertising copy. 'Mozartballs all over the world' was criticized for the same reason.
1 hr
Well, well, well, you must have a very dirty mind, it took me some minutes to understand your thoughts. To tickle your ' dirty mind', you'd need a big mouth. Sorry for being slightly rude. But: Mozartballs is a completely different connotation.
agree NGK
1 hr
Thanks.
agree Armorel Young : that's good
1 hr
Thanks.
agree Terry Gilman : only if this *was* indeed the slogan used in English. If so, then it belongs in the asker's translation as an explantion, and the asker will need to explain the meaning of the German words. Sounds as if "just translating" won't do, as Dee points out.
1 hr
Thanks, this is true. But asker wishes to retain the idea of "Kugel", if this had not been so, Id say: explain. But she can do both: A slogan and an explanation.
agree Heidi Stone-Schaller : I think this fits perfectly
6 hrs
Something went wrong...
23 mins

you'll have to change it somehow ...

Short of saying "B...s to this!" :)
I would try to play with things like
"The globe belongs to me"
"Mine is the [entire] globe" [playing on "mine is the world", "mine is the entire world", both biblical]
"Gobble the globe" [shades of B....r Bognor! :) ]

Much depends on what all else is said in your text, to what extent, are there pictures?

HTH

Dee



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 35 mins (2004-03-14 12:51:07 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Ummm, if it IS Ferrero as Edith said and I suspected, you\'re not adding anything new if you\'re keeping an old version [don\'t know if it does exist in that form]. The real problem as you yourself identified is the fact that Kugel = sphere/ball and Kugel = bullet are homonyms in DE but lead to very different connotations in EN, neither of which is a particularly happy one.

I\'ll suggest a completely different answer.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Edith Kelly : I'd not use globe here, if at all, then use sphere, but that's far too technical.
12 mins
Something went wrong...
35 mins

I am gonna shoot the ball up my mouth

and then the chocolate is popped into the mouth. The surprise effect is sure to be retained in the translation.
Something went wrong...
-1
38 mins

Aaaah, the perfection of the sphere!

The sphere was considered to be the perfect shape in Antiquity. It has enormous advantages, such a resistance to crushing. Also, think of Limits in Calculus!

Dee, back to her own stuff.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Edith Kelly : But where is the ambuigity, here?
11 mins
disagree IanW (X) : "Limits in Calculus" to sell chocolate? A tad pretentious, perhaps?
1 hr
Something went wrong...
-1
51 mins

riding the crest of success with (on) xxx balls or balls from..

since there is a reference to the baron (Münchhausen I assume) who was riding a cannon ball
Peer comment(s):
disagree Lars Helbig : No, as far as I remeber the adds never featured Münchhausen or riding of cannon balls.
12 mins
Something went wrong...
56 mins

The ball is in my corner

Ich geb mir die Kugel = eigentlich I give up.

The ball is in my corner = Ich übernehme die Verantwortung.

Würde aber schon auch zu dem beschriebenen Bild passen, trotz des anderen Drehs.
Something went wrong...
+2
1 hr

Another round of pleasure ...

might work.

It really depends on whether you are having to produce a literal(ish) translation to simply explain the German phrase or whether you are trying to achieve a communicative equivalent. If the former is the case, I would ditch the wordplay and just explain it, if the latter is the case, you could try playing around with 'round'

let's have another round
get another round in
...

hope it helps
Peer comment(s):
agree gangels (X)
27 mins
agree Heidi Stone-Schaller
5 hrs
Something went wrong...
1 hr

choc(k)s away

I thought I'd have another go, since Lars rather unsportingly hacked into my brain and stole my idea before I had the chance to put it into words :-)

How about "chocks away" - an aviation term (I think) which is used in popular speech, and which could also be used in a similar way to "down the hatch" when you drink something. And, of course, there is a (delicious) pun: "chocs"/"chocks".
Something went wrong...
2 hrs

new balls please

Tennis... Just another idea.

Something went wrong...
6 hrs

I'll put a bullet in my head

In Am. English, "I'll put a bullet in my head" is a fairly common paraphrase for "I'm going to kill myself" or "I'll shoot myself", especially in contexts where the speaker is not being serious about the intention, but wants to overdramatize to make a point.
Something went wrong...
6 hrs

I'll put a bullet in my head

In Am. English, "I'll put a bullet in my head" is a fairly common paraphrase for "I'm going to kill myself" or "I'll shoot myself", especially in contexts where the speaker is not being serious about the intention, but wants to overdramatize to make a point.
Something went wrong...
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