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WELLIES: These Boots Were Made For Walking

2012-02-24T22:56:00.003Z

Wellies: Chiefly British, pl.,-lies. A Wellington boot. Often used in the plural. [galochas]

Nancy Sinatra: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLenuBXt2RE

You keep saying you've got something for me.

something you call love, but confess.

You've been messin' where you shouldn't have been a messin'

and now someone else is gettin' all your best.
      These boots are made for walking, and that's just what they'll do
      one of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you.
You keep lying, when you oughta be truthin'
and you keep losin' when you oughta not bet.
You keep samin' when you oughta be changin'.
Now what's right is right, but you ain't been right yet.
      These boots are made for walking, and that's just what they'll do
      one of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you.
You keep playin' where you shouldn't be playin
and you keep thinkin' that you´ll never get burnt.
Ha!I just found me a brand new box of matches yeah
and what he know you ain't HAD time to learn.
      These boots are made for walking, and that's just what they'll do
      one of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you.
Are you ready boots? Start walkin'!

TERÇA-FEIRA GORDA / QUARTA-FEIRA DE CINZAS

2012-02-21T23:08:00.003Z

Shrove Tuesday (or Fat Tuesday) = Terça Feira Gorda = Mardi Gras

The terms "Mardi Gras", "Mardi Gras season", and "Carnival season", in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday (Quarta-feira de Cinzas). Mardi gras is French for Fat Tuesday, referring to the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods (hence,.the Pancake Day, which uses the last supplies in the kitchen) before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season, which begins on Ash Wednesday (also referred to as Shrove Tuesday), from the word shrive, meaning "confess." Related popular practices are associated with celebrations before the fasting and religious obligations associated with the penitential season of Lent. Popular practices include wearing masks and costumes, overturning social conventions, dancing, sports competitions, parades, etc.

PANCAKE DAY

2012-02-21T03:43:00.000Z

"Get your frying pans at the ready folks, February 21 is Shrove Tuesday and this year's pancake action need not be confined to the kitchen. Pancake races across the city will see everyone from builders to hipsters to MPs and even Time Out journalists tossing their way towards the finish line. Dress up and join in or chomp a bit of batter from the sidelines. And don't worry if your pancakes turn out to be a flop, you can always check out the best places in London to get a pancake. Easy peasy lemon squeezy."
http://www.timeout.com/london/feature/2151/how-to-celebrate-pancake-day-2012-in-london

STYLE GUIDE

2012-02-20T17:57:00.002Z

The first requirement of The Economist is that it should be readily understandable. Clarity of writing usually follows clarity of thought. So think what you want to say, then say it as simply as possible. Keep in mind George Orwell's six elementary rules ("Politics and the English Language", 1946):
1.     Never use a Metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
2.     Never use a long word where a short one will do (see Short words).
3.     If it is possible to cut out a word, always cut it out (see Unnecessary words).
4.     Never use the Passive where you can use the active.
5.     Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a Jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
6.     Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous (see Iconoclasm).
Read the full Style Guide introduction: The Economist: http://www.economist.com/styleguide/introduction

BYOD

2012-02-17T23:38:00.000Z

Bring Your Own Device: The End of the Work PC
The number of employees bringing their own devices to work is on the rise. By the end of 2013, approximately 33% of business intelligence will be consumed from a mobile device, which is just remarkable given a couple of years ago the number was zero. One thing seems sure: companies have to make decisions about how they are going to handle employee demands to use their own devices, or risk devices being used on the network without their knowledge.

SOLO LIFE: THE SINGLETONS

2012-02-17T23:27:00.001Z

Singletons: Esse termo veio para ficar!
"The proliferation of solitary dwellers is the subject of Eric Klinenberg's new book, "Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone".
"Kate Bollick's essay "All the Single Ladies" in the Atlantic. It is a first-person account of becoming a singleton. "
"Singleton life seems to be something that every person experiences as a private matter, but in fact it's a major and widely shared part of our social condition. We need to step back and think about how we got here and what it means for us now."
" I lived alone in graduate school and really enjoyed the experience. I enjoyed the freedom to do what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it, whether that meant going out late at night or leaving the country on a whim. I enjoyed the solitude. It allowed me to be productive in my work and in my own personal life. I look back on it as a key experience. For me, it was a pivotal point. It was how I grew up. Now that we delay marriage as long as we do, living alone is a vital part of becoming an adult."
"http://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2012/02/qa-eric-klinenberg?fsrc=nlw%7Cnewe%7C2-17-2012%7Cnew_on_the_economist

REVIEW >< REVISE

2012-02-17T23:06:00.000Z

http://www.tradutorprofissional.com/

TIRADAS

2012-02-17T23:00:00.001Z

[Frases espirituosas ou irônicas]
Hoje é dia de rock, bebê!
Down again? Bad, bad server... no donut for you!
Houston, we have a problem...
The latest: Deita na BR... (mázinha, essa...)

Success: identify your objective, plan the future, make it happen!

2012-02-17T12:59:00.001Z

"Sucesso é uma questão de identificar seu objetivo, planejar seu futuro, depois fazê-lo acontecer".
(ex-presidente francês Charles de Gaulle)
http://www.migalhas.com/mostra_noticia_amanhecidas.aspx?cod=150361

PRÓCER / LIDERANÇA

2012-02-15T14:00:00.000Z

Prócer (subst): Homem importante de uma nação, classe, partido etc.: "Muito bem sabiam os próceres de Cartago que não viriam encontrar no Ocidente apenas terra batida...”

De Porandubas (Migalhas):

Historinha contada por Carlos Santos, em seu livro Só Rindo 2.
"Auxiliar direto do governador DM, GR apresenta-lhe outro político interiorano:
      - Este é um prócer político do Trairi - define.
Noutra oportunidade, utiliza vocábulo diferente :
      - Governador, este é uma liderança política da região Oeste.
Intrigado com as constantes distinções, mas sem captar a sutileza da separação, o arguto DM interpela GR:
-      "Por que uns são próceres e outros lideranças ?".
Professoral, GR justifica :
      - Governador, prócer só tem pose, liderança é quem tem voto."

PEPPERLAND

2012-02-15T04:09:00.000Z

Sabe aquela música instrumental linda que toca em um comercial na madrugada? É “Pepperland”, do filme “Yellow Submarine” (Beatles).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFMxX51uKEE&feature=related

LOVE IS IN THE AIR

2012-02-14T02:46:00.003Z

February 14th, or Valentine's Day, is when lovers and friends pamper each other with flowers, candy, cards, and jewelry.
Tom Jones: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=061cgLtuYeQ

The Top Five Regrets of the Dying

2012-02-13T03:24:00.008Z

Os cinco maiores arrependimentos daqueles que estão para morrer

Uma enfermeira que aconselhou muitas pessoas em seus últimos dias de vida escreveu um livro com os cinco arrependimentos mais comuns das pessoas antes de morrer.
        Bronnie Ware é um enfermeira que passou muitos anos trabalhando com cuidados paliativos, cuidando de pacientes em seus últimos três meses de vida. Em "The Top Five Regrets of the Dying" (Os Cinco Maiores Arrependimentos Daqueles que Estão Para Morrer", ela conta que os pacientes ganharam uma clareza de pensamento incrível no fim de suas vidas e que podemos aprender muito desta sabedoria. "Quando questionados sobre desejos e arrependimentos, alguns temas comuns surgiam repetidamente", disse Bronnie ao jornal britânico "The Guardian". Confira a lista e os comentários da enfermeira:
      1. Eu gostaria de ter tido a coragem de viver a vida que eu quisesse, não a vida que os outros esperavam que eu vivesse - "Esse foi o arrependimento mais comum. Quando as pessoas percebem que a vida delas está quase no fim e olham para trás, é fácil ver quantos sonhos não foram realizados. A maioria das pessoas não realizou nem metade dos seus sonhos e têm de morrer sabendo que isso aconteceu por causa de decisões que tomaram, ou não tomaram. A saúde traz uma liberdade que poucos conseguem perceber, até que eles não a têm mais."
      2. Eu gostaria de não ter trabalhado tanto - "Eu ouvi isso de todo paciente masculino que eu trabalhei. Eles sentiam falta de ter vivido mais a juventude dos filhos e a companhia de seus parceiros. As mulheres também falaram desse arrependimento, mas como a maioria era de uma geração mais antiga, muitas não tiveram uma carreira. Todos os homens com quem eu conversei se arrependeram de passar tanto tempo de suas vidas no ambiente de trabalho."
     3. Eu queria ter tido a coragem de expressar meus sentimentos - "Muitas pessoas suprimiram seus sentimentos para ficar em paz com os outros. Como resultado, eles se acomodaram em uma existência medíocre e nunca se tornaram quem eles realmente eram capazes de ser. Muitos desenvolveram doenças relacionadas à amargura e ressentimento que eles carregavam."
     4. Eu gostaria de ter ficado em contato com os meus amigos - "Frequentemente eles não percebiam as vantagens de ter velhos amigos até eles chegarem em suas últimas semanas de vida e não era sempre possível rastrear essas pessoas. Muitos ficaram tão envolvidos em suas próprias vidas que eles deixaram amizades de ouro se perderem ao longo dos anos. Tiveram muito arrependimentos profundos sobre não ter dedicado tempo e esforço às amizades. Todo mundo sente falta dos amigos quando está morrendo."
     5. Eu gostaria de ter me permitido ser mais feliz - "Esse é um arrependimento surpreendentemente comum. Muitos só percebem isso no fim da vida que a felicidade é uma escolha. As pessoas ficam presas em antigos hábitos e padrões. O famoso 'conforto' com as coisas que são familiares O medo da mudança fez com que ele fingissem para os outros e para si mesmos que eles estavam contentes quando, no fundo, eles ansiavam por rir de verdade e aproveitar as coisas bobas em suas vidas de novo."
Fonte: folha.com/no1046241

The New Online Craze/Fad/Meme/Trend

2012-02-13T02:32:00.002Z

‘Bradying’ Replaces ‘Tebowing’ as New Stupid Sheep-like Thing to Do /
The Poor Man’s Tebowing (Tebowing dos Pobres/Desvalidos/Derrotados)
No comments...

Happily ever after...

2012-02-13T00:04:00.002Z

E foram felizes para sempre...
Love You! Now, the Difficult Stuff - ‘Happily ever after’ is a Hollywood concept, marriage experts remind engaged couples. Asking some hard questions before the wedding can avoid some problems after it. [http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/fashion/weddings/love-you-now-the-difficult-stuff.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntemail0=y]
Questions to Ask Before You Marry - When asking difficult questions before marrying, couples should adopt a tone conducive to an open dialogue, experts advise. And do not ask them all at once. [http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/fashion/weddings/questions-to-ask-before-you-marry.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1329091372-Ljs4skclfVDptMlBjMAeAg]

CONVICTION

2012-02-12T15:33:00.004Z

The judgment of a jury or judge that a person is guilty of a crime as charged. The state of being found or proved guilty: evidence that led to the suspect's conviction. Condenação
The act or process of convincing. The state of being convinced. Synonym: certainty. A fixed or strong belief. Synonym: opinion // Certeza, opinião, convencimento

"Whatever Happened to First Class?

AS a longtime veteran of the coach cabin and all the horrors therein — the battles for overhead space, the wheelie-bag traffic jams, the knee-numbing legroom — one can only imagine my thrill when I boarded a recent American Airlines flight from San Jose, Calif., to Dallas. There I was, after all, in the first row. My seat was wide, the armrest was enormous, and the guys behind me were talking, businessman-style, about real estate and golf, bankruptcies and bogies. This was the high life, I figured, a conviction [certeza] that only intensified when the flight attendant approached with a silver tray and addressed me — unprompted — as “Mr. McKinley.” Then ...
... But while avoiding the epic security lines — reserved for those suspicious economy-class types — is certainly a perk, the first-class treatment apparently doesn’t always get you past the velvet rope. Holding a first-class ticket does not guarantee access to terminal clubs, something I discovered at Newark Liberty International Airport, where my $759.70 ticket — one way — wasn’t enough to get me into the United lounge, despite the fact that I was wearing my best (and only) suit."
[Read the full article: [http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/travel/whatever-happened-to-first-class.html?src=un&feedurl=http%3A%2F%2Fjson8.nytimes.com%2Fpages%2Ftravel%2Findex.jsonp]

THAT'S IT!

2012-02-12T15:31:00.000Z

- Por que vocês, europeus, gostam tanto de vir para o Brasil, apesar de saber que aqui o turista sofrerá com as condições do país?
- Exatamente por isso mesmo – depois de ver a infraestrutura tão precária do Brasil, voltamos felizes porque a Europa não está tão mal assim...

SPECIAL LAW

2012-02-10T09:27:00.002Z

           A special law, sometimes called a “private law” or a “local law,” refers to a law that applies only to a specific group of people or an organization. In this way it is different from general law, which applies to everyone under the jurisdiction of the elected body that made the law. For example, the crime of murder is a general law. A special law can be drafted to address concerns or needs of a particular locality within a larger region or a specific institution or government entity.
           The uses of special law are many and varied. Special laws often involve important issues dealing with social institutions. They can be enacted to fund or replenish pensions for government employees such as police, firefighters, and educators. They are often used to authorize emergency money for hospitals or highway departments that was not in their original budgets.
           They are also important in the areas of industry regulation and environmental issues. They made add additional burdens to a specific industry or give incentives for doing things that will have a positive impact on the environment or general public health. With ever-increasing populations and expansion, municipal annexations are also a subject of special law.
           Many jurisdictions do not allow the use of special law where an existing general law could apply. Some states severely restrict the use of special law in their constitutions. In general, these provisions were originally drafted to make sure that the legislature did not pass too many laws or devote too much time to local issues instead of those affecting a large region or the entire state. Some legislatures attempt to balance these concerns by allowing the use of special laws only in areas of medium to large populations.
           With the many laws now in existence, it can sometimes be difficult to decide whether a special law is really necessary in a particular case, which is when it can be helpful to look at the historical reasons for limiting special laws. One of the fears about special laws was that powerful people, including those who made the law, could use it for selfish ends. Another was that they could be used to oppress classes of people who were held in disfavor. If a special law serves a real need, it is meant to hold off some social harm or address a specific social ill; there is no concern about selfish interests. If the law’s intent is to promote the public good in some way that a general law cannot, then it is usually considered necessary.
Source: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-special-law.htm

WORK HARD AT WORK WORTH DOING

2012-02-09T22:57:00.003Z

American President Theodore Roosevelt once said:
"Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing."

FARTHER v. FURTHER

2012-02-09T21:53:00.001Z

Farther refers to actual distance; further refers to figurative distance and means "to a greater degree" or "to a greater extent."
· The drive from the airport was farther (in actual distance) than we expected.
· Let's plan to discuss the tournament proposal further (to a greater extent).
· You can hike farther than I because you are in better shape.
· We shall go no further with this argument.

AFTER HOURS

2012-02-09T21:46:00.003Z

After hours: depois do horário normal de expediente.

After hours (ou after market) é o período de negociação que funciona fora do horário regular do pregão. A Bovespa, p.ex., atualmente, tem o seu after market entre 18h45/19h30, enquanto o pregão normal se encerra às 18 horas.

At a loss [No prejuízo?] - On February 8th the company announced its first ever set of public quarterly results, covering the last three months of 2011. Instead of making a profit, as had been widely expected, it revealed a $XX loss. The news sent its shares tumbling in after-hours trading and was a timely reminder of the risks associated with its business model, which is heavily dependent on aggressive spending on marketing and sales.

Nota: O título do filme “After Hours”, que poderia até ser traduzido como “Pela Noite Afora” / “Madrugada”, etc. foi traduzido como “Depois de Horas”. É o que dá escolher tradutor pelo menor preço...

OVERHAUL / REMODEL / REFORM

2012-02-07T23:58:00.002Z

Brazil seeks investors to overhaul airports
Right now many of its airports are barely up to the task of handling rapidly growing domestic air traffic, but Brazil has begun a process of inviting in private investors and granting concessions to renovate and manage airports across the country. Infraero, a government corporation that runs many Brazilian airports, will maintain a 49 percent stake in the joint ventures formed with investors.

SoMoClo

2012-02-07T23:56:00.000Z

Integração de 3 funções na empresa: recursos sociais, móveis e de nuvem funcionando como uma única construção, não três, criando o termo "SoMoClo" (do inglês Social, Mobile and Cloud). Com o SOMoClo, a nuvem é o núcleo do sistema, a mobilidade é a borda e o social é a conexão entre as funções [Cloud is the core, mobile its edge, and social the connections).

PARA INGLÊS VER

2012-02-07T23:54:00.000Z

just for effect = for the sake of apperance = just to show to the British

BOUNCER = SECURITY

2012-02-07T23:52:00.000Z

Bounce: Slang. To expel by force.
Bouncer: Slang. A person employed to expel disorderly persons from a public place, especially a bar. SEGURANÇA DE CASA NOTURNA = LEÃO DE CHÁCARA
“Bounce: Behind the Velvet Rope” - A chronicle of the lives of bouncers – the burly boys who guard both sides of the door in nightclubs across America. The documentary takes an inside look at the mindset of these frequently ridiculed, but always feared enforcers of the night and examines whether they are skilled experts in security, hired to anticipate trouble, or just hired thugs meant to intimidate.

CIBRIDISMO / CYBRIDISM

2012-02-07T21:32:00.001Z

http://olhardigital.uol.com.br/jovem/digital_news/noticias/voce-ja-ouviu-falar-so-cibridismo
“...assunto que será tendência para os próximos anos: o cibridismo. O termo conceitua um movimento que está se intensificando a cada ano, a união do mundo virtual e digital. Segundo a especialista, todos nós estamos nos tornando ciber híbridos, ou seja, permanecemos on e off ao mesmo tempo, passeando entre os mundos.”

http://culturadigital.br/artedocibridismo

The reesearch “The Art of Cybridism”, sponsored by National Arts Foundation (Funarte), now have a version for English speakers. The goal of the study was to understand part of the art and technology scenario in Brazil, interviewing artists resident in three states of the country: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais. At total, 11 artists discussed their production and gave their opinions about the current context Brazil is dealing when discussing new media art.

SINGLETONS = CELIBATÁRIOS [?]

2012-02-05T11:15:00.005Z

Você tem uma sugestão melhor? Email me!
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/opinion/sunday/living-alone-means-being-social.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntemail1=y
One’s A Crowd
       MORE people live alone than at any other time in history. In prosperous American cities — Atlanta, Denver, Seattle, San Francisco and Minneapolis — 40 percent or more of all households contain a single occupant. In Manhattan and in Washington, nearly one in two households are occupied by a single person.
      By international standards, these numbers are surprising — surprisingly low. In Paris, the city of lovers, more than half of all households contain single people, and in socialist Stockholm, the rate tops 60 percent.
...
      Living alone comports [combina] with modern values. It promotes freedom, personal control and self-realization — all prized aspects of contemporary life.
      It is less feared, too, for the crucial reason that living alone no longer suggests an isolated or less-social life. After interviewing more than 300 singletons (my term for people who live alone) during nearly a decade of research, I’ve concluded that living alone seems to encourage more, not less, social interaction.
      Paradoxically, our species, so long defined by groups and by the nuclear family, has been able to embark on this experiment in solo living because global societies have become so interdependent. Dynamic markets, flourishing cities and open communications systems make modern autonomy more appealing; they give us the capacity to live alone but to engage with others when and how we want to and on our own terms.
      In fact, living alone can make it easier to be social, because single people have more free time, absent family obligations, to engage in social activities.
      Compared with their married counterparts, single people are more likely to spend time with friends and neighbors, go to restaurants and attend art classes and lectures.
...
      New communications technologies make living alone a social experience, so being home alone does not feel involuntary or like solitary confinement. The person alone at home can digitally navigate through a world of people, information and ideas. Internet use does not seem to cut people off from real friendships and connections.
      In my interviews, older single people expressed a clear preference for living alone, which allowed them to retain their feelings of independence and integrity, and a clear aversion to moving in with friends or family or into a nursing home.
      According to research by the Rutgers sociologist Deborah Carr, at 18 months after the death of a spouse, only one in four elderly men and one in six elderly women say they are interested in remarrying; one in three men and one in seven women are interested in dating someday; and only one in four men and one in 11 women are interested in dating immediately.
      Most older widows, widowers and divorced people remake their lives as single people. A century ago, nearly 70 percent of elderly American widows lived with a child; today — thanks to Social Security, private pensions and wealth generated in the market — just 20 percent do. According to the U.C.L.A. economist Kathleen McGarry: “When they have more income and they have a choice of how to live, they choose to live alone. They buy their independence.”
...
      All signs suggest that living alone will become even more common in the future, at every stage of adulthood and in every place where people can afford a place of their own.

FAMÍLIA FELIZ

2012-02-02T18:29:00.000Z

YES, I CAN!

2012-02-02T17:40:00.002Z

I diasssabmled, claened, adn erassmebled hte ykebroad mysfel.

AYE (YES) / NAY (NO, NOT)

2012-01-31T20:25:00.000Z

These two terms are still in everyday use in Northern Britain, and used extensively in Scotland (for example: “it will take months, nay years”). "See here for aye, and there for nay". Both terms are still used in the British Parliament.

BAS FOND

2012-01-31T20:17:00.000Z

Expressão do francês bas-fond [bá-fôn] cujo significado, entre outros, é "as camadas miseráveis e moralmente degradadas da sociedade", ou seja, o submundo; sinônimo de baixaria: bafão.

AWAY DAYS

2012-01-31T20:11:00.000Z

Dia de Lazer / Dia Feliz
How to run Away Days
These guidelines are for HoDs [Heads Of Department], facilitators and organisers.
Away Days are good for:
- Visioning (how could/should the dept look in 5/10 years time)
- Broad brush, long term planning
- Improving communications
- Improving teamworking and problem solving
- Helping staff to feel valued and to value their job
- Standing back from the situation (seeing the 'wood for the trees')

UK x US ENGLISH

2012-01-31T20:03:00.000Z

AGAINST ALL ODDS

2012-01-24T13:38:00.001Z

- often against all odds - // - muitas vezes contra todas as evidências --
members of the squad won their way through to the World Cup against all odds.// os integrantes da equipe conquistaram, de forma improvável/inesperada/inacreditável, a vaga na Copa do Mundo
Against all odds he has made considerable progress // Contra tudo o que seria de esperar, ele conseguiu progressos consideráveis
Against all odds, broadband internet continues to grow // Contra todas as expectativas, a Internet de banda larga continua a crescer
Against all odds, we hit it off instantly // Contra todas as probabilidades, nós nos demos bem instantaneamente
an attempt against all odds to defend the idea of a more cosmopolitan Europe // uma tentativa desesperada de defender a ideia de uma Europa mais cosmopolita
Are we not called to be the light of the world when, against all odds, we keep hoping in the midst of difficulties? //
committed to respecting human and civil rights against all odds // empenhados, apesar de tudo, no respeito dos direitos humanos e cívicos,
fighting against all odds.//lutando contra todas as adversidades.
However, and against all odds, // No entanto, e contra todos os prenúncios/prognósticos negativos,
However, if against all odds, the economic situation changes, // Se entretanto, e contra todas as previsões, a conjuntura mudar, e
I have deep respect for small enterprises which, against all odds, try to survive. //Tenho o maior respeito pelas pequenas empresas que, contra todos os obstáculos, lutam pela sobrevivência.
Não seremos chamados a ser luz do mundo, quando, contra tudo e contra todos, mantemos uma esperança apesar das dificuldades ?
only express the hope, should closer cooperation be achieved against all odds, that // apenas manifestar a esperança de que, no caso de, mesmo contra todas as expectativas, se conseguir uma cooperação mais estreita,
Success against all odds, that's probably the best way to describe what the // Sucesso apesar de tudo, essa é provavelmente a melhor maneira de descrever o que
They would be amazed that their vision, despite all of the odds against it at the beginning and all of the resistance that has been mounted against it [...] // Ficariam surpreendidos de que sua visão, apesar de todas as dificuldades do início e de toda a resistência contra ela, tenha conseguido tanto.
Those who had enough courage to attend matches "against all odds" //Aqueles que tinham bastante coragem para assistir a jogos "apesar de tudo"
to defend against all odds the project that //defender a todo custo o projeto que

Source: Linguee

PURVIEW

2012-01-23T19:04:00.001Z

Purview means the range of control, concern or function. (noun). An example of purview is the extent to which a local government has power over the citizens.
- Immigration policy is the purview (seara, competência, esfera, âmbito) of the federal government.
- It is not within my purview to answer that question (não cabe a mim responder a essa pergunta).

TEBOWING

2012-01-19T22:57:00.001Z

Mais uma brincadeira invade locais famosos: Tebowing, que consiste em tirar uma foto com um joelho apoiado no chão, um cotovelo na perna e a mão na cabeça, é inspirada na estrela do time de futebol americano Denver Broncos Tim Tebow. Católico, o jogador se ajoelha em oração a cada início e fim de jogo da NFL.

MEME = REPLICATOR = VIRAL = BORDÃO

2012-01-19T10:27:00.007Z

Os leitores do blog ("menos a Luisa, que está voltando hoje do Canadá") talvez se lembrem de uma postagem anterior ("go viral = virar febre na Internet") sobre "memes", parcialmente reproduzida abaixo:

Meme = A unit of cultural information, such as a cultural practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another (a replicator).
A hashtag #LuizaEstaNoCanada ficou em 1º lugar nos trend topics do Twitter no Brasil na tarde desta quinta-feira (12). A hashtag se refere a uma frase dita em um comercial veiculado em algumas TVs da Paraíba, onde o colunista Gerardo Rabello é o garoto propaganda de uma construtora. No comercial ele apresenta a família e em um momento ele diz “fiz questão de reunir toda a minha família, menos Luiza que está no Canadá…”. Luiza é filha do colunista e não participou do comercial. A frase "bombou" na internet, em todas as variações possíveis e imagináveis e rendeu inúmeros artigos na Internet ("Dez passeios para fazer com a Luisa no Canadá”; charges (Obama no Canada: “Vim conhecer a Luisa”); Cantor Lenine para a platéia: ““Que maravilha, está todo mundo aqui, rapaz! Só não está a Luiza, que está no Canadá”) e propaganda (“Que tal visitar a Luisa no Canadá “ - Decolar.com). Dizem que ela volta hoje e já tem várias entrevistas agendadas e muitos jornalistas à sua espera no aeroporto!
Outra hashtag (#) surgiu esta semana na Itália: "Vada a bordo, cazzo!" e camisetas foram impressas com esse grito e palavrão dirigidos ao capitão do navio acidentado.

OUT-OF-THE-BOX VS. OUTSIDE THE BOX

2012-01-17T10:21:00.001Z

PENSAR FORA DA CAIXINHA (?? Isso faz sentido no Brasil?)
              Thinking outside the box (sometimes erroneously called "thinking out of the box" or "thinking outside the square") is to think differently, unconventionally, or from a new perspective. This phrase often refers to novel or creative thinking.
              Out of the box is the term used to denote items, functionalities, or features that do not require any additional installation. In addition to being used for tangible products, the phrase is often used in a less literal sense for software, which may not be distributed in an actual box but offer certain functions "out of the box," i.e. without modification. In the case of implementation of products that use other products, out of the box also has the connotation of using a system without customization, such that it is usable with a Vanilla Software installation. When a device fails when brand new, it is known as Out of Box failure.
              Vanilla software is computer software that is not customized from its delivered form - i.e. it is used without any customizations applied to it. Vanilla software can become a widespread de facto industry standard, widely used by businesses and individuals.

GREEN

2012-01-16T16:45:00.001Z

green area/green belt [cinturão verde] = A green belt or greenbelt is a policy and land use designation used in land use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighbouring urban areas. In essence, a green belt is an invisible line encircling a certain area, preventing development of the area allowing wildlife to return and be established.
green beret – "In addition to the training on Mexican soil, U.S. Army Green Berets have been training in the United States hundreds of Mexican troops who form elite counter-narcotics and counterinsurgency battalions": forças especiais do exército, boinas verdes
green card – "Shusterman says that under the current rules, he advises such people not to apply for citizenship and not to leave the country expecting to re-enter on their permanent citizenship papers, commonly known as a green card": visto permanente
greenfield - área de terra sem infraestrutura construída, mas com projetos de obra no local
green light – "The county gave them a green light to do whatever they wanted": sinal verde, carta branca
green line – "The unprecedented evacuation of settlements in Sinai predicted the same alarming prospect for the settlers of Yesha (Judea, Samaria, and Gaza) on the other side of the Green Line": Linha Verde
green paper – "The EC Commission is presently at the early stages of preparing a Green Paper on liability for environmental damage": Livro Verde, proposta do governo, declaração do governo
green party – "Failure could also have a negative impact on green parties' election polls": partido verde
green plan – "The Green Plan is the federal government's five year environmental plan": plano ambiental
green revolution – "The techniques whose adoption is shown here are the "green revolution" crop varieties developed through international exchange of materials, cross-breeding and local seed multiplication": revolução agrícola
green space – "In sum, the Plan's 30/30/30 strategy (30 acres of green space, 30,000 jobs, $30 million new tax revenues) would bring to the Site the kind of economic and community development and environmental protection never before seen in Somerville": área verde, vegetação
green water – "The green water environment extends from the outer edge of the brown-water layer past any continental shelves, archipelagos and islands; perhaps a thousand miles from shore": águas verdes
green-water navy – "A "green-water navy" is capable of defense of its nation in depth and is a significant offensive force within its territory": marinha de guerra que mantém alguma capacidade de operar nos oceanos, mas que não conta com navios de grande porte nem goza de grande autonomia, marinha de água verde
greenways [pista de bicicleta] or green wedges have a linear character and may run through an urban area instead of around it. They are long, narrow pieces of land, often used for recreation and pedestrian and bicycle user traffic, and sometimes for streetcar, light rail or retail uses.
Source: Migalaw et al
A lista acima não esgota as inúmeras possibilidades com “green”.

EIRELI = SP

2012-01-15T14:39:00.003Z

Empresa Individual de Responsabilidade Limitada (EIRELI) = Limited-Liability Sole Proprietorship
Eiréli ou Eirelí? Sendo uma palavra proparoxítona, a ênfase é na terceira sílaba. Logo, no ultimo "i". Contudo, muitos profissionais contábeis estão pronunciando "Eiréli". O que vai pegar?

GEEKS / HIPSTERS/ NERDS

2012-01-13T23:40:00.003Z

GEEK: A person who is single-minded or accomplished in scientific or technical pursuits but is felt to be socially inept. Nowadays, chiefly associated with contemporary student and computer slang, as in computer geek. Aquele que ganha a vida resolvendo bugs de computador. São experts naquilo que gostam. Geralmente são web designer/desenvolvedor, TI, designer gráfico, designer/desenvolvedor de jogos, marketer, empresário.
HIPSTER: One who is exceptionally aware of or interested in the latest trends and tastes, especially a devotee of modern jazz.
NERD: person who is single-minded or accomplished in scientific or technical pursuits but is felt to be socially inept. Basicamente, um nerd é um personagem cômico, com alguns problemas cognitivos para determinados assuntos. Os traços de um nerd incluem diversas características, entre elas: interesse extremo e obsessivo por livros e estudos, introversão, dificuldade para se relacionar socialmente; e diversas habilidades mais desenvolvidas devido ao gosto por games, filmes, ciência e computadores.

Descobri que já abordei este tópico anteriormente [parece que sempre surge uma palavra nova, ou a anterior assume um novo significado]:

3.21.2009 - KNOW-IT-ALL / WHIZ KID / GEEK / NERD / SMART ALECK –

A know-it-all translator? Nenhum tradutor é um especialista em tudo. É claro que, com os anos de trabalho duro, acumula-se um pouco de conhecimento. (E quanto mais se aprende, mais se descobre o quanto não sabemos ou quanto ainda temos que aprender – "Só sei que nada sei".[frase que Platão atribuía a Sócrates],) Mas, obviamente, ninguém consegue ser um especialista em tudo. E só conseguimos fazer certas traduções após muita pesquisa. Lembro que quando foi aprovado o novo código de trânsito (1997), uma grande montadora pediu que eu traduzisse um resumo de cerca de 30 páginas. Apenas para chegar à definição dos termos adequados para as multas (leve, grave, gravíssima), consultei mais de 400 páginas de códigos de trânsito de vários países.
            Know-it-all or know-all is an epithet applied to any person who exhibits the belief that he or she possesses a superior intellect and wealth of knowledge, and shows a determination to demonstrate his perceived superiority at every opportunity.
            The whiz kid is usually a stock character, with a specific personality type. Traits tend to include; highly intelligent, lacking in physical strength, mentally intimidating, knowledgable and confident.[1] The term "whiz kid" can apply to both males and females.[2] They are usually characterized as wearing glasses, somewhat overdressed or touting an unusual style than the rest of the group (this may include button-up shirts, suspenders, and gelled, parted hair or other, slightly dated, wear). ... The whiz kid character usually takes pride in being smart, and often uses big words (sometimes to show off, or to confuse and manipulate other, less intelligent characters). Derogatory references may include: "geeks" or "nerds".
            A "smart alec" or "smart aleck" is a person regarded as obnoxiously self-assertive and an impudent (=insolent, impertinent) person.
Source: Wikipedia

5.28.2008 - NERD / GEEK / SCENESTER / DUD / SUCKER

            Nerd (noun) = A foolish, inept, or unattractive person. A person who is single-minded or accomplished in scientific or technical pursuits but is felt to be socially inept (nova gíria para "square", dos anos 50-70)
            Geek (noun) = young people who spend their youth studying at the expense of their social life (ou seja, um CDF)
            Scenester (noun) = (Youthspeak) Someone intent on "making the scene," a really cool groupie always at the right band concerts, hanging with the right nest of other cool groupies. Scenesters are identified by their drab clothes, smoking, drug use (or talk of drug use), use of cool words from in(tellectual) magazines, which they don't know the meaning of, and lack of attention to the music at the concerts they attend. An offensive hair-do is a must, if not with spikes and bizarre colors, at least with highlights. The antonym is "geek."
            Usage: This word refers to groupies or "band aids," young people who follow bands from concert to concert and who become disdainful in their knowledge of the lore of contemporary rock bands. Scenesters often end up working for geeks in later life. Ouch!
            Dud = One that is disappointingly ineffective or unsuccessful.
            Sucker (noun) = One who is easily deceived; a dupe. One that is indiscriminately attracted to something specified: “The nation's capital is a sucker for a symbolic gesture”.
            Nerd (noun) = A foolish, inept, or unattractive person. A person who is single-minded or accomplished in scientific or technical pursuits but is felt to be socially inept (nova gíria para "square", dos anos 50-70)
            Geek (noun) = young people who spend their youth studying at the expense of their social life (ou seja, um CDF).
            Scenester (noun) = (Youthspeak) Someone intent on "making the scene," a really cool groupie always at the right band concerts, hanging with the right nest of other cool groupies. Scenesters are identified by their drab clothes, smoking, drug use (or talk of drug use), use of cool words from in(tellectual) magazines, which they don't know the meaning of, and lack of attention to the music at the concerts they attend. An offensive hair-do is a must, if not with spikes and bizarre colors, at least with highlights. The antonym is "geek."
            Usage: This word refers to groupies or "band aids," young people who follow bands from concert to concert and who become disdainful in their knowledge of the lore of contemporary rock bands. Scenesters often end up working for geeks in later life. Ouch!
            Dud = One that is disappointingly ineffective or unsuccessful.
            Sucker (noun) = One who is easily deceived; a dupe. One that is indiscriminately attracted to something specified: “The nation's capital is a sucker for a symbolic gesture”

MOLHO INGLÊS = WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE

2012-01-13T20:54:00.004Z

Eu tinha 9 anos quando, ao visitar a Fazenda Santa Lúcia no Paraná, da qual meu tio Olívio era o administrador, entrei na biblioteca da casa da sede e fiquei fascinada por aquelas estantes repletas de livros. Mais ainda quando me disseram que podia escolher os livros que quisesse e levar. Foi aí que escolhi e trouxe para casa livros de Jorge Amado, Plínio Barreto, José Mauro de Vasconcelos, e muitos outros. E danei a ler tudo e fui fisgada pelos livros.
             Lembrei-me disso hoje porque, ao entrar em uma importadora, atraída por uns produtos italianos em promoção, vi um vidro de molho inglês. Lembrei que, entre aqueles livros, havia um grosso volume de culinária - cujo nome já não me lembro - mas lembro de uma das receitas: “Sinfonia Bananesca em Dó Maior” [se alguém sabe o nome do livro, por favor, envie-me um e-mail). Era uma espécie de merengue com bananas. Mas, outra receita que também me deixava fascinada era a receita do molho inglês. (Não adianta chegar na Inglaterra e perguntar onde encontrar molho inglês – assim como não adianta procurar "pão italiano" na Itália – pelo menos esse que nós conhecemos aqui não existe lá.) Mas o molho inglês, na verdade, não existe é no Brasil. Aqui temos um arremedo de molho inglês. O verdadeiro molho inglês se chama “Worcestershire Sauce”. E aquele velho livro de receitas trazia a receita certinha de como fazer. Que é exatamente como é feito na Inglaterra: entra anchova em sua composição. Na Europa, de modo geral, muitos cozidos de carne tem o seu sabor realçado com anchovas. Aliás, esse negócio de colocar peixe e frutos do mar em receitas de carne é um costume também em Portugal. Lá se come bacalhau envolto em presunto cru, camarão com frango e carne de porco com marisco (a famosa carne de porco alentejana).
             Mas, voltando ao molho inglês que acabei comprando, sua composição é muito pobre. Aquele antigo livro listava uns 30 ingredientes – de pasta de tamarindo a anchovas e tudo, é claro, apurado um um tacho de cobre (será que faz diferença?).
             Da próxima vez que vier de Londres, certamente vou trazer o verdadeiro "Worcestershire Sauce"!

DULÇOR = DULÇURA = DOÇURA

2012-01-13T13:16:00.000Z

O dulçor do arroz doce é realçado pela flor de sal, que deixa a sobremesa dulçurosa.

OUTSOURCING >< INSOURCING

2012-01-11T20:52:00.002Z

Outsourcing (n): The procuring of services or products, such as the parts used in manufacturing a motor vehicle, from an outside supplier or manufacturer in order to cut costs. Terceirização
Insourcing (n): Doing work with inhouse employees. Creating jobs in your country by an organization that is foreign owned. Nacionalização? Produção interna? [em uma lista de discussão foram sugeridos termos como "repatriação de empregos/indústrias", "reindustrialização", "redirecionamento/realocação para produção interna", "desterceirização"]
"Following the insourcing forum on Wednesday, Obama recognized Ford for committing to bring back about 2,000 jobs to U.S. factories by 2015 and shifting some of its production from Japan, Mexico and China to states such as Michigan, Ohio and Missouri.
He also recognized Master Lock, the Milwaukee-based padlock manufacturer and subsidiary of Fortune Brands Home & Security, for bringing 100 jobs back to Wisconsin, after outsourcing them to China."

What comes after once, twice, thrice*?

2012-01-10T22:12:00.001Z

Nothing! These three are the only words of their type, and no further terms in the series have ever existed.

(*Three times" is better than "thrice")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaFJcJO3RH4&feature=related

At What Age Do Translators Do Their Best Work?

2012-01-10T21:27:00.000Z

"There is a theory that most rock musicians write their best music about 5 years after they first put together a band and start performing and writing songs.
...
I think it is safe to say that unlike rock musicians, translators don’t do their best work while they are still quite young, because they don’t really know anything about anything when they are still young, even the talented ones. Translators don’t need as much inspiration as writers or actors, although they do need some. But they definitely do need experience, and the more the better. Ten years of experience in the field of translation is better than nothing, but it is not much. Twenty years is better than ten, and thirty is better still.
...
I also think that because the work of translators is based on what they know about their languages and the world around them, most of them probably do their best work only after about at least two decades of solid experience in their chosen field, whether they translate mostly novels, or mostly patents as I do.
...
It’s quite possible that rock musicians do their best work after about 5 years, and retired patent lawyers and elderly patent translators after about 50 years on the job."
http://patenttranslator.wordpress.com/2012/01/08/at-what-age-do-translators-do-their-best-work/

YELLOW

2012-01-09T14:40:00.000Z

1. judicial yellow book – "The JUDICIAL YELLOW BOOK¹": catálogo com os nomes e contatos de magistrados e servidores da justiça

2. to turn yellow – "Clinton turned yellow": ficar sem graça

3. yellow alert – "In the case of a yellow alert, municipal-level emergency committees are activated and convene at least once a day to review changes in the situation and their impact on the communities": sinal amarelo, estado de atenção

4. yellow journalism – "I am sure it was yellow journalism at best": jornalismo de Terceira, jornalismo sensacionalista

5. yellow legal pad – "Thomas Harris attended the trial taking notes in longhand on yellow legal pads": o clássico bloco de notas amarelo usado por advogados americanos

6. yellow press – "Don't forget that we're talking about a time in the' 70s and' 80s where the British yellow press was very, very powerful, and Freddie was definitely concerned that if he had come out earlier, it would have harmed Queen": imprensa marrom, imprensa amarela, imprensa sensacionalista, jornal de fofocas.

7. yellow-dog contract – "A federal law prohibiting the use of yellow-dog-contracts on the railroads (Erdman Actof 1898) was struck down by the Supreme Court as an unconstitutional infringement upon the freedom of contract (Adair v. The United States)²": contrato de trabalho pelo qual o empregado se compromete a não se filiar a sindicato, contrato de trabalho que proíbe filiação sindical

8. yellow-dog contract – "Dad was in part fascinated, "his daughter says", but he wanted some control over the film, and people kept sending him what he called a yellow dog contract": contrato com cláusula que proíbe a parte a não exercer atividade semelhante ou concorrente a da outra parte, que é normalmente o empregador. A referida cláusula também é conhecida por non-compete clause, NCC, ou covenant not to compete, CNC.

9. yellow race – "Chinese are said to not only share a common ancestry, but also derive from progenitors who, in cons long before the Yellow Emperor, separated themselves from non-East Asians and spread from present south China to northeast Asia and beyond, thus becoming the core of the yellow race": raça oriental-asiática, raça amarela, raça mongólica

Source: http://www.migalhas.com.br/LawEnglish/74,MI147650,11049-As+cores+no+ingles+juridico+Yellow

10 Translation Industry Predictions for 2012

2012-01-06T22:53:00.000Z

The following are predictions that GTS blog makes for the translation industry in 2012: 1.           Business will be good. 2012 will be a good year for translation companies, following a less-than-great 2011. The US economy in a Presidential election year is rebounding and that should be good for most of the people in the food chain. More and more online content is being translated too which means more business for everyone.
2.           Demand for website and online translation services will outperform industry growth. The online content explosion, the death of books and printed materials, the increased penetration of smartphones and mobile readers will increase demand for translation of website and other online content.
3.           Customizable MT engines in the cloud. People will be able to create custom machine translation engines with their own training corpus, but without investing in expensive servers and software development. Microsoft already features a Collaborative Translation feature which puts some customization into the cloud. Let’s MT is a European company which already started Beta testing this very system concept (they invited us to start testing the system last November; while it is not ready yet the system shows promise and it should be ready this year). Other MT companies have also considered SaaS models and we may see some in 2012.
4.           Further consolidation. The big companies like Transperfect, WeLocalize and SDL will continue to grow though strategic mergers and acquisitions. The big will get bigger, some of the smaller players will disappear.
5.           Facebook will continue to integrate machine translation into the social network. They started it in 2011 by integrating the Bing Translator. They will continue to add new language features to help break down the language barrier.
6.           Translation prices will continue to drop. People, especially translators who are in denial, have argued this point with me but I expect human translation prices to continue to drop as more use of post-edited MT workflows are adapted by large LSPs and buyers of translation services.
7.           More unemployed translators. Freelance translators who refuse to adapt to the changes in the industry and who rely on outdated models will be scrambling for work in 2012. Some may not find it and may need to consider a career change.
8.           Speech-to-speech translation will not mature into serious commercial products in 2012. I think that people will continue to talk about a Universal Translator but that advances in technology will not be sufficient for a killer speech-to-speech app to be released for commercial use.
9.           European translators and translation companies will become more cost competitive. The Euro has fallen nearly 10% against the US Dollar in the last few weeks. If the economic predictions come true, the Euro should drop further in 2012. That will make it more economically viable for US companies to buy translation services in Europe.
10.        SDL will release new post-editing software. SDL already integrated MT into Trados Studio 2009, making it possible to machine translate a document and post-edit the content. I predict that SDL will release new software in 2012 that automates the MT post-editing process, making translation automation faster and easier.
[http://blog.gts-translation.com/2012/01/04/10-translation-industry-predictions-for-2012/]

RESIDENT COMEDIAN

2012-01-05T21:24:00.000Z

resident comedian / the life and soul of the office (palhaço de plantão / bobo da corte

live wire [coll.] (elétrico, no sentido de pessoa hiperativa)

EXIGENCY

2012-01-05T21:20:00.000Z

noun (plural exigencies): an urgent need or demand:
Women worked long hours when the exigencies of the family economy demanded it.
He put financial exigency before personal sentiment.

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

2012-01-01T14:55:00.001Z

Ampliar meus conhecimento de TI, CATs, MTs, Pre- and Post-Editing.
Aprofundar os conhecimentos na área de especialização.
Identificar um gargalo e estudar alternativas para simplificação.
Obter melhor equilíbrio entre trabalho e vida pessoal.
Fazer exercícios.
Ler mais.
- What are yours?

HAPPY NEW 2012

2011-12-31T13:20:00.001Z

"O presente não existe. A vida é o passado e o futuro ; vivemos de lembranças e de ambições, entre a saudade e a esperança." - Olavo Bilac
“Viva o presente. O passado passou e o amanhã ninguém garante que chegará. ”
“Não deixe para amanhã o que você pode fazer hoje.” Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.
“You can't change the past, but you can ruin the present by worrying about the future”
Yesterday's the past, tomorrow's the future, but today is a gift. That's why it's called the present.

UMA OLHADINHA...

2011-12-31T12:45:00.000Z

O Danilo está impossível com esse retrato fiel de muitas situações que enfrentamos!
http://www.tradutorprofissional.com/

AGE AND HAPPINESS

2011-12-30T13:39:00.001Z

The U-bend of life – Why, beyond middle age, people get happier as they get older
           ASK people how they feel about getting older, and they will probably reply in the same vein as Maurice Chevalier: “Old age isn’t so bad when you consider the alternative.” Stiffening joints, weakening muscles, fading eyesight and the clouding of memory, coupled with the modern world’s careless contempt for the old, seem a fearful prospect—better than death, perhaps, but not much. Yet mankind is wrong to dread ageing. Life is not a long slow decline from sunlit uplands towards the valley of death. It is, rather, a U-bend.
         When people start out on adult life, they are, on average, pretty cheerful. Things go downhill from youth to middle age until they reach a nadir commonly known as the mid-life crisis. So far, so familiar. The surprising part happens after that. Although as people move towards old age they lose things they treasure—vitality, mental sharpness and looks—they also gain what people spend their lives pursuing: happiness.
     This curious finding has emerged from a new branch of economics that seeks a more satisfactory measure than money of human well-being. Conventional economics uses money as a proxy for utility—the dismal way in which the discipline talks about happiness. But some economists, unconvinced that there is a direct relationship between money and well-being, have decided to go to the nub of the matter and measure happiness itself.
       These ideas have penetrated the policy arena, starting in Bhutan, where the concept of Gross National Happiness shapes the planning process. All new policies have to have a GNH assessment, similar to the environmental-impact assessment common in other countries. In 2008 France’s president, Nicolas Sarkozy, asked two Nobel-prize-winning economists, Amartya Sen and Joseph Stiglitz, to come up with a broader measure of national contentedness than GDP. Then last month, in a touchy-feely gesture not typical of Britain, David Cameron announced that the British government would start collecting figures on well-being.
[Read more: http://www.economist.com/node/17722567 ]

Keywords: Nadir (the lowest point [fundo do poço?]); GNHI (Gross National Happiness Index); cohort [A generational group as defined in demographics, statistics, or market research];

2011-12-29T11:16:00.002Z

http://mox.ingenierotraductor.com/

WRONGLY / WRONG

2011-12-29T10:43:00.002Z

“Wrongly” always precedes the verb it modifies: “He was wrongly suspected of having used garlic powder in the lasagna.” “Wrong” is the word you want after the verb: “She answered wrong.”
Source: Common Errors in English

101 Tips to Succeed as a Freelance Translator

2011-12-28T21:30:00.002Z

http://getdirectclient.blogspot.com/2008/09/101-tips-to-succeed-as-freelance.html

QUOTE ... UNQUOTE

2011-12-28T09:19:00.002Z

Some people get upset at the common pattern by which speakers frame a quotation by saying “quote . . . unquote,” insisting that the latter word should logically be “~~endquote~~”; but illogical as it may be, “unquote” has been used in this way for about a century, and “~~endquote~~” is nonstandard.
Source: Common Errors in English

STROLLING AROUND: ABBEY ROAD

2011-12-27T17:39:00.003Z

Yesterday: Today:

Live Wewbcam: http://www.abbeyroad.com/Crossing

Take Bus 139 towards Waterloo: West Hampstead - St John's Wood - Baker Street - Oxford Circus - Trafalgar Square - Waterloo
(sempre aparece algum turista tentando reproduzir a foto acima)

PETISCOS: PARTY FOOD / FINGER FOOD: NIBBLES, BITES AND CANAPES

2011-12-27T12:25:00.002Z

Bread or cucumber slices with houmous or cream cheese and smoked salmon
Bread or cucumber slices with chick peas and mint pâté
Cheese twists (enroladinhos de queijo)
Parmesan straws
Frankfurter rolls (enroladinhos de salsicha)
Sausage rolls (enroladinhos de calabresa)
Chickpea & red pepper dip
Avocado & lime cream

BOXING DAY

2011-12-26T10:10:00.003Z

O “Boxing Day” acontece no dia 26 de Dezembro e é o início das liquidações em praticamente todas as lojas de Londres. Nesse dia, a Oxford Street (rua de compras que é a alegria dos turistas) vira simplesmente um inferno e para entrar e sair de cada loja é algo que requer muita calma, porque é tudo completamente lotado!
Today: Retailers and shopping malls have reported "record-breaking" levels of trade as Boxing Day bargain hunters kicked off the post-Christmas sales.

XMAS

2011-12-24T01:45:00.000Z

XMAS

2011-12-24T01:38:00.005Z

Yuletide: Christmas season
Yule: Christmas
Xmas: a shortening of the word Christmas, derived from the Greek letter chi (X), the first letter in the Greek word for Christ;
wassail: (a) to sing carols from house to house at Christmas;
simnel: a bun or bread of fine wheat flour;
shammes: the candle or taper used to light the other candles in a Hanukkah menorah;
noel: a Christmas carol
glogg: a hot spiced wine and liquor punch served in Scandinavian countries as a Christmas drink.
dreidel: a children's game of chance played especially at Hanukkah with a four-sided toy marked with Hebrew letters and spun like a top
Christmas pudding: plum pudding
Christmas club: a savings account in which regular deposits are made year-round to provide money for Christmas shopping;
Boxing Day: the first weekday after Christmas, observed as a legal holiday in parts of the Commonwealth of Nations and marked by the giving of Christmas boxes to service workers (e.g., postal workers);
Christmas Day is the one day of the year when London practically shuts down. Major sights and shops close their doors, the Tube and buses come to a standstill, and most people are at home unwrapping presents. But it's also the ideal time to take advantage of the crowd-free streets and go for a stroll.

BARTER / HAGGLE / BARGAIN

2011-12-23T10:33:00.000Z

When you offer to trade your vintage jeans for a handwoven shirt, you are engaged in barter—no money is involved. One thing (or service) is traded for another.
But when you offer to buy that shirt for less money than the vendor is asking, you are engaged in haggling or bargaining, not bartering.
Source: Common Errors in English

FISCAL / FINANCIAL

2011-12-22T18:22:00.000Z

The adjective fiscal (as in fiscal year or FY) can be used to refer to all types of financial matters--those of governments and private businesses. However, with the exception of fiscal year, it is better to use fiscal only in connection with government matters and to use financial in all other situations.
Source: ProfreadNow

DOUBT THAT, DOUBT WHETHER

2011-12-22T18:20:00.001Z

Use doubt that in negative statements and in questions.
       We do not doubt that she is capable. (Negative statement.)
       Does anyone doubt that the check was mailed? (Question.)
Use doubt whether in all other cases.
       I doubt whether I can go.
Source: ProofreadNow

ACTIONABLE / DOABLE

2011-12-22T09:03:00.000Z

“Actionable” is a technical term referring to something that provides grounds for a legal action or lawsuit. People in the business world have begun using it as a fancy synonym for “doable” or “feasible.” This is both pretentious and confusing.
Source: http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html

YE / THE

2011-12-20T09:53:00.001Z

           Those who study the history of English know that the word often misread as “ye” in Middle English is good old “the” spelled with an unfamiliar character called a thorn which looks vaguely like a Y but which is pronounced “TH.” So all those quaint shop names beginning with “Ye Olde” are based on a confusion: people never said “ye” to mean “the.” However, if you’d rather be cute than historically accurate, go ahead. Very few people will know any better.
Source: Common Errors in English
        Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese (London, UK) is one of the few pubs in London that can justify the 'Ye Olde' in its name. It was well known in the 17th century and many pubs have previously occupied this site, one of them, the Horn Tavern is recorded in 1538.
         Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem – England’s oldest inn, a pub today,
         A Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe (Orlando, USA) é uma loja de Natal, que funciona durante todo o ano no Magic Kingdom, vendendo produtos de Natal, em qualquer época do ano.

PURPLE

2011-12-19T21:50:00.000Z

1. purple heart – "The US Army decorated me for bravery, a silver star for all the killing I did and a purple heart for a piece of shrapnel that punctured one of my lungs".: coração púrpura [Condecoração militar dada a membros das forças armadas feridos e mortos em serviço]
2. purple prose – "So if big harangues and arguments and purple prose don't work, what does?".: floreado, palavras floreadas
3. purple robe – "A Franciscan priest in a purple robe leads the special prayers called devotions".: dalmática roxa
4. purple with rage – "His face was purple with rage, but every word he spoke was carefully shaped and controlled".: vermelho de raiva
Source: Migalaw English

REGIME / REGIMEN

2011-12-19T12:40:00.000Z

              Regime (noun): A form of government: a fascist regime. A government in power; administration: suffered under the new regime. A prevailing social system or pattern. The period during which a particular administration or system prevails. A regulated system, as of diet and exercise; a regimen.
             Regimen (noun): Governmental rule or control. The systematic procedure of a natural phenomenon or process. A regulated system, as of diet, therapy, or exercise, intended to promote health or achieve another beneficial effect.   A course of intense physical training.
           Some people insist that “regime” should be used only in reference to governments and that people who say they are following a dietary regime should instead use “regimen”; but “regime” has been a synonym of “regimen” for over a century and is widely accepted in that sense.
Source: Answers.com / Common Errors in English

BEGS BELIEF / BEGGARS BELIEF

2011-12-17T10:40:00.002Z

You beggar people by impoverishing them, reducing them to beggary. This term now survives mainly in metaphorical expressions such as “it beggars description” (exhausts my ability to describe it) or “it beggars belief” (exhausts my ability to believe it).
People who aren’t familiar with this meaning of the word “beggar” often substitute “beg,” saying of something implausible that it “begs belief.” This makes no sense, for it implies that the story is trying to persuade you to believe it.
Source: Common Errors in English

MINUS / HYPHEN

2011-12-16T09:44:00.000Z

When baffled computer users phone Support they may say they have a Model AB “minus” 231. In the model name “AB-231” the linking character is a hyphen, though “dash” will do. “Minus” makes no sense in such contexts, but is so common that support personnel have begun to adopt it too.
Source: Common Errors in English

MY BONNIE

2011-12-15T18:51:00.002Z

The Beatles: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8vy0maIWJs&feature=related

DAMPED / DAMPENED

2011-12-15T08:40:00.000Z

When the vibration of a wheel is reduced, it is damped, but when you drive through a puddle your tire is dampened. “Dampened” always has to do with wetting, if only metaphorically: “The announcement that Bob’s parents were staying home after all dampened the spirits of the party-goers.” The parents are being a wet blanket.
Source: Common Errors in English

AGGRAVATE VS. IRRITATE

2011-12-14T09:19:00.000Z

Some people claim that “aggravate” can only mean “make worse” and should not be used to mean “irritate”; but the latter has been a valid use of the word for four centuries, and “aggravation” means almost exclusively “irritation.”
Source: http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html

TEASE / TEASER

2011-12-13T10:00:00.000Z

Entre outros significados:
(verb) To arouse hope, desire, or curiosity in without affording satisfaction.
(noun) An advertisement that attracts customers by offering something extra or free. Slang. An attention-getting vignette or highlight presented before the start of a television show.

http://www.maquinadeescrever.com/salvem.html

Visite o site acima, clique em contos e, ao “tuitar” uma mensagem divulgando o autor (é fácil: é só seguir as instruções), você ganha o direito de baixar um dos seus contos. Obviamente, escolhi o conto abaixo “O Tradutor”. Só coloco o início, como “teaser”:

O TRADUTOR

Meu nome é João Karragota. Costumo dizer que há três coisas que o povo jamais deveria saber como são feitas: as salsichas, os acordos políticos e as traduções literárias. Falo com conhecimento de causa, pois sou tradutor. Não existe tradução perfeita. As línguas são diferentes, as culturas são diferentes. Por mais que nos esforcemos em sermos fiéis ao original, nunca conseguimos atingir a perfeição, porque ela é simplesmente impossível. Dizem que uma boa tradução é aquela que menos se afasta do original. O tempo inteiro estamos fazendo escolhas. O que é menos pior? Isso ou aquilo? Se traduzir assim, me aproximo do sentido original, mas perco a graça da aliteração feita pelo autor. Se traduzir assado, me afasto do sentido, mas respeito a forma. O tradutor é como um médico diante de um paciente sem cura.

     Sou filho de imigrantes cingaleses [nativo do Ceilão] e estudei em um colégio francês. Cursei Letras, morei na França por alguns anos e depois que voltei ao Brasil passei a trabalhar com traduções do francês para o português. Recordo muito bem o dia em que descobri como são feitas as traduções. Eu tinha dezoito anos. Era um leitor assíduo de Dostoievski. Já havia lido Os irmãos Karamazov, Crime e castigo, O idiota, Um jogador e vários outros títulos. Li todos em francês. Até que um dia me presentearam com uma versão traduzida direto do russo para o português. Foi aí que tive um choque. Era completamente diferente. Parecia outro autor. Pesquisei e descobri que os tradutores franceses rebuscavam o texto original. Deixavam-no mais elaborado, mais sofisticado. Para minha decepção, percebi que não gostava de Dostoievski. Eu gostava era das traduções francesas de Dostoievski. Foi ali também que aprendi que o tradutor é, de certa forma, um autor. Ele reescreve a história a seu modo, com as suas palavras. A maioria, como já disse antes, se esforça para ser fiel. Mas há aqueles que não ligam tanto para isso e preferem impor seu estilo próprio. Ou seguir um estilo imposto pelo mercado editorial, para agradar mais ao público de seu país. Eu sou um escritor frustrado. E talvez por isso tenha decidido ser tradutor: para me vingar dos autores bem-sucedidos e saciar a minha inveja.
       E não pensem que a vida de tradutor é cômoda do ponto de vista financeiro. Quando a língua escolhida é popular entre tradutores, a situação se complica. Há um monte de gente se oferecendo para traduzir livros do francês para o português. Disputar trabalho com jovens recém-formados na Aliança Francesa é difícil. Eles se vendem por pouco. Os preços caem. As traduções, naturalmente, ficam piores. Mas as editoras não parecem ligar muito para isso.
      Os trabalhos têm aparecido esporadicamente. E cada vez por valores mais baixos. Eu estava quase desistindo da minha carreira quando...”

PEAK / PEEK / PIQUE

2011-12-13T09:54:00.000Z

It is tempting to think that your attention might be aroused to a high point by “peaking” your curiosity, but in fact, pique is a French word meaning “prick,” in the sense of “stimulate.” The expression has nothing to do with “peek,” either. Therefore the expression is “my curiosity was piqued [atiçada].”
Source: Common Errors

GRAY (UK), GREY (USA)

2011-12-12T15:34:00.000Z

1. grey area – "The fact is that there are still many grey areas in section 45 of the Act":: ponto obscuro, area nebulosa

2. grey collar – "Grey collar refers to people in the workforce who are over 65, or the standard retirement age":: mão-de-obra acima de 65 anos, aposentados que continuam no mercado de trabalho

3. grey collar work – "We really have at least gray collar work, and skilled trades jobs are highly remunerative and available":: atividades que não são consideradas blue collar nem white collar, entre as quais as dos setores de agribusiness, saúde, segurança, alta tecnologia, alimentos

4. grey goods – "These are cases of "grey goods". They may also be called cases of "parallel imports" where their importation has not been authorized by the local intellectual property owner and they thus flow in channels parallel to imports that are authorized by that owner":: produtos vendidos no mercado paralelo

5. grey market – "This gray market benefits some Tibetans enormously, but transfers economic power in Tibet toward Chinese settlers":: mercado paralelo

6. greymail – "Ferreting out whistleblowers was just part of each litigant's strategy to play on the other's fear of sensitive information becoming public. Lawyers on both sides used the words greymail or blackmail during conversations":: estratégia de defesa processual que consiste em ameaça, por parte do réu, de revelar informação sigilosa caso a ação contra ele seja continuada

7. grey zone agreement – "We have the so-called Gray Zone agreements where people agree to restrict their exports or keep their prices at a certain level":: acordo para limitar exportação, acordo de preços

Source: http://www.migalhas.com.br/LawEnglish/74,MI146525,61044-As+cores+no+ingles+juridico+Grey

PERUSE

2011-12-12T10:14:00.000Z

This word, which means “examine thoroughly” is often misused to mean “glance over hastily.” Although some dictionaries accept the latter meaning, it is not traditional.
When it is used to mean “look through” it is not standard to add “through” to “peruse.” It’s not “peruse through the records” but “peruse the records.”
Source: http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html

TIETE / TIETAR

2011-12-11T11:16:00.000Z

Fã de artista, desportista ou outra personalidade / Agir como tiete; admirar incondicionalmente (alguém ou algo).

POP IDOL

2011-12-11T10:59:00.000Z

We, translators, have a pop idol: Yves Champollion!

PALA, PALINHA

2011-12-11T10:48:00.004Z

dica, amostra, exemplo: "...você que olha e não vê, eu vou lhe dar uma pala, você vai ter que aprender" (Vinícius de Moraes, Toquinho, "A tonga da mironga do kabuletê") http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b16M_J8l7o&feature=related
A Tonga da Mironga do Kabuletê
Vinicius de Moraes

WHITELIST

2011-12-10T11:32:00.001Z

(verb): to include in the list of trusted emailers: We recommend to whitelist this e-mail: ....

RECIPROCATION

2011-12-09T14:27:00.000Z

"I give to you -- and you give to me"
Writer: PORTER, COLE / http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHxNcquH29I

Plain English Movement Around the World

2011-12-05T13:31:00.000Z

In addition to the history of the Plain English Movement in the United States, at this time we can also take a look at the impact it has had in countries such as Canada, Australia and England.
(…)
Several books were written to encourage the use of Plain English. Among the most representative, we can highlight:
- Legal Writing: Sense and Nonsense, 1982, David Melinkoff
- The Fundamentals of Legal Drafting, 1986, Reed Dickerson
- A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage, 1987, Bryan A. Garner

The most important general recommendations that we can take away from this literature are:
- Use the greatest clarity possible;
- Use examples;
- Use easily readable font sizes;
- Leave enough space in the margins;
- Use tables and diagrams;
- Divide the document into sections;
- Place related paragraphs close to each other;
- Sort the content in a logical sequence: the general before the specific, and the ordinary before the extraordinary;
- Omit unnecessary details;
- Include a summary in the first paragraph;
- Assign one idea to each paragraph;
- Use connectors;
- Use short sentences, not more than 25 words;
- Put the subject at the beginning of the sentence and near the verb;
- Preferably use the active voice;
- Use familiar words;
- Avoid repetitions;
- In technical documents for the public, explain specialized terms whose use is unavoidable;
- Prevent abuse of negative constructions;
- Always use the same term to refer to the same concept.
Source: http://translation-blog.trustedtranslations.com/plain-english-movement-around-the-world-2011-12-05.html

BARRISTER / SOLICITOR

2011-11-29T13:45:00.000Z

       In the UK, the legal profession is divided into two kinds of lawyers: solicitors, who generally advise clients and prepare legal documents, and barristers (called advocates in Scotland) who argue cases in court.
      In cases where a trial is necessary, a client has to hire a solicitor, who will advise them and then retain a barrister on their behalf.
      Solicitors have traditionally dealt with any legal matter other than conducting proceedings in court, although nowadays solicitors may appear in the lower courts and also if they have higher “rights of audience” (i.e. the right to appear in court on behalf of another person) in the higher courts.
      Barristers, who have a general right of audience in all courts, represent clients in court and provide specialist advice on complex legal matters.
      The easiest way to distinguish the two is to look at how they dress – barristers are the ones wearing wigs and gowns (yes, even in the 21st century), whilst solicitors will invariably be decked out in a dark suit.
Source: Translegal

BLACK

2011-11-28T15:25:00.001Z

1. black box – "To some extent, the Austinian common-law judge was a "black box" already containing all the prior law and into which the new facts were put. 38 Almost magically, or, at least we might say, mindlessly, out came the proper legal answer to the instant dispute: caixa preta, mistério.

2. black codes – "The specific problem facing policymakers was to negate the black codes passed by the former Confederate states in an attempt to settle the question of the freed people's status and rights": leis americanas de discriminação racial estaduais e municipais aprovadas após a guerra civil.

3. black deed – "The black deeds are also attributable to nations": ato ilícito

4. black eye – "Former President George Bush broke his silence in January on Clinton's first term in office saying the U.S. presence in Somalia evolved from a humanitarian mission to a stumbling peacemaking effort that gave the United States a black eye all over the world": macular a reputação, perder o respeito.

5. black eye – "She came to work with a black eye": olho roxo

6. black gold – "Thanks to black gold, rapid affluence would be attained without resorting to the forced savings": ouro negro, petróleo

7. black letter law – "The term "black-letter law" is also used commonly in the American legal system to mean well-established case law²": jurisprudência pacífica

8. black letter laws – "Moynihan is not satisfied with the Reagan administration's compliance with the black letter laws pertaining to executive-legislative relations": princípios gerais [de direito]

9. black letter rules – "Assume that what we are after is some more-or-less general way of understanding what happens in the law that has more generality than the flat statement of black letter rules. 3 It is clear that law and economics offers some people a way of gaining that understanding": normas técnicas

10. black list – "Moreover, the Gulf states are said to maintain a so-called black list of Arab journalists who criticize their monarchies. lista negra
11. blackmail – "The battle for readers has created a proliferation of what is commonly referred to as "garbage news" - stories about crime, blackmail, corruption, kidnappings, and sex": chantagem
12. black market – "Because economists are unable to fit this phenomenon into their rigid framework, the vast majority of unregulated, tiny, family-owned businesses in developing countries are lumped into a category called the "informal sector". It is also called the "black market" and the " unregulated economy": mercado informal
13. black market – "Cubans receive a bar of soap every six months from the government, at a price of 20 Cuban centavos each, when there is soap to be had. In the dollarized black market, imported soap is easily available for 50 U.S. cents per bar, or 12.50 Cuban pesos": mercado negro
14. black money – "Some black money becomes legitimate through amnesty schemes announced periodically by the government to attract black money": dinheiro sujo
15. black rage – "That's exactly what San Francisco lawyer Paul Harris has been doing since the early 1970s when he developed the "black rage" defense, the subject of his 1997 book, Black Rage Confronts the Law": racismo contra negros
16. black robe – "Goodmark tells of one 5-year-old child who was so intimidated by the judge in his long, black robe that she refused to raise her head and look at him during her testimony": toga
17. black robe fever – "A Walla Walla, Wash., judge calls a defendant a "smart aleck" and yells, "Shut up before you go to jail". In St. Tammany Parish, La., a judge explains to a witness that she is on his turf and, in his venue at least, he is God. # From the odd to the bizarre, these are only a few examples of" black robe fever, "as Judge V. Robert Payant, president of the National Judicial College in Reno, Nev., has dubbed the behavior of some of his peers": juizite
18. black treason – "He looked like a professor, with his scholar's stoop, high forehead, black-rimmed glasses and short redish sic hair... but what he told was a tale of black treason in act and intent": traição
Source: Migalaw

CONTÍNUO / COURIER / ESTAFETA / MENSAGEIRO / OFFICE-BOY / MOTOBOY / MOTOCICLISTA / MOTOQUEIRO

2011-11-26T22:09:00.002Z

CONTÍNUO: Funcionário encarregado de transportar papéis e documentos, ir a bancos etc.; BÓI; OFFICE-BOY
COURIER: Coleta e entrega rápida de correspondência e encomendas. Mensageiro.
ESTAFETA: Indivíduo que faz serviço de correio (transporte ou entrega de cartas, encomendas etc.). MENSAGEIRO.
MENSAGEIRO: Aquele que entrega mensagens. Estafeta.
OFFICE-BOY: Funcionário encarregado dos pequenos serviços (pagamento de contas, distribuição de correspondência, compra de lanches etc.) em escritório ou empresa [e se o office-boy é um aposentado? Office-man?]
MOTOBOY: Funcionário encarregado de fazer entregas rápidas de motocicleta, para bancos, empresas comerciais, farmácias, restaurantes etc
MOTOCLISTA: .1. Pessoa que dirige motocicleta, motociclo. 2 Esp.: Desportista que pratica motociclismo.
MOTOQUEIRO – V. Motociclista. [acho que o termo "motoboy" é melhor aceito]

EUFEMISMOS

2011-11-26T21:51:00.007Z

Figura de linguagem baseada na substituição de palavra ou expressão que possa ter sentido triste, grosseiro, ou seja apenas desagradável, por outra de sentido mais suave ou conveniente (p.ex.: traseiro no lugar de bunda, esguio no lugar de magro, descuidado no lugar de irresponsável etc.). Palavra usada como eufemismo: Usou o eufemismo 'forte' para não chamá-la de 'gorda'
A faixa em letras garrafais dizia:

Mercadorias

ABANDONO

Seria um leilão de mercadorias abandonadas, confiscadas, perdidas? De perto lia-se:

Edifício Bolsa de Mercadorias

TREINO DE ABANDONO

Abandono? O prédio até parece bem cuidadinho... Aí caiu a ficha: Treino de Evacuação (e para evitar piadinhas, usaram um eufemismo: ”Abandono”)
A fire drill is a method of practicing the evacuation of a building for a fire or other emergency. Generally, the emergency system (usually an alarm) is activated and the building is evacuated as though a real fire had occurred. Usually, the time it takes to evacuate is measured to ensure that it occurs within a reasonable length of time.

TREINO DE ABANDONO = TREINO DE EVACUAÇÃO = FIRE DRILL

Outros eufemismos:

colaboradores = funcionários = associates

secretária do lar = empregada doméstica = maid

differently abled, physically challenged/disabled: These rather awkward euphemisms for “disabled” have attracted widespread scorn and mockery. They have achieved some limited currency, but it’s generally safer to use “disabled.”

ODD

2011-11-25T11:07:00.000Z

Expressions like “twenty-odd years,” “a dozen-odd people,” and “two hundred-odd mistakes” are usually written with a hyphen before the “odd” to indicate that the exact number is unknown—perhaps a bit higher than the stated number.
If you omit the hyphen, as in “a dozen odd people attended my birthday party,” you risk giving the impression that the people who came were odd rather than that you can’t be sure of the precise number of your guests.

THANKSGIVING DAY IS TODAY IN THE USA

2011-11-24T16:12:00.000Z

Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States.
         In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the United States. Because of the longstanding traditions of the holiday, the celebration often extends to the weekend that falls closest to the day it is celebrated.
        At the White House today, President Obama gave one lucky turkey a second chance at life, saving it from ending up as Thanksgiving dinner. Obama issued a presidential pardon to Courage, a 20-week-old, 45-pound turkey from Princeton, N.C .
        It has become tradition that every year around Thanksgiving, the President of the United States issues a pardon to a turkey. While no one seems to be sure as to the history or reasoning for pardoning the Thanksgiving turkey, the custom has many roots in various aspects of American history.
        The Harry Truman Presidential Library says that the earliest claim of presidents pardoning turkeys was mentioned by George W. Bush in 2001. According to Bush's statement, the origins of the president pardoning a turkey date back to Abraham Lincoln, who pardoned his son Tad's pet turkey while Lincoln was president.
          The most popular belief is that the first presidential pardon of a turkey was in 1947 by President Harry S. Truman. However, the Harry Truman Presidential Library debunks that myth due to the lack of papers or other documents saying that Truman actually pardoned a turkey.
Source: Answers.com

BEHAVE YOURSELF!

2011-11-23T11:57:00.002Z

Santa Claus is writing his notes in his book on who has been naughty or nice!

BLACK FRIDAY (USA) / BOXING DAY (UK)

2011-11-23T11:32:00.000Z

Black Friday is the day following Thanksgiving Day, traditionally the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. In 2011 it is on November 25. On this day, most major retailers open extremely early, often at 4 a.m., or earlier, and offer promotional sales to kick off the shopping season, "Black Friday" indicates the point at which retailers begin to turn a profit, or are "in the black". In recent years, retailers have been trending towards opening on Black Thursday, the evening before Thanksgiving.
O Boxing Day acontece no dia 26 de Dezembro e é o início das liquidações em praticamente todas as lojas de Londres. Nesse dia, a Oxford Street (rua de compras de Londres, uma espécie de – mal comparando – 25 de março que é a alegria dos turistas) vira simplesmente um mar de gente com sacolas.

CONTINUAL / CONTINUANCE / CONTINUING / CONTINUOUS

2011-11-22T14:03:00.002Z

Many times continuous and continual are treated as interchangeable, but they are not. They are commonly used whenever the passage of time is involved in legal documents, for example, in contracts of employment or loan documentation.
          continual (adj): happening repeatedly; always happening - The company will not tolerate an employee's continual absence for reasons other than disability or sickness.
          continuance(n): to delay an event such as a trial and to decide that it should happen at a later date; a postponement; an adjournment - To change your trial date you must file a Motion for Continuance along with a $40 fee.
          continuous (adj(: without interruption - Investor's continuous employment shall cease when Investor ceases to be actively employed by the Company.
         continuing (adj): continuing shareholder
Fonte: Lexmail

WATCH OUT FOR OVER-USING THE PASSIVE VOICE

2011-11-22T12:18:00.001Z

There are legitimate uses for the passive voice:
           “This absurd regulation was of course written by a committee.”
But it’s true that you can make your prose more lively and readable by using the active voice much more often.
         “The victim was attacked by three men in ski masks” isn’t nearly as striking as “Three men in ski masks attacked the victim.”
The passive voice is often used to avoid taking responsibility for an action:
         “My term paper was accidentally deleted” avoids stating the truth: “I accidentally deleted my term paper.”
Over-use of passive constructions is irritating, though not necessarily erroneous. But it does lead to real clumsiness when passive constructions get piled on top of each other:
           “No exception in the no-pets rule was sought to be created so that angora rabbits could be raised in the apartment” can be made clearer by shifting to the active voice: “The landlord refused to make an exception to the no-pets rule to allow Eliza to raise angora rabbits in the apartment.”
Visit Paul Brians’ Common Errors in English Usage Web site: http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html

EDITOR’S NOTE: A sentence that does not emphasize the important actor in it is not necessarily passive. The passive voice is constructed by using the verb “be” or “get” with what is known as the past participle form of the verb, as in “Hamburgers are served at Wendy’s” or “Elaine’s flight got delayed.” It is surprising how many people, even professional educators and writers, do not understand the grammatical structure of the passive voice. Geoff Pullum of Language Log discusses one recent example here [Drones and passivity]: http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3549.

CHARACTERIZE / TYPIFY

2011-11-19T23:58:00.000Z

CHARACTERIZE - tr.v., -ized, -iz·ing, -iz·es. To describe the qualities or peculiarities of: characterized the warden as ruthless. To be a distinctive trait or mark of; distinguish: the rash and high fever that characterize this disease; a region that is characterized by its dikes and canals.
TYPIFY - tr.v., -fied, -fy·ing, -fies. To serve as a typical example of; embody the essential characteristics of: a painting that typifies the artist's work. To represent by an image, a form, or a model; symbolize or prefigure.

LEARN TO DANCE THE "SHIM-SHAM"

2011-11-18T19:04:00.001Z

Dancers from around the world dance a Shim Sham as a tribute to Frankie Manning on his 95th birthday.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_k_BIA_unI&feature=player_embedded
Frankie Manning (May 26, 1914 – April 27, 2009)was an American dancer, instructor and choreographer, considered one of the founding fathers of the Lindy Hop. The Shim Sham is danced regularly at social swing nights all over the world. Swing dancing represents a variety of dance forms that are tied with the development of jazz music in the early 20th century.

TAD BIT / TAD / BIT

2011-11-18T08:58:00.001Z

A “tad” was originally a small boy, but this word evolved into the expression “a tad” meaning “very small” or “very slightly”: “The movie was a tad long for my taste.”
Some people combine this with the equivalent expression “a bit” and say “a tad bit.” This is redundant. Just say “a bit” or “a tad.”
Source: http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html

BRUSCHETTA

2011-11-16T09:11:00.000Z

          "Flanagan says he was in a posh Italian restaurant in London and ordered the bruschetta for a starter, and the waiter had the nerve to correct his pronunciation. He had said -sh- for the -sch- part, and of course there were glottal stops where the geminate [t] should have been: [bɹʊˈʃɛʔɐ] is how he said it.
          "Bruschetta, said the waiter; "Not broo-SHET-a: [bruˈsketta]. In our-a language, it is pronounced, [bruˈsketta]."
          And in a flash Flanagan retorted: "Yeah? Well, in our language [English] it's pronounced 'tomatoes on toast'."
Source:http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/

ENTER / KEY / PRESS / PUT IN / TAP IN / TYPE

2011-11-14T20:04:00.000Z

Enter:   He entered his PIN and retrieved the card.
Key:      He keyed his PIN into the security pad.
Press:   He pressed the keys of the keyboard.
Put in: He put his PIN in and retrieved the card.
Tap in: He tapped in his PIN number.
Type:    He typed his PIN into the machine.