WRONGLY / WRONG

“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

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

QUOTE ... UNQUOTE

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

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

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

           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

XMAS

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

         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

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

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

“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

           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

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

              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

           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

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

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

DAMPED / DAMPENED

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

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

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

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)

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

           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

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

POP IDOL

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

PALA, PALINHA = TIP, SNEAK PREVIEW

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

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

RECIPROCATION

"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

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