Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Italian term or phrase:
con i fiocchi prima
English translation:
with bells on (first)
Added to glossary by
Lara Barnett
Jan 16, 2018 13:39
6 yrs ago
1 viewer *
Italian term
United Kingdom
www.lingocraft.co.uk
Native in: English (Variants: British, Scottish, Irish, Singaporean, UK, South African) 
Works in: French to English, Italian to English, Romanian to English, and 2 more.
con i fiocchi prima
Italian to English
Art/Literary
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Character-based fiction
Following the long speech of an academic at his new book launch, character has woken up in an empty room where one other person had also fallen asleep. The two leave, puffy eyed to get a coffee together.
"...andammo a prendere un caffè insieme. L’ “emerito” ci aveva regalato una siesta con i fiocchi prima, e delle grasse risate adesso. Alle sue spalle, è ovvio. "
I have no idea what is meant here, does it refer to the coffees?
"...andammo a prendere un caffè insieme. L’ “emerito” ci aveva regalato una siesta con i fiocchi prima, e delle grasse risate adesso. Alle sue spalle, è ovvio. "
I have no idea what is meant here, does it refer to the coffees?
Proposed translations
(English)
| 5 +3 | with bells on (first) |
kringle
|
| 4 | First the emeritus ........... amazing |
James (Jim) Davis
|
| 3 | in the first place, the Professor Emeritus... |
Barbara Cochran, MFA
|
Proposed translations
+3
5 mins
Selected
with bells on (first)
or any other expression that means extremely good, recommendable, excellent!
"con i fiocchi" means just this
Un lavoro con i fiocchi - an excellent job
and therefore "with bells on" sprang to mind, although perhaps the bells are a bit too loud for a siesta! What the character means is this (boring) "emeritus" had first sent them soundly to sleep and then he and the other person both laughed long and loud at this fact over a coffee together.
HTH
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Note added at 1 hr (2018-01-16 15:11:30 GMT)
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How about
"The "emeritus" had first sent us blissfully into the Land of Nod and was now the subject of great mirth. All of which he was totally unaware."
or
...had first lulled us to sleep and then sent us into fits of laughter. Without even realising.
It's just a question of the tone of the book and how the character speaks and what period in history we are etc etc - you can probably come up with something now Lara!
"con i fiocchi" means just this
Un lavoro con i fiocchi - an excellent job
and therefore "with bells on" sprang to mind, although perhaps the bells are a bit too loud for a siesta! What the character means is this (boring) "emeritus" had first sent them soundly to sleep and then he and the other person both laughed long and loud at this fact over a coffee together.
HTH
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2018-01-16 15:11:30 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
How about
"The "emeritus" had first sent us blissfully into the Land of Nod and was now the subject of great mirth. All of which he was totally unaware."
or
...had first lulled us to sleep and then sent us into fits of laughter. Without even realising.
It's just a question of the tone of the book and how the character speaks and what period in history we are etc etc - you can probably come up with something now Lara!
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
dandamesh
: this is the meaning
6 mins
|
| agree |
philgoddard
: I don't think "with bells on" works in this context, but I agree with "any other expression that means extremely good". One possibility is "a hell of": http://context.reverso.net/translation/italian-english/con i...
1 hr
|
| agree |
Lisa Jane
1 day 7 hrs
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
15 mins
James (Jim) Davis
Seychelles
Seychelles
Native in English
Seychelles
25 years experience constantly improving
Native in: English (Variant: British)
Works in: Italian to English
Related KudoZ points
:
303
First the emeritus ........... amazing
This is the word that I feel sits best with siesta. I think you need to put "first" at the beginning of the sentence.
42 mins
Barbara Cochran, MFA
United States
United States
Native in English
Specializes in field
United States
Laudable Lady Linguist
Native in: English 
Works in: Spanish to English, French to English, English to Spanish, and 3 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
42
in the first place, the Professor Emeritus...
Forse.
Discussion
Top-class / First-rate.....that sort of thing.
"LOL" does not really help.