The purpose of this topic (and my signing up,though as a fervent Ffordian it was some time coming) is for some translation help: I've dealt overall with Mrs Malaprop quite well, although one sentence has tripped me up and pestered me for some time now. On page 101 (is there only one edition thus far?) she asks, referring to the crashed book, "Isn't there a block box data recorder in every book...We could analyse the tea lemon tree." The tea lemon tree? Help! The best I or a friend can come up with is that 'entry' is at the end, but I'm otherwise still confused. I'm possibly missing something really rather obvious.

I couldn't understand this as well, but now that I see the words singled out I wonder whether "the telemetry" might be meant.

telemetry: the remote measurement of information. Black boxes measure lots of information about aircraft, speed, engine performance, stress levels on key components as well as usually recording any radio information between the pilot and ground control. They are usually yellow, but that is probably irrelevant!

hope this helps.

P.S. Charibert, Welcome! help yourself to pies in nextian Chat

Ah telemetry, terrific, thanks! Those four words have ceased to be the most memorable thing about the wonderful book.

Thanks for the welcome, too!

I need help translating a Malapropism: "Pretend to be a soldier and elope with my ward." If this is a Malapropism, what is it? If it isn't, what does it mean? I'm completely blank on both counts.

Incidentally, I had no trouble with the "tea lemon tree". It seems that one either understands them immediately or never.

Hi lynbard. I will have to go back and read it in context, so in the meantime have a pie. sweet to the left savoury to the right. They are presently by the treehouse in Nextian.

It is on page 38 of the Uk edition, end of chapter 3.

(Pickwick has just boasted that Sam Spade actually spoke to him)
'What did he say?'
'He said: "Get that stupid bird out of my way".'
'Well, pretend to be a soldier and elope with my ward,' remarked Mrs Malaprop, her word choice rendered clean and clear by the sarcasm, 'you can dine out on that one for years.'

Puzzles me too.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/03/2011 09:00PM by delacuesta.

If it’s a malaprop, I have no idea what it is. The only non-malaprop thing I could come up with is a nodding reference to "Sweeney Todd," in which the boy (Anthony) attempts to elope with the evil Judge Turpin's ward, Johanna (who is Sweeney Todd's biological daughter, taken away from him when Judge Turpin sentenced Sweeney Todd 15 years prior, for a crime he didn't commit). I don't know "Sweeney Todd" that well, but I don't see any relation to "pretend to be a soldier." But "you could dine on that for years" could be a reference to the Judge, or any of Sweeney’s victims, who become ground up in a meat pie. There is also a reference to "sweet and savory pies" in the play. And a character named Beadle too (which is apparently his profession) – a profession Commander Bradshaw briefly mentions at the beginning of the “Jenny” chapter.

Probably too much of a reach and completely wrong, I’m sure. But it’s all I can come up with.

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Madness takes its toll. Please have exact change.

And here's another unlikely possibility. In the novel "The Good Soldier" the soldier in question is a philanderer, whose wife has a female ward. The narrator of the book, who is not the Good Soldier character, has a secret love for the ward. And the novel was written by Ford Madox Ford, whose first and last names share the middle four letters of Fforde. Coincidence? Yeah, I'm pretty sure it is.

I actually read "The Good Soldier" wayyyyyy back in college, but remember none of it, which either shows you how valuable college was for me, or how bad my memory is. I've gotten everything I've said about the book so far from that internet thingy, so I may have gotten it wrong.

So, basically, I've no idea at all what Mrs. Malaprop meant. Though "and elope" sounds just like "antelope" if said quickly enough.

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Madness takes its toll. Please have exact change.

zaphod Wrote:
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> And the novel was written by Ford Madox Ford,
> whose first and last names share the middle four
> letters of Fforde. Coincidence? Yeah, I'm pretty
> sure it is.
>


You may be onto something here. I don't recall ever seeing them together......

Also: "a soldier" sounds like "asshole, dear", although that doesn't fit with "Pretend to be . . ."

And furthermore, "elope" sounds like "help".

What about "Pretend to be ..., dear, and help with my ..."?

Does Jasper ever read the posts and deliver deus ex machina answers?

I have the feeling that we are slowly getting near.

I have been thinking that "ward" stands for "word". And that "sol"(dier) may stand for either "sole" or "soul".

Jasper does sometimes read some posts but not always and not all. If we really need his attention we may get it through a private mail, but let's see whether we can sort this our ourselves first.

Sorry folks, but it's not a malapropism at all! As Jasper points out, her words are clear. It's effectively a precis of the story of her book, Sheridan's "The Rivals". As [www.theatrehistory.com] explains better than I can (see below), the main character pretends to be a soldier in order to try to elope with Mrs Malaprop's ward!

Having said that, I read it more as an exclamation than an actual meaningful statement - rather like Kryten (Red Dwarf) saying "Well spin my nipple nuts and send me to Alaska".

The second comment - "you can dine out on that one for years" is (at least where I come from) a fairly normal sarcastic response to a good (or exaggerated) story or tall tale.


HTH,

Martin


THE RIVALS

A synopsis of the play by Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Young Captain Absolute, son and heir of Sir Anthony Absolute, arrives in Bath to pay court to the rich and lovely Lydia Languish. His suit is singularly complicated because he has made himself known to her as the penniless Ensign Beverley, the better to intrigue her romantic nature. Lydia, seventeen, favors the excitement of an elopement, but Captain Absolute is aware that she will lose two-thirds of her fortune if she weds without the consent of her aunt, Mrs. Malaprop. He hopes that Lydia will accept him in his true name after she has come to love him as Ensign Beverley.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/10/2011 08:22PM by Martin Stockdale.

sometimes the right answer is the obvious one, and the simplest one. Thanks for clearing it up.

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Madness takes its toll. Please have exact change.

Thanks so much! I knew I shouldn't have slept through so many English Lit classes.

No malapropism at all? What is it doing then in this thread?

(thanks, by the way)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/11/2011 08:25PM by delacuesta.

"What is it doing then in this thread?" Because some of us seize mallet props when there are nuns.

lynbard Wrote:
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> "What is it doing then in this thread?" Because
> some of us seize mallet props when there are nuns.


I think delacuesta was trying for humour! he does better at the nuances than most of us would in another language.

lynbard Wrote:
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> "What is it doing then in this thread?" Because
> some of us seize mallet props when there are nuns.


<groan>! :-)

>> "What is it doing then in this thread?"
>> Because some of us seize mallet props when there are nuns.


>I think delacuesta was trying for humour! he does better at the nuances than >most of us would in another language.


And I also was trying for you more! No violets intended to delacuesta. I was reefering to my original air of asking for help with a Malapropism that wasn't.
Sorry for causing any freight.