Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Italian term or phrase:
(uno scricchiolio) duro e dolce
English translation:
a pleasantly crisp, crunchy sound
Added to glossary by
Russell Jones
Mar 10, 2011 17:40
13 yrs ago
Italian term
United Kingdom
duro e dolce
Italian to English
Art/Literary
Poetry & Literature
Si avviano giù per il nevaio e le griffe fanno uno scricchiolio duro e dolce.
I'm struggling to find plausible terms that don't sound like exact opposites - hard and soft!
I'm struggling to find plausible terms that don't sound like exact opposites - hard and soft!
Proposed translations
(English)
Change log
Mar 11, 2011 18:56: Russell Jones Created KOG entry
Proposed translations
17 mins
Oliver Lawrence
Italy
Italy
Native in English
Works in field
Italy
Texts with zest by a Chartered Linguist
Native in: English (Variants: British, UK)
Works in: Italian to English, English
Related KudoZ points
:
158
Italian term (edited):
uno scricchiolio duro e dolce
Selected
a pleasantly crisp, crunchy sound
That's how I read it - 'dolce' in the sense not of soft and soothing but pleasant and agreeable to the ear. A 'scricchiolio' of footfalls is a fairly light, scrunchy sort of sound anyway. HTH.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "I do like Lara's answer too but am not brave enough to stretch that far without furthere evidence or support. Thanks to all."
4 mins
Sara Maghini
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in Italian
Works in field
United Kingdom
Award-winning Italian translator
Native in: Italian (Variant: Standard-Italy)
Works in: English to Italian, French to Italian
Related KudoZ points
:
15
crackling and gentle
an idea!
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Note added at 5 mins (2011-03-10 17:45:20 GMT)
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Or even VELVETY for dolce...
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Note added at 5 mins (2011-03-10 17:45:20 GMT)
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Or even VELVETY for dolce...
+4
44 mins
Ernestine Shargool
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in Italian
&
English
Specializes in field
United Kingdom
Anglo-Italian bicultural transcreator
Native in: English 
, Italian (Variant: Neapolitan)
Works in: Italian to English, English
Related KudoZ points
:
11
scrunch and swish /scrunching and swishing
I.e. change the sentence and use verbs instead of adjectives.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Daniela Zambrini
1 hr
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Thanks, Daniela :-)
|
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| agree |
Sarah Jane Webb
: brava bimba!
2 hrs
|
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:-x)
|
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| agree |
philgoddard
: Very imaginative.
3 hrs
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Thank you, Phil.
|
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| agree |
Yvonne Gallagher
6 hrs
|
|
Thank you, gallagy2.
|
52 mins
firm and crisp
When I go ski-ing this is what I would say. The snow is quite firm and crisp
1 hr
Lara Barnett
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
Works in field
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.
Related KudoZ points
:
36
Dense but yielding
I have used "but" to emphasise the contrast, but this might work with "and", ie. "dense and yielding" - I prefer "but" as I think the contrast for some reason is is not so strong using the "and" literal translation.
I use dense in the sense of:
"dense"
–adjective
1. having the component parts closely compacted together; crowded or compact: a dense forest; dense population."
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dense
...because it is this quality that is one reason why the snow is "duro".
And yielding in the sense of:
"yield·ing
–adjective
1. ....
2. tending to give way, especially under pressure; flexible; supple; pliable: a yielding mattress."
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/yielding
...because this is what happens when we walk in soft snow.
I use dense in the sense of:
"dense"
–adjective
1. having the component parts closely compacted together; crowded or compact: a dense forest; dense population."
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dense
...because it is this quality that is one reason why the snow is "duro".
And yielding in the sense of:
"yield·ing
–adjective
1. ....
2. tending to give way, especially under pressure; flexible; supple; pliable: a yielding mattress."
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/yielding
...because this is what happens when we walk in soft snow.
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