Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Swedish term or phrase:
det är icke mycket med
English translation:
is not very good
Added to glossary by
Timoshka
Apr 24, 2020 18:59
4 yrs ago
18 viewers *
Swedish term
det är icke mycket med
Non-PRO
Swedish to English
Social Sciences
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
In a letter from Malmö, dated 1917, a Swedish girl responds to her Swedish-American fiancé's request to bring her violin and guitar with her when she immigrates to the U.S. "Du önskar att jag tar min fiol och guitar med mig. Ja, fiolen hade jag tänkt ta' med, men guitarren är det icke mycket med, så den får bli kvar i Sverige. Det är icke mycket music i den."
Proposed translations
(English)
| 3 +2 | is not very good |
Leif Ohman
|
| 3 | on its last legs, all washed up, has seen better days |
Paul Gratwick
|
| 2 | it hasn't got a lot going for it |
Adrian MM.
|
Change log
Apr 25, 2020 03:30: Anna Herbst changed "Level" from "PRO" to "Non-PRO"
Proposed translations
+2
1 hr
Leif Ohman
United States
United States
Native in Swedish
United States
Technically speaking
Native in: Swedish (Variants: Rikssvenska, Stockholm) 
Works in: English to Swedish, German to Swedish, Danish to Swedish, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
4
Selected
is not very good
The last sentence seems to be the key.
Until that point, "Nothing special" works fine.
After that you have to ask why there is not a lot of music in it.
Why would there not be a lot of music in it simply because there is nothing special about it?
The answer, to me at least, is that it is not very good.
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Note added at 1 hr (2020-04-24 20:27:07 GMT)
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"is not in a good condition" is perhaps even better, since it agrees better with the more general sense of an object (or person) not being in good shape.
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Note added at 1 day 1 hr (2020-04-25 20:41:47 GMT)
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"is much the worse for wear" is a better match for the style of the writing.
Until that point, "Nothing special" works fine.
After that you have to ask why there is not a lot of music in it.
Why would there not be a lot of music in it simply because there is nothing special about it?
The answer, to me at least, is that it is not very good.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2020-04-24 20:27:07 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
"is not in a good condition" is perhaps even better, since it agrees better with the more general sense of an object (or person) not being in good shape.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 1 hr (2020-04-25 20:41:47 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
"is much the worse for wear" is a better match for the style of the writing.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Catherine Brix
10 hrs
|
|
Thanks, Catherine!
|
|
| agree |
Deane Goltermann
: or 'not much to have'
13 hrs
|
|
Thanks, Deane!
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Tack så mycket!"
1 hr
Adrian MM.
Austria
Austria
Native in English
Austria
Retd.T&I, Barrister & Austro-Advokat
Native in: English (Variants: British, Scottish) 
Works in: Spanish to English, English to Spanish, French to English, and 5 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
10
Swedish term (edited):
det är icke mycket med (sig)
it hasn't got a lot going for it
Nothing to write home about - but that is exactly what she was doing.
Example sentence:
Det är mycket viktigt att staden har kulturen *med sig* | Göteborgs stadsmuseum.
Reference:
3 days 13 hrs
on its last legs, all washed up, has seen better days
Just a couple of colloquial alternatives!
Discussion
It seems to be missing a word, "bevänt", as in "är det icke mycket bevänt med"
From "bevända":
"t.ex. i frasen 'inte mycket bevänt med' (som inte duger mycket till)"
https://sv.wiktionary.org/wiki/bevänt
https://sv.wiktionary.org/wiki/bevända#Verb
"Her boots are much the worse for wear."
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/worse for wear