Prikken over i-en

English translation: the finishing touch

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Norwegian term or phrase:Prikken over i-en
English translation:the finishing touch

10:50 Sep 22, 2009
    The asker opted for community grading. The question was closed on 2009-09-25 13:54:06 based on peer agreement (or, if there were too few peer comments, asker preference.)


Norwegian to English translations [PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters / Proverbs
Norwegian term or phrase: Prikken over i-en
I need a good way of saying "prikken over i-en" in English. Things like "the icing on the cake" won't work, as this more conveys something that is nice to have, but that is not strictly necessary, while everyone would agree that the dot above the "i" is necessary (at least when writing in lower case letters).
_andy_
Local time: 18:58
the finishing touch
Explanation:
Strictly speaking, a dot over a lower case i would make a total of two dots. Prikken over i'en is used to say the finishing touch, the little extra that makes the item special.
Selected response from:

Per Bergvall
Norway
Local time: 02:58
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +1the finishing touch
Per Bergvall
5icing on the cake
jeffrey engberg
5Non Plus Ultra
jeffrey engberg
5the last drop
Thomas Deschington
5takes the cake
lingo_montreal
5 -1the dot over the i
Egil Presttun
4 -1the cat's meow
jeffrey engberg


Discussion entries: 15





  

Answers


4 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): -1
the dot over the i


Explanation:
.

Egil Presttun
Norway
Local time: 02:58
Works in field
Native speaker of: Norwegian
PRO pts in category: 30

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Charlesp: not sure that this would be understood (what does it mean?)
45 mins
  -> I have explained what it means in the comment field above, and I have also given a link to an example of use in English. However, I understand now that this idiom is not well known in the USA.

disagree  lingo_montreal: Egil - I promise you that this is rarely, if ever, used in North America.
10 hrs
  -> I've heard it so many times that I thought it was well known, but English is not the same all over the world. I have given a link to an example of use in the comment field above. Other examples you can find by searching. I don't disagree with you though.
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12 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +1
the finishing touch


Explanation:
Strictly speaking, a dot over a lower case i would make a total of two dots. Prikken over i'en is used to say the finishing touch, the little extra that makes the item special.

Per Bergvall
Norway
Local time: 02:58
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in NorwegianNorwegian
PRO pts in category: 98
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Charlesp: ok
38 mins
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50 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
the cat's meow


Explanation:
Here's another idiom that might work?
I think, for a cat, its meow is probably quite necessary.

Idiomatic definition: Highly sought-after and fancy thing

jeffrey engberg
Norway
Local time: 02:58
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 35

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Charlesp: I wouldnt use this, as I would wonder if anyone knew what it meant.
8 mins
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38 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
icing on the cake


Explanation:
there must be many similar idioms like this, for example
...the rest is gravy!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2009-09-22 13:05:59 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Yes, but when you deviate from a standard, you should still have the standard as an option.
After all your struggles and efforts, it may be that you return to the standard - which may have been good enough for your translation - and saved the time you spent searching.

jeffrey engberg
Norway
Local time: 02:58
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 35
Notes to answerer
Asker: I believe I stated explicitly in my question that I didn't want to use "icing on the cake" :)

Asker: Response to note added at 2 hrs: It seems rather pointless for translators to suggest something that I already wrote in my original question that I didn't want. This is like saying what's a good word for potato other than potato, and giving the answer as "Potato!" So I'm sorry, but you won't be getting any points for that one. My guess is you didn't read the entire question, just the headline! :)

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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
Non Plus Ultra


Explanation:
When in doubt, trust Latin.
You want your golf course to be the best of the best?
Use the Latin for the best of the best, creme del la creme.
That without which...

jeffrey engberg
Norway
Local time: 02:58
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 35
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
the last drop


Explanation:
The negative cousin of "icing on the cake". Kind of.

"His arrogant replies and continued unsympathetic tone was the last drop."

Thomas Deschington
Poland
Local time: 02:58
Native speaker of: Native in NorwegianNorwegian
PRO pts in category: 9

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  lingo_montreal: Ok. Now I understand the fuller context of what you meant. Only asked because, in its shorter version (=yours), it's not that common a phrase to use in typical North American everyday or business language; rather, you'd hear "that is/was the last straw."
11 hrs
  -> Oh, yes, of course ... The "last drop" is a direct translation of the Norwegian, "det var dråpen (som fikk begeret til å flyte over)" ... In any case, I didn't post this to make a serious contribution ;-)
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10 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
takes the cake


Explanation:
This is a really common and useful expression in North America to convey a negative limit (exasperation); similar to "the straw that broke the camel's back".

lingo_montreal
Local time: 21:58
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Egil Presttun: Vi har dette på norsk også; "det tar kaka" eller "det som tok kaka". Det betyr av og til det samme som "prikken over i-en".
2 hrs
  -> Takk, Egil.
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