Edward Plaisance Jr Sep 26, 2009:

battles... I really believe this is not an idiom. However, it is a creative use of language. It means that she is used to arguing to defend herself.

Hosein H (asker) Sep 25, 2009:

Confused.... I'm writing the whole paragraph to give you more context to help me find out what it actually means here.<br><br>"They are a team. Saida is thirty, proud and fierce; she is their brains and strength. Nawal, five years younger, backs her up. Saida has two children by her former husband, a Turkish sea captain. She worked as a cook on his boats and ran a restaurant in Istanbul. They were in Rotterdam for a while, until he left her. Now she lives with her mother and children in one of Casablanca's eastern suburbs, and does whatever she must to provide for them. She is not a prostitute, but she is a champion hustler. Her dark hair has red tints, and she has battles on her tongue. She has no illusions about Europe's charms and no patience with Morocco's backwardness."
And the story is written by a British writer (Horatio Clare), maybe it is an idiom which is only used in the UK?
<br>Thank you very much for putting your time.

Habib Shariati Sep 25, 2009:

Idioms The above is an idiom it may make sense at the first glance, but it means something other than that preliminary sense, it is the nature of idioms to react so. With all due thanks from all of you.

Hossein Abbasi Mohaghegh Sep 25, 2009:

Reading Mr. Shariati's source and considering the context of your text and the sentence "She is not a prostitute, but she is a champion hustler" especially the first part ( she is not a prostitute), I suggest "احساسات تند و شديد‌" or something like "آتش شهوت".

Hosein H (asker) Sep 25, 2009:

Thank you very much for showing your concern. But with the translation your offering, the translation of this sentence would be : "...Va eshtiagh/reghbat darad. But Eshtiagh be chi darad? It just doesn't make sense, Though "...Va hazer javab ast" or "...Va zabane tizi darad" makes more sense, at least to me. With all respects.

Habib Shariati Sep 25, 2009:

More help Dear Hosein
I suggest you go and have a look at the web address I offered and find exact translation for, she has battle on her tongue, I think that could be of great help.
Regards,

Hosein H (asker) Sep 25, 2009:

Thank you for your great help but I'm still stuck between "زبانش نیش داره" and "حاضر جواب", since their meanings are very different and "she has battles on her tongue" should only have one meaning.