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English translation: It was by sheer mischance that the car ..

07:51 Sep 2, 2012
Turkish to English translations [Non-PRO]
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings / aksilik bu ya
Turkish term or phrase: Aksilik bu ya arabanın
Temel bir gün otobanda, Anadol marka arabasıyla gidiyormuş. Aksilik bu ya arabanın arızalanacağı tutmuş. [kept conking out] Ne yapsın?
From the very beginning of the ANADOL YOL İSTİYO Temel joke. Does it literally mean 'the misfortune of this car kept conking out' i.e. 'unfortunately this car kept conking out'? The ya is colloquial, of course.
Hellinas
Local time: 07:57
English translation:It was by sheer mischance that the car ..
Explanation:
It was by sheer mischance that the car conked out without (any) warning.

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Note added at 4 days (2012-09-06 13:50:21 GMT)
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Another possible option:

By an unfortunate mischance, the car ...
Selected response from:

Mehmet Hascan
Ireland
Local time: 07:57


Summary of answers provided
4 +1What a bummer, the car ...
Tim Drayton
4what a bad luck, the car
Özgür Salman
4It was by sheer mischance that the car ..
Mehmet Hascan
5 -1Breakdown is a mishap though, the car would
Salih YILDIRIM
3It is a misfortune that the car came to conk out.
ATIL KAYHAN


  

Answers


12 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
It is a misfortune that the car came to conk out.


Explanation:
It is a misfortune that the car came to conk out.
I think this is the translation.

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Note added at 1 hr (2012-09-02 09:34:17 GMT)
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You can also use "break down" instead of "conk out". "Break down" is more common.

ATIL KAYHAN
Türkiye
Local time: 09:57
Native speaker of: Native in TurkishTurkish
PRO pts in category: 84
Notes to answerer
Asker: I am interested in the grammar of this phrase. Is the literal meaning 'the trouble with this car [was that] it kept breaking down? ' I wouldn't use 'bummer', although I know what it means. It is used in Harry Potter but I suspect that it is an Americanism; it has an entirely different - not politically correct - meaning in some parts of England. I now would translate as above. Is tutmuş from tutmak and what does ya mean in colloquial English? I have encountered it a lot in Turkish.

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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
What a bummer, the car ...


Explanation:
This is the first expression that comes to my mind and is of an appropriate register for a joke.
'Aksilik' is an annoying occurrence that spoils things.

Tim Drayton
Cyprus
Local time: 09:57
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 75

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  ATIL KAYHAN: "What a bummer" is really a slang whereas there is no slang in the Turkish.
34 mins
  -> I think it fits the context well.
agree  Özgür Salman
2 days 20 hrs
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3 days 1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
what a bad luck, the car


Explanation:
"Aksilik bu ya" (what a bad luck, etc.) , is a more colloquial way of saying "it is bad luck", or "there has been bad luck", etc. I believe one of the most appropriate ways of giving that "bu ya" meaning in Turkish, is using that "what a" phrase.

Otherwise it would be too formal, and it would be similar to saying "there was bad luck", or "there has been a mishap" , etc.



Özgür Salman
Türkiye
Local time: 09:57
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in TurkishTurkish
PRO pts in category: 12

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Kim Metzger: What bad luck, not "a" bad luck.
39 days
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4 days   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
It was by sheer mischance that the car ..


Explanation:
It was by sheer mischance that the car conked out without (any) warning.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 days (2012-09-06 13:50:21 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Another possible option:

By an unfortunate mischance, the car ...

Mehmet Hascan
Ireland
Local time: 07:57
Works in field
Native speaker of: Turkish
PRO pts in category: 64
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42 days   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): -1
Breakdown is a mishap though, the car would


Explanation:
Imho

Salih YILDIRIM
United States
Local time: 02:57
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in TurkishTurkish
PRO pts in category: 88

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Kim Metzger: The target language is English. This makes no sense.
12 mins
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