Dismal Jimmy

German translation: Griesgram / Miesepeter

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

English term or phrase:	Dismal Jimmy
German translation:	Griesgram / Miesepeter
Entered by:	Coqueiro

11:55 Apr 28, 2011

English to German translations [PRO]
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings

English term or phrase: Dismal Jimmy

From a litearary text: a person was called Dismal Jimmy in connection with spreading negative news and dangers during war times.

christa tidtke-stock

Griesgram

Explanation:

Selected response from:

Coqueiro
Local time: 16:16

Grading comment

4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

4 +6

Miesepeter

Ryan Armbrust Diaz (X)

3 +4

Schwarzmaler/Pessimist

Gudrun Wolfrath

3 +1

Griesgram

Coqueiro

Schwarzseher

DERDOKTOR

Summary of reference entries provided

King James II ?

Susanne Schiewe

Discussion entries: 11

Colin Rowe

Germany

@Asker

14:06 Apr 28, 2011

"a person was called Dismal Jimmy in connection with spreading negative news and dangers during war times."

Does this refer to a specific person in your text (if so, do we know what his real name is?), or to people in general who "[spread] negative news and dangers during war times"?

Colin Rowe

Germany

@Gudrun

13:30 Apr 28, 2011

Not necessarily!
See the following example from 1896:
http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=TO...

"The Hon. W. Rolleston, sometimes known as 'Dismal Jimmy,' got off a joke the other day at the expense of Mr Maslin M.H.R., ..."

Observer, Rōrahi XVI, Putanga 932, 21 Whiringa-ā-rangi 1896, Page 18

In the same way that "Clever Dick" is not only applied to people called Richard, for example.
cf. Moaning Minnie, Silly Billy, etc.

Gudrun Wolfrath

Germany

@Colin: I give you that point.

13:20 Apr 28, 2011

But it's got to be a Jimmy or James.

Colin Rowe

Germany

@Coqueiro

13:16 Apr 28, 2011

:-)

or should that be

:-(

Colin Rowe

Germany

@Gudrun

13:15 Apr 28, 2011

The nickname "Dismal Jimmy" appears to have been applied to numerous figures throughout recent history (possibly originating with the English King James II – see Susanne's link). This question refers to a literary text. We do not (yet?) know that this "Dismal Jimmy" was actually called James.

transcreator

Germany

13:11 Apr 28, 2011

could be a very different jimmy here, though, couldn't it?

Coqueiro

nice picture

13:08 Apr 28, 2011

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mando_gal/1281925154/

character in The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens

Gudrun Wolfrath

Germany

His first name was James,

12:57 Apr 28, 2011

so dismal was sort of an adjective:
http://books.google.de/books?id=kJ_1HJwydSMC&pg=PA22&lpg=PA2...

transcreator

Germany

questions:

12:54 Apr 28, 2011

was the person's first name jimmy anyway, so that the dismal is more of an adjective? und was he really just spreading negative *news* or rather negative sentiment

Coqueiro

Nörgel-Norbert

12:34 Apr 28, 2011

http://www.prokita-portal.de/praxisangebote/geschichten/noer...

Jonathan MacKerron

Jimmy der Schwarzseher

12:02 Apr 28, 2011

Answers

9 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

dismal jimmy

Griesgram

Explanation:

Coqueiro
Local time: 16:16
Native speaker of:

German
PRO pts in category: 16

14 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +6

dismal jimmy Miesepeter

Explanation:
Wäre mein Vorschlag

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 15 Min. (2011-04-28 12:11:10 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Den Stinkstiefel gäbe es auch noch

Ryan Armbrust Diaz (X)
Germany
Local time: 16:16
Native speaker of:

English,

German

16 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +4

dismal jimmy Schwarzmaler/Pessimist

Explanation:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dismal+jimmy

Gudrun Wolfrath
Germany
Local time: 16:16
Works in field
Native speaker of:

German
PRO pts in category: 28

1 hr confidence:

dismal jimmy Schwarzseher

Explanation:
würde ich sagen.

DERDOKTOR
Local time: 16:16
Native speaker of:

German
PRO pts in category: 8

Reference comments

29 mins peer agreement (net): +2

Reference: King James II ?

Reference information:
'Dismal Jimmy': Pfälzischer Erbfolgekrieg 1688-1697
Veröffentlicht: 21.02.2009 um 18:27 von Saint-Simone
Stichworte england, irland, pfälzischer erbfolgekrieg

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

...oder Seamus a' chaca, bezeichnet König Jakob II von England. Den obigen Spitznamen soll er der Legende nach von Nell Gwyn, einer Mätresse seines Bruders Karls II bekommen haben, die ihn als den 'düsteren Jimmy' bezeichnet hat. Den anderen Spitznamen soll er nach dem Vertrag von Limerick 1691 von den Iren erhalten haben, und die Übersetzung bedeutet so viel wie 'Jakob die Scheiße' oder 'Scheiß-Jakob'. Da liest sich nicht gerade viel Begeisterung für ihn heraus.

http://www.geschichtsforum.de/blogs/saint-simone/86-dismal-j...

Susanne Schiewe
Germany
Works in field
Native speaker of: German
PRO pts in category: 26

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Dismal Jimmy

German translation: Griesgram / Miesepeter

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Dismal Jimmy

German translation: Griesgram / Miesepeter

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