feine Klinge

English translation: poised and polished

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

German term or phrase:	feine Klinge
English translation:	poised and polished
Entered by:	NicC

16:08 Apr 14, 2010

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

German term or phrase: feine Klinge

Er führt auch im Umgang mit Partnern eine feine Klinge.

(in conjunction with "Verhältniss pflegen" in the next sentence)

Is there an English equivalent to this???

NicC KudoZ activity Questions: 37 (none open) Answers: 11
Local time: 09:29

poised and polished

Explanation:
I assume this is for a letter of reference?
Some suggestions:

- When dealing with his Partners, he is poised, polished and professional.
- His social skills are impeccable.
- His manners are polished, his conduct flawless.

Variations could include: refined, sophisticated, elegant

Selected response from:

Johanna Timm, PhD
Canada
Local time: 06:29

Grading comment

Thanks! I ended using polished as per the discussion ...
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

3 +4

poised and polished

Johanna Timm, PhD

sharp (or deft)

Lonnie Legg

Discussion entries: 7

Answers

1 hr confidence:

peer agreement (net): +4

poised and polished

Johanna Timm, PhD
Canada
Local time: 06:29
Native speaker of:

German
PRO pts in category: 90

Grading comment

Thanks! I ended using polished as per the discussion ...

17 hrs confidence:

sharp (or deft)

Explanation:
"He is even sharp (or deftly effective) in his dealings with partners."
sharp(Oxf.Am.Dict.): "having or showing speed of perception, comprehension or response.""He had a sharp sense of humor."
deft (Oxf.Am.Dict.): "neatly skillful or quick ...;demonstrating skill and cleverness"

"Incisive", if the emphasis is more on sharp analytical skills, but there's not enough context to indicate this.
(another English idiom with a similar metaphor: "rapier": quick and incisive (esp. of intelligence or wit), as in "rapier wit"(Oxf.Am.Dict.)
-------------------------
"Poised and polished" IMO lacks the "bite", the aggressive precision of "mit feiner Klinge".

Example sentence(s):

"The script was both deft and literate."

Reference: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-deft.html

Lonnie Legg
Germany
Local time: 15:29
Native speaker of:

English,

German
PRO pts in category: 24

Notes to answerer

Asker: Hi Lonnie - thanks for the input.

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feine Klinge

English translation: poised and polished

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