hinter dem Mond leben

English translation: we\'d still be thinking it was made of cheese

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

German term or phrase:	hinter dem Mond leben
English translation:	we\'d still be thinking it was made of cheese
Entered by:	Jonathan MacKerron

10:30 Jan 12, 2011

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

German term or phrase: hinter dem Mond leben

"Ohne Mathematik wären die modernen Schlüsseltechnologien undenkbar, wir würden nicht auf den Mond fliegen, sondern noch hinter’m Mond leben."

Obvious pun, for which I'm having trouble forming an English equivalent involving the moon.

TIA for your help.

Jonathan MacKerron

we'd still be thinking it was made of cheese

Explanation:
Just posting this in the proper place as it's a bad habit to offer ideas in the discussion section :-)

Selected response from:

Armorel Young
Local time: 11:00

Grading comment

Thought this to be the most easily recognizable 'moon' reference. Thanks for all the thoughtful suggestions!!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

2 +5

believe in the man in the moon

Cilian O'Tuama

3 +3

living in the dark ages

Wendy Lewin

4 +1

..still be wondering where it (the moon)went to once a month

Ramey Rieger (X)

4 +1

living on the dark side of the Moon

Susan Welsh

3 +2

we'd still be thinking it was made of cheese

Armorel Young

inventing the wheel

Sarah Bessioud

living in Moon colonies

trsk2000 (X)

we'd be just mooning about instead of flying to the moon

Wendy Streitparth

live under a rock

Erik Freitag

Discussion entries: 7

Answers

4 mins confidence:

live under a rock

Explanation:
Just an attempt if you really want to keep the pun:

"... we wouldn't have touched moon rock - instead, we'd still be living under a rock."

Erik Freitag
Germany
Local time: 12:00
Works in field
Native speaker of:

German
PRO pts in category: 4

6 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

..still be wondering where it (the moon)went to once a month

Explanation:
or:
still be using flint stones
still be driving a horse and buggy
still be howling at the moon
still be cooking over a fire
still be building rockets out of tin cans
still be with the Wright Brothers

Ramey Rieger (X)
Germany
Local time: 12:00
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 70

14 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +3

living in the dark ages

Explanation:
We wouldn't be shooting for the moon - but still living in the dark ages

I had thought of
We wouldn't be shooting for the stars but living on a different planet ....

Wendy Lewin
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:00
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 8

15 mins confidence:

we'd be just mooning about instead of flying to the moon

Explanation:
or

a flight to the moon would seem like moonshine.

Wendy Streitparth
Germany
Local time: 12:00
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 11

18 mins confidence:

inventing the wheel

Explanation:
...we'd still be inventing the wheel instead of flying off to the moon.

Sorry, it's not rocket science, but I hope it helps ;-)

Sarah Bessioud
Germany
Local time: 12:00
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 28

39 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

living on the dark side of the Moon

Explanation:
I think the literal translation is the most evocative, and makes just as much sense in English as in German.

Susan Welsh
United States
Local time: 06:00
Native speaker of:

English

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

Frosty

20 mins

-> Thanks, Frosty

neutral

Armorel Young: how can you live on the dark side of the moon if you can't even get there?

51 mins

-> Thanks, Amorel. That's a reasonable question, if you think of it literally, logistically. Maybe somebody dumped you off there and you got stuck. (I think it's meant as a joke.)

disagree

Cilian O'Tuama: hinter dem Mond in German means backward or out of touch with reality

1 hr

-> Thanks, Cilian. That's also what it means in English, which is why I thought it worked.

neutral

Clive Phillips: Isn't this expression more about the "fleetingness and depravity of human life" as per Pink Floyd's classic album?

1 hr

-> I'm sorry, I never listened to Pink Floyd.

neutral

British Diana: with Amorel

1 hr

agree

Horst Huber (X): It's good to keep the moon in the picture; I'd even be recklessly literal and say something like "not fly to the moon, but be living somewhere way behind it"

16 hrs

1 hr confidence:

peer agreement (net): +5

believe in the man in the moon

Explanation:
e.g. instead of putting man ON the moon, we'd still believe in the man IN the moon.

not exactly snappy...

Cilian O'Tuama
Germany
Local time: 12:00
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 109

Notes to answerer

Asker: or "... that the moon is made of cheese"?

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

British Diana: The only< suggestion using a well-known "moon" image - but I like the "cheese" one better

34 mins

-> I think I do too.

agree

Nicola Wood: I think this works well with the contrast between man on and in the moon, although I have to say that the cheese image works for me too.

55 mins

agree

Susan Welsh: I like the cheesy one.

1 hr

agree

philgoddard: I think it's very snappy - it fits perfectly.

3 hrs

agree

Ramey Rieger (X): yes, better than what I came up with, the cheese pun

3 hrs

agree

Rebecca Garber: I like the man ON/IN the moon

3 hrs

disagree

phillee: dictionary entry for Org. => "nicht auf dem neuesten Stand sein, aktuelle Entwicklungen verpasst haben" This phrase doesn't convey the meaning IMHO

5 hrs

-> I think it does to a certain extent - if you believe in the man in the moon (or santa), you're not "in the know" but simple/naive/immature/underdeveloped/uneducated/weltfremd/...

disagree

Horst Huber (X): I hardly ever disagree. No, it's not the tooth fairy; it's being out of it, or out of touch in a huge way.

15 hrs

-> disagree as much as you please, it's part of the game.

agree

Sabine Akabayov, PhD

1 day 3 hrs

4 hrs confidence:

living in Moon colonies

Explanation:
we would not be landing on the moon, let alone living in Moon colonies

trsk2000 (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:00
Native speaker of: English

6 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

we'd still be thinking it was made of cheese

Explanation:
Just posting this in the proper place as it's a bad habit to offer ideas in the discussion section :-)

Armorel Young
Local time: 11:00
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 134

Grading comment

Thought this to be the most easily recognizable 'moon' reference. Thanks for all the thoughtful suggestions!!

Notes to answerer

Asker: will probably go with the "cheese" thing, cheers

Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

Return to KudoZ list

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

See also:

ProZ.com term search

Search millions of term translations

hinter dem Mond leben

English translation: we\'d still be thinking it was made of cheese

Answers

KudoZ™ translation help

Your current localization setting

Select a language

hinter dem Mond leben

English translation: we\'d still be thinking it was made of cheese

Answers

KudoZ™ translation help

You have native languages that can be verified

Your current localization setting

Select a language