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a colpo d'occhio

English translation: effortless

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Italian term or phrase:a colpo d'occhio
English translation:effortless
Entered by: Claire Titchmarsh (X)

20:37 Oct 13, 2005
Italian to English translations [PRO]
Marketing - Advertising / Public Relations
Italian term or phrase: a colpo d'occhio
and finally...

They're still on about creative minds, unfortunately mine is anything but this evening.

SEMBRA CHE SI LAVORI A “COLPO D’OCCHIO”..INVECE E’ LA PROFESSIONALITA’ CHE VINCE SUL FILO DEI SECONDI

Could I get away with "instinct" ?
Claire Titchmarsh (X)
Local time: 07:21
effortless
Explanation:
again, far from literal but I've stated my case already ;-)


it looks easy to do but actually requires talent & effort

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Note added at 15 mins (2005-10-13 20:52:31 GMT)
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you'd need to recast the sentence to incorporate this of course

"Results so accomplished they look effortless: but it's professionalism and talent that win the day"
Selected response from:

Linda 969
Local time: 07:21
Grading comment
Thanks very much.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +5effortless
Linda 969
5spur of the moment (but change sentence)
nyteck
4at a glance
MaxCastiglia


Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


5 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +5
effortless


Explanation:
again, far from literal but I've stated my case already ;-)


it looks easy to do but actually requires talent & effort

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 15 mins (2005-10-13 20:52:31 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

you'd need to recast the sentence to incorporate this of course

"Results so accomplished they look effortless: but it's professionalism and talent that win the day"

Linda 969
Local time: 07:21
Native speaker of: Native in ItalianItalian, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 38
Grading comment
Thanks very much.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Rachel Fell: (or effortlessly) - talent, effort and skill...;-)
6 mins
  -> thanks, Rachel ;-)
agree  Enza Longo
8 mins
  -> thanks, Enza!
agree  Kimberly Wastler
17 mins
  -> thanks, Kimberly!
agree  Michele Fauble
46 mins
  -> thanks, Michele!
agree  silvs: linda, great way of turning the phrase around!
9 hrs
  -> thanks, silvs ;-)
neutral  Bahram Salehi: immediately
62 days
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

11 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
spur of the moment (but change sentence)


Explanation:
I would modify the sentence as well in order to convey the meaning.
"They almost seem to make spur of the moment decisions, while in fact professionalism is behind their excellent results"..
something like that!

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Note added at 11 hrs 44 mins (2005-10-14 08:21:30 GMT)
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sorry, I forgot- I would add "professionalism under pressure" to my above suggestion in order to convey the "filo dei secondi" concept.

nyteck
Italy
Local time: 07:21
Native speaker of: Native in ItalianItalian, Native in EnglishEnglish
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5314 days   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
at a glance


Explanation:
I think the original is poorly written. lavorare a colpo d'occhio is not a very intuitive expression and if you google it you will get 1-2 results if any. It literally means at a glance, what you see quickly on a superficial and visual level, but lacking more in-depth information. I would definitely not translate it as effortlessly. Without reading the fuller context and trying to understand the autor's overextended style, I would suggest the following translation: It seems like they are working haphazardly...but it's professionalism that allows you to win by mere seconds. The expression sul filo dei secondi is often used when talking about activities like motorsports to mean that the difference between winning and losing is a matter of seconds.

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Note added at 5314 days (2020-05-02 08:44:04 GMT) Post-grading
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Edit: a colpo d'occhio is a common saying = at a glance. Lavorare a colpo d'occhio = ?? not intuitive at all

MaxCastiglia
Italy
Local time: 07:21
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