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Mini-contest 2012: "Yogi Berra Quotes"»  Source text notes: English

Source text notes should be used to make comments only about the meaning of the source text, or its style, sense, etc. Source texts notes should not be used to discuss translation of the text.

A good source text note is one that clarifies something about the source text, and therefore would be helpful to a person translating that text into any language. The purpose of these notes will be to help those evaluating translations (in any pair) to make well-informed judgments.

Examples:
Source textPossible source text note
We're lost, but we're making good time.In US English, 'making good time' means 'making good progress' (not 'having fun').
If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be.Grammatically, a contradiction. This adds to the impact of the remark.
I'm not going to buy my kids an encyclopedia. Let them walk to school like I did.'encyclopedia' sounds like something you could ride to school on. (That's the only reason this quote is notable.)

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Source text segment #9

- "Half the lies they tell about me aren't true."

Notes about this source segment

Rank by:
+26 | -2
A logical paradox. It implies that the other half of the lies are true, in which case they cannot be lies. There is perhaps a hint of criticism of the mass media, implying that nothing they say is true, even the true bits.
+9 | -2
I think this is self-deprecating. Yogi is allowing that half of the "lies" about him (obviously, depicting him in a negative light), are in fact true.
+3
The first comment hits the nail on the head.
+2
It's just another Yogi pun found in his illogical chest of knowledge.
+1
He probably meant that half of negative information about him is false, but what the audience might have understood is that the other half is true.
Lies might be all negative stories in the papers about him, where only some are true.
Half the lies they're telling about me ain't true. Another logistical paradox, there is no "half lies" like no "half-true." It's either lies or truth Showing disgust of person lied about. Половина из тех небылиц, что обо мн
+1 | -2
The normal expression is "half the stories they tell about me aren't true".

Source text

Full source text (2)

#1 - "I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous." (29)

#2 - "When you come to a fork in the road, take it." (18)

#3 - "You can observe a lot just by watchin'." (15)

#4 - "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded." (24)

#5 - "I can't concentrate when I'm thinking." (12)

#6 - "The future ain't what it used to be." (10)

#7 - "I'm not going to buy my kids an encyclopedia. Let them walk to school like I did." (19)

#8 - "We're lost, but we're making good time." (12)

#9 - "Half the lies they tell about me aren't true." (8)

#10 - "A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore." (10)

#11 - "It's like deja-vu, all over again." (8)

#12 - "It ain't over till it's over." (11)

#13 - Mrs. Lindsay: "You certainly look cool." Yogi Berra: "Thanks, you don't look so hot yourself." (10)

#14 - "If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be." (22)