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cedo al mito e scambio le pale
prelegato
This question was closed without grading. Reason: No acceptable answer
Dec 9, 2017 23:05
6 yrs ago
2 viewers *
Italian term

cavalcare poltrone

Italian to English Art/Literary General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters Character-based fiction
In his drunken imagination the narrator has passed Don Quixote hanging from a windmill, with wine-drinking man sitting below this, who explains how he had tied the noose around his neck etc. Narrator asks why he did this, and the drinking man replies:

"“Perché? Perché io sono nato per cavalcare poltrone, divani e belle donne, non asini!”
Stavolta sono io a ridere.

I need a good word that will cover all these three items. I do not know if "ride" or "mount" will work here, or if there may be something better..
Proposed translations (English)
4 sit on armchairs, couches
4 to straddle
3 be on top of
2 stretch myself/my body out over

Discussion

Lisa Jane Dec 10, 2017:
Sit astride Could work too!
Lara Barnett (asker) Dec 10, 2017:
Mount Thanks everybody. I am opting for "mount".
Lara Barnett (asker) Dec 10, 2017:
Riding Yes. It will be difficult to find one that works for all of them. But I am sure that "cavalcare" is too active even in Italian for sofas and armchairs.
Barbara Cochran, MFA Dec 10, 2017:
Too Active I think the term "riding" is too active for a chair and a divan because those are things that one usually rests on. Works for "women", though.
Lara Barnett (asker) Dec 10, 2017:
Riding What about "I like riding armchairs, sofas and beautiful women" ?
Barbara Cochran, MFA Dec 10, 2017:
Don't Think So... ...because the seat part of armchairs and divans is not up high; you actually have to drop yourself down onto it.
Lara Barnett (asker) Dec 9, 2017:
Mount I wonder if "mount" might be a good word here.

Proposed translations

7 mins

be on top of

That's an alternative.

Anyway, "cavalcare" in Italian sounds just as (perhaps intentionally) awkward as "ride" would sound in English.
Something went wrong...
26 mins

stretch myself/my body out over

Maybe.
Something went wrong...
43 mins

sit on armchairs, couches

because I was born to sit on armchairs, couches and beautiful women, not donkeys!

I would say sit on, which renders the idea... cavalcare, as previous explanation suggests, does sound awkward on a chair or a couch.

While the word "Sit" does not mean "cavalcare" it still renders the idea -
My opinion.
Something went wrong...
9 hrs

to straddle

I'd use this or ride

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Note added at 9 hrs (2017-12-10 08:24:54 GMT)
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http://bodylanguageproject.com/tiny-book-of-body-language/wh...

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Note added at 9 hrs (2017-12-10 08:26:33 GMT)
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1Sit or stand with one leg on either side of.

‘he turned the chair round and straddled it’

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Note added at 9 hrs (2017-12-10 08:29:04 GMT)
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https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/straddle
Note from asker:
I like this idea, but you could not straddle a sofa and it would be very awkward to straddle an armchair.
Something went wrong...
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