Idiom and metaphor in go

   

Books translated from Japanese sometimes contain idioms from the original language. I am particularly interested in those for which the translator has difficulty finding an English equivalent.

For example: "exchanging shadow for substance" is one of my favourites

Anyone know which Go book this is from?

Please add any you know about.

Ishida Vol. 1 contains a few which are common in English:

"stepping into the lions den" - (Biblical origin?)

urusainaa it's not this you are thinking of is it?

"koketsu ni harazunba koji wo ezu" If you don't go into the tigers den, you'll never catch a cub.

tderz: I remember having heard Once you ride a tiger, it might be difficult to get off (again).

"fanning the flames" - (probably ancient)

"strikes a discordant note" - (musical metaphor)

There are of course many references to parts of the body - belly, nose, ear, head, eye and shoulder for example (see Anatomical terms). However these words are probably direct translations.

vst?: "If you don't go into the tigers den, you'll never catch a cub," "Once you ride a tiger, it might be difficult to get off (again)," and "fanning the flames" are all of Chinese origin.

anonymous: 一石二鳥 (isseki nitcho) Crude translation: One stone, two birds. This is seen frequently in go game commentaries describing a single move with two effects. The question is whether this is an original Japanese idiom or whether it was borrowed from another language. It is exactly the same as the English idiom "Two birds with one stone".

tapir: it is almost universal with some variations (rabbits, birds or flies) [ext] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kill_two_birds_with_one_stone


Idiom and metaphor in go last edited by tapir on May 30, 2015 - 11:36
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