7 replies to this topic

[Jazira]

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 Hi,

 

I'm currently working on correcting the French translation of Baldur's Gate II, and I need to know what does "turn YOU into a pumpkin" mean.

 

Here is the context, it's a dialogue between Keldorn and Yoshimo. They don't like each other's very much, but this banter is kind of friendly. They had a little exchange about bawdy songs and ribald tales, and the following sentence is Keldorn's conclusion:

 

"Now get a move on, scalawag, before I call on the gods to turn you into a lowly pumpkin of some sort."

 

As I understand it turn into a pumpkin mean to go to bed, to go home. It's an idiom referencing Cinderella. I interpret it as Keldorn being tired of this exchange and threatening Yoshimo to send him to bed rather than literally, physically transforming him into a pumpkin.

 

So, am I right? Could this mean something else, could this be interpreted literally (to physically transform into a pumpkin)? Can you turn someone else into a pumpkin by this idiom? Are there any bawdy songs or ribald tales about Cinderella? Is the song below about Cinderella?

 

I could provide the full dialogue if needed:

Y: A question to you, Keldorn: Do good knights ever find cause to sing bawdy songs and tell ribald tales around a campfire, or is dourness an inarguable tenet of the Order?

K: Ha! There are countless books within our holy libraries where bored and dreamy scribes have penned petty blasphemies into the margins. When I was younger, I used to sing a little song that would make the brothers laugh... how did it go now, I wonder?

Y: You're not seriously going to sing it, are you?

K: "I knew a girl from a distant world

across the planar deep,

and to her place to see her face

across the void, I'd creep.

Though time... though time..."

Oh, how did the second verse go? It's been so long, I'm surprised I remember that much.

Y: "Though time went by and long I tried

to satisfy my lust,

no matter where I touched, 'twas not enough

to please my succubus."

Is that it?

K: Yes, yes, however did you know?

Y: Well, I was doing a little theological reading of my own before I met up with <CHARNAME>. Found it in the margins...

K: Oh dear, I hope I didn't write that one down for posterity! Heh... you should be proud of yourself, Yoshimo: You've just made an old knight blush. Now get a move on, scalawag, before I call on the gods to turn you into a lowly pumpkin of some sort.

(End dialogue)

Thanks.

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Edited by Jazira, 26 September 2022 - 09:50 AM.

[igi]

Given the prevalence of magic in the Forgotten Realms I'd have assumed this a reasonably literal 'threat', rather than a reference to sleep. Given the phrasing of the sentence and the context of the conversation it feels like a stretch for it to reference sleep at all.

[Almateria]

This is fascinating. No, it literally means Keldorn will pray to god that they will turn Yoshimo into a pumpkin (the vegetable)

[Almateria]

​As I understand it turn into a pumpkin mean to go to bed, to go home. It's an idiom referencing Cinderella.

Also I feel like this is one of those "trap street" idioms because I have never in my life seen anyone say anything like that.

[Jazira]

Given the prevalence of magic in the Forgotten Realms I'd have assumed this a reasonably literal 'threat', rather than a reference to sleep. Given the phrasing of the sentence and the context of the conversation it feels like a stretch for it to reference sleep at all.

 

This is fascinating. No, it literally means Keldorn will pray to god that they will turn Yoshimo into a pumpkin (the vegetable)

 

Thanks a lot!

 

Why is it so fascinating?

Edited by Jazira, 26 September 2022 - 03:40 PM.

[jastey]

Is this banter original game content?

[Jazira]

Is this banter original game content?

 

Yes, it start with @10866.

 

@10866  = ~A question to you, Keldorn: Do good knights ever find cause to sing bawdy songs and tell ribald tales around a campfire, or is dourness an inarguable tenet of the Order?~ [YOSHIM55]

[jastey]

Thanks. In my opinion, this banter is so off I don't even know where to start.