This site uses cookies. Some of these cookies are essential to the operation of the site, while others help to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used. For more information, please see the ProZ.com privacy policy.
Cookie settings
  1. KudoZ™ Top
  2. English
  3. General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters

KudoZ question not available

English translation: enabled me to make ends meet

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:\"keep me in diesel\"
Selected answer:enabled me to make ends meet

09:40 May 10, 2019
    The asker opted for community grading. The question was closed on 2019-05-13 13:54:07 based on peer agreement (or, if there were too few peer comments, asker preference.)


English language (monolingual) [Non-PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters / Cinema, Film, TV, Drama /Bergerac TV Series, Smuggling, Drugs, Whisky, Blackmail
English term or phrase: \"keep me in diesel\"
I'm afraid your Aunt Belle's
made a bit of a pills of a small scheme
that was going to keep me in diesel and hard tack
for the next couple of months.
Robert Janiak
Poland
Local time: 00:13
enabled me to make ends meet
Explanation:
"keep me in diesel and hard tack" suggests that the speaker has a boat or has a naval background. Diesel for fuel and hard tack to eat. Hard tack is a type of hard biscuit fed to sailors. Tack is a slang word for food.

The general idea is therefore that the small scheme would have enabled the speaker to "make ends meet", provided him with means of subsistence.
Selected response from:

Mark Robertson
Local time: 23:13
Grading comment
You hit the nail on the head, Mark.
Indeed, this Belle has a boat and is a sailor.
Although in my dictionaries "hard tack = whisky".
But this is just a digression.
Native does not ask, native knows.

Thank you all for your help.

Best regards,
R
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
5 +7enabled me to make ends meet
Mark Robertson
5 +5provide enough money to pay for my diesel (fuel for car?)
Tony M
3 +1keep him supplied with diesel
Sara Noss


Discussion entries: 3





  

Answers


22 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +5
keep me in diesel
provide enough money to pay for my diesel (fuel for car?)


Explanation:
It's a simple as that

Tony M
France
Local time: 00:13
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 309

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Charles Davis
8 mins
  -> Thanks, Charles!
agree  philgoddard
3 hrs
  -> Thanks, Phil!
agree  B D Finch
4 hrs
  -> Thanks, B!
agree  JaneTranslates
9 hrs
  -> Thanks, Jane!
agree  AllegroTrans
10 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

22 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +7
enabled me to make ends meet


Explanation:
"keep me in diesel and hard tack" suggests that the speaker has a boat or has a naval background. Diesel for fuel and hard tack to eat. Hard tack is a type of hard biscuit fed to sailors. Tack is a slang word for food.

The general idea is therefore that the small scheme would have enabled the speaker to "make ends meet", provided him with means of subsistence.

Mark Robertson
Local time: 23:13
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 12
Grading comment
You hit the nail on the head, Mark.
Indeed, this Belle has a boat and is a sailor.
Although in my dictionaries "hard tack = whisky".
But this is just a digression.
Native does not ask, native knows.

Thank you all for your help.

Best regards,
R

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Charles Davis
8 mins
  -> thanks
agree  Charlotte Fleming
57 mins
  -> Thanks
agree  BdiL
3 hrs
agree  JaneTranslates: Nice additional info on hardtack, though it wasn't part of the requested term. BTW, I usually see it as "hardtack," one word.
9 hrs
agree  AllegroTrans
10 hrs
agree  Sven Petersson
20 hrs
agree  GILLES MEUNIER
2 days 2 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

23 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
keep him supplied with diesel


Explanation:
The idea is that whatever the scheme was or produced, it would have enable the character in question to maintain a supply of diesel for a couple of months, presumably with little or no dent in their finances or unnecessary difficulty.

Sara

Sara Noss
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:13
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 13

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Charles Davis
7 mins
  -> Thank you, Charles!
neutral  Mark Robertson: what about the hard tack?
2 hrs
  -> You're quite right! A poor omission on my part.
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

Return to KudoZ list

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

See also:
ProZ.com term search
Search millions of term translations
Close search
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search