Sandwich Master - How would you translate it?

[danqi]

Do you think 三明治家 would be a good choice? It's supposed to be in the sense of "someone who is an expert on sandwiches".

Secondly, how would you - in the same sense - translate "Expert on Gin & Tonic"?

Thanks

[ala]

it is better if you say 三明治专家.... 专家 = expert.

Using just 家 is for more general terms like: 作家 "composer", 科学家 "scientist", 政治家 "politician", 专家 "expert", 艺术家 "artist".... etc. "Sandwich expert" is by no means a single concept.

[889]

Perhaps "Sandwich Gourmet" will do: 三明治美食家. It retains a 3-3 construction, which I think sounds better than 3-2.

[amego]

If you want a more informal and playful feel, you can say "三明治王" Sandwich King. Anyway in Singappore, 三明治(Google 697 000 hits) is known as 三文治(356 000 hits).

[roddy]

I think 三明治大师 has a better feel to it - sandwiches are an art, remember, not a science

Roddy

Mmmmm, sandwiches . . .

EDIT: At the risk of having to ban myself for a really bad pun . . .

三明师

[danqi]

Thanks a lot!

Do you have any idea how to translate Gin & Tonic? For some reason it's not listed in either of my dictionaries.

[elina]

According to 金山词霸：

gin：

杜松子酒

tonic:

1. Quinine water. 奎宁水

2. 含碳软饮料

3. 滋补品

[imron]

Systransoft suggests 金汤尼, and a quick google search confirms this.

[ala]

In Shanghai we say: 琴汤尼.... because 琴 in Shanghainese is pronounced EXACTLY like English "gin".... but Mandarin doesn't have voiced consonants , so 金jin is probably closer than 琴qin to "gin" in Mandarin.

by the way, I believe "gin fizz" is 琴费士 in Shanghai, saw it at a bar there, 士 is pronounced like "zz" in Shanghainese, and 费 is pronounced "fi".

And I think we also commonly say 琴酒 for "gin", so the 琴 character is probably more dominant than the 金 character.

EDIT: Just did a Google search, 琴汤尼 indeed has 12 times more pages than 金汤尼.... but most sites seem to be from HK, Taiwan with a few mainland sites. Must originally been a Shanghainese term before 1949 (because Cantonese 琴 is "kam" so obviously not the source dialect).

[danqi]

Thanks for all the help, I really appreciate it!

I guess I'll go with 金汤尼 then.

[geraldc]

If your skills are better than a 王 you could try 三明治神

[danqi]

Nice one. Yet it's not for me and it's also not meant to convey great skill in the art of making sandwiches. I am sorry for not making myself clear in that regard. I actually want to design a t-shirt as a gift for someone who is a huge fan of eating and talking about sandwiches.

[randall_flagg]

"Urban Chinese" says Jin Tonic is 金汤力。 But this only get's some 600 hits on google.

[randall_flagg]

Maybe I've been watching to much "Friends", but the guy you are talking about sounds like Joey, doesn't he?

[danqi]

Maybe I haven't been watching enough "Friends", but I don't even know which one Joey is.

[randall_flagg]

Well, danqi, maybe that's because you have a life and I don't? And I am only half kidding here.

[ala]

i still think it should be 琴汤尼.... that's what i say myself in mandarin too and people understand me just fine.