Tattoo “Tackle this what shackles us all of this oppressing business”

AofD4me

New Member

1. “Tackle this what shackles us all of this oppressing business.”
2. Translation will be used for a tattoo.
3. This is a song lyric. The grammar may be poor. The meaning to me is to tackle a problem or situation that has been looming over a person and hindering his progress in life.
4. Phrase refers to a man.

Any help is greatly appreciated.
 

Pacifica

grammaticissima

  • Aedilis

Location:
Belgium
The grammar may be poor.
Indeed, it hardly makes sense to me.

Based on some guesswork and your explanations, I would perhaps suggest:

Aggredere hoc quo omnes constringimur negotium molestum, which means "Tackle this troublesome business which ties us all up." Is that close to how you understand the English sentence? Or would you prefer something ungrammatical in Latin too?

My translation fails to reproduce anything like the tackle/shackles internal rhyme.
 

AofD4me

New Member

Indeed, it hardly makes sense to me.

Based on some guesswork and your explanations, I would perhaps suggest:

Aggredere hoc quo omnes constringimur negotium molestum, which means "Tackle this troublesome business which ties us all up." Is that close to how you understand the English sentence? Or would you prefer something ungrammatical in Latin too?

My translation fails to reproduce anything like the tackle/shackles internal rhyme.
I think the word ‘that’ could replace ‘what’ in the lyric. ‘Tackle this (problem) that shackles us (ties us down) all of (with/to) this oppressing business (undesirable condition).’

I’m not necessarily looking for internal rhyme or grammatical correctness in the translation. I would prefer ‘oppressing/oppressive’ as more severe than ‘troublesome’
 

Pacifica

grammaticissima

  • Aedilis

Location:
Belgium
Ooh... Am I right that some punctuation was actually missing and it's in fact more like "Tackle this, what shackles us, all of this oppressing business", with "all" going with "of this oppressing business" rather than with "us" as I initially took it? That would make much more sense, silly me.
 

AofD4me

New Member

Ooh... Am I right that some punctuation was actually missing and it's in fact more like "Tackle this, what shackles us, all of this oppressing business", with "all" going with "of this oppressing business" rather than with "us" as I initially took it? That would make much more sense, silly me.
That very well could be accurate. I haven’t found any publishing of the lyric that uses any punctuation.
 
 

Dantius

Homo Sapiens

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Location:
in orbe lacteo
Huh, yeah, it is an actual lyric (but with "pressing" instead of "oppressing". Maybe if you listen to it in the song it makes more sense.
 

AofD4me

New Member

Huh, yeah, it is an actual lyric (but with "pressing" instead of "oppressing". Maybe if you listen to it in the song it makes more sense.
This is true of the originally recorded/published song, but often sung as ‘oppressing’ in live versions.
 

Pacifica

grammaticissima

  • Aedilis

Location:
Belgium
"Oppressing" is difficult to translate, but maybe acerbum, "harsh, bitter" could work?

Aggredere hoc, quo constringimur, totum hoc negotium acerbum.

Is the imperative "tackle" meant as singular or plural? I've treated it as singular so far.
 

AofD4me

New Member

"Oppressing" is difficult to translate, but maybe acerbum, "harsh, bitter" could work?

Aggredere hoc, quo constringimur, totum hoc negotium acerbum.

Is the imperative "tackle" meant as singular or plural? I've treated it as singular so far.
That could work. But what about ‘pressing’ or a synonym in lieu of harsh or bitter? See attachment. I have placed a check mark next to the most fitting synonyms.
 

Attachments

Pacifica

grammaticissima

  • Aedilis

Location:
Belgium
Grave can mean "heavy", "serious", "grievous", "painful". It could be intensified by being put in the superlative gravissimum.

Arduum means "difficult", "hard".
 

syntaxianus

Civis Illustris

  • Civis Illustris

Location:
Massachusetts, USA
I come up with this:

cum hoc congredere, quod nos [compeditur] compedit, hoc negotium totum praegravius

= tackle (engage with) this what shackles us, this whole (rather) oppressive business.

Accepting Pacifica's correction.... compedit for compeditur.
 

Pacifica

grammaticissima

  • Aedilis

Location:
Belgium
Compeditur is in the wrong voice.

I'm not sure a person can congredi cum a thing. That phrase is usually used of battles among people.
 
 

Dantius

Homo Sapiens

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Location:
in orbe lacteo
Also, it seems like hoc negotium totum praegravius should be in the ablative, since it's in apposition with the first hoc.
 

Pacifica

grammaticissima

  • Aedilis

Location:
Belgium
I thought the same at first, then thought we could perhaps allow for some looseness here, given the loose quality of the original, lol. It isn't totally impossible (though it is less logical) to take the last words as an apposition to quod.

What do you think of congredi cum a thing? It seems odd to me.
 

syntaxianus

Civis Illustris

  • Civis Illustris

Location:
Massachusetts, USA
I thought the same at first, then thought we could perhaps allow for some looseness here, given the loose quality of the original, lol. It isn't totally impossible (though it is less logical) to take the last words as an apposition to quod.

What do you think of congredi cum a thing? It seems odd to me.

I think Pacifica is right about the usage of congredior. But this is poetry and metaphor not hard to come by. Things can be imagined as enemies that you need to tackle.

I understood the phrase tackle this, etc.... to mean tackle this business, all of it...but I see your point about the agreement with the ablative.
 

Callaina

Feles Curiosissima

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  • Patrona

Location:
Canada
I'm not sure a person can congredi cum a thing. That phrase is usually used of battles among people.

"For to take arms against a sea of troubles", LOL. ;)
 
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