tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Jul 16 15:57:17 2002
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Re: similes
nughel Quvar:
>chay' mu' *similes* jatlhlu'?
>
>lengwI'vaD paqDaq (nav 127) rurchuqbogh Dochmey Delbogh mu'tlheghmey QIj MO.
>jatlh <lo'laHbe'; chetvI' chIm rur>
>
>jIjatlhDI' <chetvI' chIm rur DujlIj> vIyajlu''a'?
>
>pagh paq pab wIpabnIS'a'?
>
> <lo'laHbe' DujlIj; chetvI' chIm rur>
> <qej HoDlI'; veqlargh rur>
The normal way to use a simile is:
lo'laHbe' DujlIj; chetvI' chIm rur.
Your ship is worthless as an empty torpedo tube.
qej HoDlI'; veqlargh rur.
Your captain is as mean as Fek'lhr.
There's an example in KGT in the section on similes (p. 127ff.):
let mInDu'Daj; Separmey rur
Her eyes are hard; they resemble separ.
[I.e. "Her eyes are as hard as separ-stones."]
I'd imagine, though, that anyone familiar with these common similes would
certainly understand the allusion if you abbreviated them:
chetvI' chIm rur DujlIj.
Your ship resembles an empty torpedo tube.
DaHjaj veqlargh rur HoDlI'.
Your captain resembles Fek'lhr today.
Not every sentence with {rur} is necessarily a formal simile (Q A; B
rur). These, however, may also be understood as statements of fact. E.g.:
SuvwI' juHmey rur tachmey
Bars resemble warriors' homes. CK
We have examples of what you might call "informal similes" (A rur B):
Dejpu'bogh Hov rur qablIj
Your face looks like a collapsed star! PK
Hov ghajbe'bogh ram rur pegh ghajbe'bogh jaj
A day without secrets is like a night without stars. PK
matay'DI' vIHtaHbogh bIQ rur mu'qaDmey
Between us, curses run like water. PK
You could also restate slightly and make them metaphors, instead of similes:
chetvI' chIm 'oH DujlIj'e'.
Your ship is an empty torpedo tube.
va, veqlarghna' ghaH HoDlI''e'.
va, veqlargh ghaHbej HoDlI''e'.
Sheesh, your captain's a real Fek'lhr!
We have a model of this type of insult from TKD:
veQDuj 'oH DujlIj'e'
Your ship is a garbage scow!
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons