Re: trick or treat

[Steven Boozer <sboozer@midway.uchicago.edu>]

Tim wrote:
>How would one translate "trick or treat"?  My first try;
>
>   qatoj pagh yIjegh

"I trick you or you surrender!"

Hmm.  What you're trying to say is:

   bIjeghbe'chugh qatoj.
   If you don't surrender, I'll trick you.

or, on the model of the famous {bIjeghbe'chugh vaj bIHegh} "Surrender or 
die!" in TKD, you can add {vaj} "so, then, thus, in that case":

   bIjeghbe'chugh vaj qatoj.

I think the extra syllable sounds better, balancing out the four-syllable 
{bIjeghme'chugh}.  YMMV.

>then I thought;
>
>   toj pagh jegh

"Trick or surrender!"  (clipped imperatives?)

>a little closer to the original English and the clipped has a good feel
>like Trick or Treating could be thought of as a boarding exercise.

If you want to stay closer to the English subtext ("if you don't give me a 
treat..."), then you can say:

   vay' chonobbe'chugh vaj qatoj.
   If you don't give me something, (then) I'll trick you.

using the "prefix trick".  Also, the {vay'} and {vaj} provide some 
alliteration.  For {vay'} "something", you can substitute {pop} "reward", 
{tev} "prize", etc.  Although there's no general word for "candy", {yuch} 
"chocolate" is useful:

   "Despite the general absence of sweet foods from their diet, Klingons
    tend to be quite enthusiastic about {yuch} (chocolate), at least in
    its purest forms." (KGT 85)

However, keep in mind that

   not toj tlhInganpu'
   Klingons never bluff ("Klingons never deceive"). TKW



-- 
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons