Glossary entry

Italian term or phrase:

abbandonarsi alle scorribande

English translation:

take a trip/stroll down memory lane

Added to glossary by Umberto Cassano
Jun 20, 2012 19:39
11 yrs ago
Italian term

abbandonarsi alle scorribande

Italian to English Art/Literary Poetry & Literature Libro
Hello! I'm translating a short story in a book and I need help with this particular term. This part of the story is a synopsis of the protagonist's life story in order to demonstrate her character. The full paragraph, for context, is as follows:

"Di solito, le capitava di abbandonarsi alle scorribande nel passato in occasione di alcune date precise, per un verso o per l’altro significative. Natale, per esempio, o il compleanno. Le persone alle quali aveva voglia di telefonare o dalle quali aveva voglia di ricevere un segno di vita a Natale non erano ogni anno le stesse. E a volte preferiva ignorare del tutto i suoi compleanni. Ma, quando il riavvolgersi del filo di un altro anno le sembrava un evento degno di nota, i commensali che radunava intorno a una tavola apparecchiata erano sempre, almeno in parte, diversi da quelli che avevano partecipato all’ultima riunione."

"Abbandonarsi alle scorribande" makes me think of someone who has a tendency for reckless fun. But as you can see from the context, there is nothing really reckless about any of her behavior. Perhaps it could be more closely described as sporadic, spontaneous or capricious. Any other suggestions regarding this term would be most appreciated.
Change log

Jun 26, 2012 08:08: Umberto Cassano changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/1206572">Nina Michael's</a> old entry - "abbandonarsi alle scorribande"" to ""take a trip/stroll down memory lane""

Proposed translations

+5
19 mins
Selected

take a trip/stroll down memory lane

"Scorribande" is used figuratively here and is connected to "nel passato" so that there's no actual 'fun' or anything 'reckless' which can best describe this character.

Though a mite risky, I'd suggest an idiomatic expression to get closer to 'abbandonarsi alle scorribande nel passato'

HTH



Peer comment(s):

agree Nora Mahony : I think so, alright.
1 hr
agree texjax DDS PhD
1 hr
agree bluedahlia
13 hrs
agree tradu-grace
14 hrs
agree BdiL : I really appreciated "stroll down memory lane". I do it myself and in that instance I'm very far from being reckless, pensive at best, but that's personal. As could aptly be pointed out "scorribanda" just conveys a to-and-fro movement idea. Maurizio
4 days
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks for your help!"
1 hr

let her hair down

Means literally to let oneself go.
Something went wrong...
13 hrs

to allow herself a romp in the past

... I'm trying to combine here both principal meanings pertaining to "scorribanda": an incursion ("in the past") and a frolic ("romp")
Something went wrong...
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