A language learners’ forum

So, I've got a problem with a verb I've come across in my translation project.
The context: A young woman didn't go to university and feels kind of inferior to Sofia, her successful older sister.

The scene goes like this:
‘You were never a student.’
‘I wasn’t.’
Even all these years on, it was still a sore point. She had ploughed her exams, staying out all night, laughing her head
off, pretending like she didn’t care. There didn’t seem much point, when Sofia got nothing but As and was studying law,
for goodness’ sake. What was she going to do?

In another scene it says:
‘I . . . I would have liked to have gone [to university] . . . I think. But at the time, I . . . I thought I couldn’t keep up. I failed my exams.’
‘On purpose?’
‘No! . . . Maybe,’ she said. ‘If I didn’t try, then . . . I suppose I had an excuse for failing.’

So, from context, it is very obvious that "ploughed" in the first scene means either "failed" or even "skipped", but I just can't find a reference for this use of the word. Is anyone familiar with it? Would native speakers of English use it this way?
Oh, and in case it's important: The author is from Scotland.

Sonjaconjota wrote:So, I've got a problem with a verb I've come across in my translation project.
The context: A young woman didn't go to university and feels kind of inferior to Sofia, her successful older sister.

The scene goes like this:
‘You were never a student.’
‘I wasn’t.’
Even all these years on, it was still a sore point. She had ploughed her exams, staying out all night, laughing her head
off, pretending like she didn’t care. There didn’t seem much point, when Sofia got nothing but As and was studying law,
for goodness’ sake. What was she going to do?

In another scene it says:
‘I . . . I would have liked to have gone [to university] . . . I think. But at the time, I . . . I thought I couldn’t keep up. I failed my exams.’
‘On purpose?’
‘No! . . . Maybe,’ she said. ‘If I didn’t try, then . . . I suppose I had an excuse for failing.’

So, from context, it is very obvious that "ploughed" in the first scene means either "failed" or even "skipped", but I just can't find a reference for this use of the word. Is anyone familiar with it? Would native speakers of English use it this way?
Oh, and in case it's important: The author is from Scotland.

I've never heard it used in that context, but Collins list it:

12. (intransitive) British slang
to fail an examination

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dicti ... ish/plough

DaveAgain wrote:I've never heard it used in that context, but Collins list it:

12. (intransitive) British slang
to fail an examination

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dicti ... ish/plough

Oh, fantastic, thank you very much!

DaveAgain wrote:

Sonjaconjota wrote:
So, from context, it is very obvious that "ploughed" in the first scene means either "failed" or even "skipped", but I just can't find a reference for this use of the word. Is anyone familiar with it? Would native speakers of English use it this way?
Oh, and in case it's important: The author is from Scotland.

I've never heard it used in that context, but Collins list it:

12. (intransitive) British slang
to fail an examination

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dicti ... ish/plough

Similar here. I'm from Scotland (and have lived in several areas of Scotland which are very different in dialect, as well as several places in England). I think I'd recognise it vaguely, but would never use it and be very surprised, perhaps even confused, if anyone used it.

Beli Tsar wrote:
Similar here. I'm from Scotland (and have lived in several areas of Scotland which are very different in dialect, as well as several places in England). I think I'd recognise it vaguely, but would never use it and be very surprised, perhaps even confused, if anyone used it.

Plough does suggest crash, or run into the ground though doesn't it, so you would probably guess correctly if someone used it.

----
Yesterday I learned that 'cap' can mean 'to lie', so slang is an odd thing.

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=cap

Beli Tsar wrote:

DaveAgain wrote:

Sonjaconjota wrote:So, from context, it is very obvious that "ploughed" in the first scene means either "failed" or even "skipped", but I just can't find a reference for this use of the word. Is anyone familiar with it?

Oh, and in case it's important: The author is from Scotland.

I've never heard it used in that context, but Collins list it:

12. (intransitive) British slang
to fail an examination

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dicti ... ish/plough

Similar here. I'm from Scotland (and have lived in several areas of Scotland which are very different in dialect, as well as several places in England). I think I'd recognise it vaguely, but would never use it and be very surprised, perhaps even confused, if anyone used it.

I'm curious in your translation if you will choose a slangy word, perhaps less obscure, or go for something like "failed", or something like "failed and buried".

luke wrote:I'm curious in your translation if you will choose a slangy word, perhaps less obscure, or go for something like "failed", or something like "failed and buried".

I feel a bit under the microscope now.
It's chicklit, so I wasn't planning an in-depth , etymologically consistent translation.
But thinking about it now, for the time being I have actually chosen something that IS very loosely related to earth: "versieben".

Edit: "In den Sand setzen" would be great as well!

Okay, so, I have another couple of questions for English native speakers.
I’m translating a novel from English to German.
The author is from Scotland, and the story takes place in present-day Edinburgh.

- In the book, a family has a male babysitter, and one scene goes like this:
‘Come on, Bifta.’
He expertly tucked [the baby] under his right arm.

I have found out that “bifta” (or “bifter”) can be a slang term for a cigarette or a joint, but that there’s also the expression “the full bifter” which means something like “the best, the whole shebang, the whole nine yards”.
In the text, I’m interpreting “bifta” just like some kind of placeholder word, an affectionate, but unsoppy term to refer to the baby.
Would you agree or is there anything I am missing?

- In another scene, a tourist is buying cheap tat in a souvenir shop:
He grabbed, seemingly at random, three Scotland hoodies [...] and a canvas bag that said ‘Hey McLeod, Get off of my Ewe’, which Carmen suspected he probably didn’t quite understand.

Could someone give me any information about the sentence with McLeod? What does it mean, where does it come from?


- And the last one: A client comes into a bookshop and says to the saleswoman that the owner has reserved a “Codex bib” for her.
Does this ring a bell?

Sonjaconjota wrote:- In another scene, a tourist is buying cheap tat in a souvenir shop:
He grabbed, seemingly at random, three Scotland hoodies [...] and a canvas bag that said ‘Hey McLeod, Get off of my Ewe’, which Carmen suspected he probably didn’t quite understand.

Could someone give me any information about the sentence with McLeod? What does it mean, where does it come from?

New to me, but a web search points to a song:

Gael Warning performs "Hey McLeod Get Off o'My Ewe", a Celtic parody of the Rolling Stones' song, "Hey You Get Off of My Cloud", at the Lake Norman Beer Festival on 9/17/11.

https://youtu.be/9f2Do8SNIEk
--------

In the text, I’m interpreting “bifta” just like some kind of placeholder word, an affectionate, but unsoppy term to refer to the baby.
Would you agree or is there anything I am missing?

I'm not scottish, but that certainly seems to fit the context.

-----
Could "codex bib" be the title of a book? a codex bible perhaps?

EDIT
Just to follow up on the song title a little, McLeod would be pronounced "ma-cloud" so you have:
Rolling Stones: "Hey you, get off my cloud"
Parody: "Hey McLeod (Ma-cloud), get off my ewe"

DaveAgain wrote:

Sonjaconjota wrote:- In another scene, a tourist is buying cheap tat in a souvenir shop:
He grabbed, seemingly at random, three Scotland hoodies [...] and a canvas bag that said ‘Hey McLeod, Get off of my Ewe’, which Carmen suspected he probably didn’t quite understand.

Could someone give me any information about the sentence with McLeod? What does it mean, where does it come from?

New to me, but a web search points to a song:

Gael Warning performs "Hey McLeod Get Off o'My Ewe", a Celtic parody of the Rolling Stones' song, "Hey You Get Off of My Cloud", at the Lake Norman Beer Festival on 9/17/11.

https://youtu.be/9f2Do8SNIEk
--------

In the text, I’m interpreting “bifta” just like some kind of placeholder word, an affectionate, but unsoppy term to refer to the baby.
Would you agree or is there anything I am missing?

I'm not scottish, but that certainly seems to fit the context.

-----
Could "codex bib" be the title of a book? a codex bible perhaps?

Thank you so much for your input, that's really helpful!