what Does the Sentence connote ?( Need American-English Native speakers responds)

[laleh1363]

As a Non-English Speaker but enthusiast in English Literature who read and translate different literary genres I found some cultural barrier to figure out some connotations correctly, I google many times but no online or even literary dictionary can solve the problem. I think a native speaker who has the cultural background of American English language is able to help.
There are several questions of these kinds which only a native speaker of a certain language can respond correctly. here is a chance to ask and answer and also to increase our knowledge of literature. I welcome any literary question you find in Persian literature or their translation from Rumi to Khayam or any recent works if I know, and If I don't know my self I will ask my friends who are expert in Persian literature to respond you exactly.

MY Questions:

these days I am translating "Before The Fall a novel by Noah Hawley" in Persian.During the translation I faced some problems. There are some sentences I can understand their denotation but not the connotation. If you are an American_English speaker and able to help I would be greatly appreciated.

1. "We ll sue him *biblically* until he thinks lawyers are falling outta the sky like frogs".

Whats the meaning when u say sue sb biblically? Does it mean we follow his as we have to follow bible??
And why the lawyers are falling outta the sky ? Does it mean they are egotist?
And why they are compared with frogs? Is there any proverb or cultural or religious background hidden here??
2.
The other is
(Marriage is , two people
Fighting for * land rights to the same six inches*??? I can't understand whats the connotation of this sentence again ..
What's that six inches??

[YesNo]

As a Non-English Speaker but enthusiast in English Literature who read and translate different literary genres I found some cultural barrier to figure out some connotations correctly, I google many times but no online or even literary dictionary can solve the problem but a native speaker who have the cultural background of that language.
I think there are several questions of these kinds which only a native speaker of a certain language can respond correctly. here is a chance to ask and answer and increase our knowledge of literature. I welcome any literary question you find in Persian literature or their translation from Rumi to Khayam or any recent works if I know and If I don't know my self I eagerly will ask them from my friends who are expert in Persian literature to respond you exactly.

MY Questions

these days I am translating "Before the fall a novel by Noah Hawley" in Persian.during the translation I faced some problems. There are some sentences I can understand their denotation but not the connotation. If you are an American_English speaker and able to help I would be greatly appreciated.

1. "We ll sue him *biblically* until he thinks lawyers are falling outta the sky like frogs".

I think there is some place in Genesis where Egypt has been subjected to plagues. One of those plagues may have been locusts appearing everywhere. The frogs are like those locusts and that is the "biblical" reference. So they will sue him, take him to court, and he will have so many lawyers against him that it will appear to be a plague of them coming from nowhere or from the sky.

Others may read this differently.



Whats the meaning when u say sue sb biblically? Does it mean we follow his as we have to follow bible??
And why the lawyers are falling outta the sky ? Does it mean they are egotist?
And why they are compared with frogs? Is there any proverb or cultural or religious background hidden here??
2.
The other is
(Marriage is , two people
Fighting for * land rights to the same six inches*??? I can't understand whats the connotation of this sentence again ..
What's that six inches??

The six inches would be the length of a man's penis. The two people are the man and the woman in the marriage.

At least that is how I would read that sentence. Of course, my mind might be in the gutter.

[Danik 2016]

I am not native in English but this might help with the six inches:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-434965/Neighbours-war-inches-land.html

[laleh1363]

Dear Friend . Thanks a lot for Your respond .I think it is more clear.

[YesNo]

It might be the distance between a fence and a property line, but that would cause neighbors to fight not marriage partners. I do recall being required to put a fence at least four inches in on my side of the property line. That was assuming I even knew where that line was or could accurately locate it based on corner stakes with all the trees growing up right on the line.

[OrphanPip]

MY Questions

these days I am translating "Before the fall a novel by Noah Hawley" in Persian.during the translation I faced some problems. There are some sentences I can understand their denotation but not the connotation. If you are an American_English speaker and able to help I would be greatly appreciated.

1. "We ll sue him *biblically* until he thinks lawyers are falling outta the sky like frogs".

Whats the meaning when u say sue sb biblically? Does it mean we follow his as we have to follow bible??
And why the lawyers are falling outta the sky ? Does it mean they are egotist?
And why they are compared with frogs? Is there any proverb or cultural or religious background hidden here??

To do something biblically is to do it with great severity or grandeur. The author then uses this metaphorical use of biblically as a turn of phrase to reference a literal biblical allusion to Moses's plagues of Egypt. One of Moses's plagues in Exodus (Not Genesis) is to fill the Nile with frogs. "Falling out of the Sky" is a common phrase used to mean a lot of things.



2.
The other is
(Marriage is , two people
Fighting for * land rights to the same six inches*??? I can't understand whats the connotation of this sentence again ..
What's that six inches??

He means marriage is two people fighting over something small and significant. There could be a sexual tongue in cheek joke there but would need more context to be sure.

[laleh1363]

Dear friend thanks a lot for your didactic respond.it was completely clear.
and about the second phrase there is no more related context just this :
"He doesn’t get to see the kids enough. David and Maggie both
agree on this, though they fight about it regularly. Which is to say,
she raises the issue and he gets defensive, even though, at heart, he
feels the same. But then isn’t that what marriage is, two people
?fighting for land rights to the same six inches." end of the paragraph.....


and i found an other problem too :
""Maggie is thirty-six, a
former preschool teacher, the pretty one boys fantasize about before
they even understand what that means—a breast fixation shared by
toddler and teen"". what does it mean when it says : (( a breast fixation shared by toddler and teen)) .

thanks a lot for ur attention.

[YesNo]

The toddler might view a female's breast as a source of nourishment. A teen might be interested in a female's breast for sexual purposes. They are both interested in breasts, that is, they share a fixation, but they have different ends in mind.

By the way, OrphanPip might be right that the six inches is just "something small and significant" with nothing sexual implied in the author's mind.

[laleh1363]

I see. your answers mean a lot to me. thanks again.

[bounty]

im going to take a slightly different tack---close to what YesNo was saying but a different rendering.

in euphemistic usage, to "know someone 'biblically'" was to be intimate to the point of sex with them.

I suggest "suing someone biblically" might be a polite way of saying "we are going to screw him."

laleh---"screwing someone" means both "having sex with them or "causing harm to them," depending on the context.

[YesNo]

Using the word "biblically" does suggest to me as well the idea of having sex with someone.

[Danik 2016]

It might be the distance between a fence and a property line, but that would cause neighbors to fight not marriage partners. I do recall being required to put a fence at least four inches in on my side of the property line. That was assuming I even knew where that line was or could accurately locate it based on corner stakes with all the trees growing up right on the line.
When I posted the link, I thought that was an unusual situation. I probably am wrong.
I hope it could be solved peacefully and without cutting of trees.

[YesNo]

Boundaries can present problems. When I put in that fence, which was long ago and we no longer own that property, I had to remove some of the smaller brush. There was also a dead tree that was right on the property line. I ultimately had to take it out, but who did that tree belong to? Well, we got along with our neighbors and so there were no problems like the ones in the link you posted. And they were glad they didn't have to remove the tree. In any case, the fence was inexpensive and it could be moved later if need be.

[laleh1363]

Dear Danik i m afraid I couldn't open the link because the site is filtered in my country . would U mind if u copy the texts here please? or email me as a text file ?
thanks a lot .

[laleh1363]

Dear bounty
thanks for ur suggestion , But as I can understand the context is not sth to suggest erotic condition. but u can get bether if u all just read and say ur comprehension.
he is talking on a business phone and this is just a scene shows he is very busy even when he is with his family they are in the air port want to get on the plane to fly to New york .

here is the section:


David kicks the car door closed with his foot, his son’s weight
pulling him off balance. He is holding his phone to his ear with his
free hand.
"Tell him if he says a word about any of this,” he says quietly, so as
not to wake the boy, “we’ll sue him biblically until he thinks
lawyers are falling outta the sky like frogs".
At fifty-six, David wears a hard layer of fat around his frame like a
bulletproof vest.

[Danik 2016]

Dear Danik i m afraid I couldn't open the link because the site is filtered in my country . would U mind if u copy the texts here please? or email me as a text file ?
thanks a lot .

Here you are:

"Neighbours go to war over six inches of land

By JAMES TOZER

Last updated at 22:00 08 February 2007

It began as a simple disagreement between respectable, well-off neighbours over a garden fence and a six inch strip of land.

But instead of being settled in a civilised manner, the dispute escalated until a widowed civic society member ended up brandishing a fence post at the brother of her wine merchant neighbour.

What followed depends who you ask - 65-year old grandmother Linda Jenkins insists she only waved the six foot pole, which she says was wooden.

But builder Gerry Keaney, 43, claims that not only was it solid iron but that Mrs Jenkins clouted him over the back of the neck with it, forcing him to take a week off work. The alleged assault is now in the hands of police.

Thursday, both sides continued to argue over what prompted the clash.

What is not in doubt is that Mr Keaney's brother Michael and his partner, psychiatrist Dr Nathalie Robins, obtained planning permission for a two-storey extension and conservatory to the back garden of their home in Didsbury, an upmarket Manchester suburb.

Their next-door neighbour Mrs Jenkins, an active member of Didsbury Civic Society and founder of the street's Homewatch antiburglar scheme, objected to the wine cellar proposed for the extension, fearing it would be for commercial use.

She also claims the six foot wooden fence dividing the £600,000 semi-detached properties was six inches on her property.

The extension has now been built, but matters spilled over into a confrontation on January 26 when Michael Keaney employed his brother to lay the foundations for the conservatory.

Part of the disputed fence had to be temporarily removed to lay the bricks.

"I was doing everything by the book," said Mr Keaney.

"Suddenly this woman came out. She hit me on the back of the neck. She should be made to stand down from the civic society."

Mrs Jenkins, for her part, denies assaulting the builder, claiming she was only trying to protect her son Adam who had come round to support her after the fence was taken down without warning.

The devout Christian said: "Adam told him to stop putting bricks down and said he would kick them over if he carried on.

"They were face to face, and the builder picked up a steel bar. I thought he was going to hurt my son, so I got myself a weapon. I obviously shouldn't have done it, but I certainly didn't hit anyone.

"They just seem to think they can do whatever they like without anyone having any say, but I spend a lot of time campaigning against unnecessary development in this area, and I'm certainly not going to put up with it next door."

The building work is now being done by another brother, Kevin.

Thursday, Dr Robins said: "We got on fine after I moved in six years ago, but when the fence was replaced three years ago she claimed it was a few inches on to her land.

"I think it's on my land, but since then we haven't really been speaking.

"Of course I should have informed Mrs Jenkins before taking part of the fence down, but she's been totally unreasonable, objecting to everything I do - she's a real Nimby.

"She thinks we're the original neighbours from hell, but as far as I'm concerned that's exactly what she is."

From:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-434965/Neighbours-war-inches-land.html

[bounty]

i agree laleh---"not erotic"---and its not meant to be. but I think it employs a peculiar sort of "double entendre."

that is (if im correct), the reader knows "biblically" generally refers to "screwing" as in sex, but in this context, the "screwing" refers to hurting someone.

if its any help to know, apart from "knowing someone 'biblically'" one never really sees the word used in other ways that are not literal. you picked a really tough one!

by the way, a few years ago I really enjoyed "reading Lolita in Tehran"---are you familiar with it?