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Me again, still writing my book and still naming all the chapters in Deutsch.

I'm trying to translate phrase "trinkets, odds and ends", but I'm really confused, as Google suggests "Schmuckstücke, Kleinigkeiten" for whole phrase, but for "odds and ends" alone it suggests "Krimskrams", and also "allerlei Dinge", "Quodlibet", "Jambalaya" if I try translating from Russian (that's my native language).

I've tried looking up translation of all of the words back to English, and none is translated as "odds and ends".

Context: the phrase itself is a quotation from video-game Skyrim, where traders of general stuff will greet player saying "Trinkets, odds and ends. That sort of things". Ideally, I'd very much like chapter name to match what those traders actually say in German version, given that they do say something similar.

So, what's the difference between these (and probably other) options for "odds and ends"? What's the right one?

Also, if someone knows what traders of general stuff say in German version of Skyrim, that would be really great.

P.S.: Please, let's not discuss whether there should be chapters, should they be named, what are other chapters names, etc. There is writers.se for that, and I guess I can figure out how to avoid repetition without posting list of all chapters

UPD For those who didn't play the game, or think that the phrase in game is odd: Please add some more realistic versions and explanation of difference between your options.

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    The online-translator DeepL translate "Kleinigkeiten" and "Krimskrams" to "odds and ends".
    – IQV
    Feb 22, 2019 at 6:39
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    As this is for chapters of a book: for answering this we should know what that book and that chapter is about. Simply translating words without their context will probably lead to sub-optimal results. Feb 22, 2019 at 8:34
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    If I wanted to discuss the idea of german-named chapters, I'd go to writers.se. Also, whatever chapter is about, I wanted to name it after the phrase that traders in Skyrim say as a greeting. The whole phrase is "Trinkets, odds and ends, that sort of thing". So, contents don't really matter.
    – Alissa
    Feb 22, 2019 at 11:24
  • If that is to be kind of a greeting formula used by traders, then you could use "Allerlei Krimskrams". This at least sounds like something a peddler could use. The allerlei is there with the special purpose of giving a signal and drawing attention. If the word Krimskrams stands alone the phrase would miss its communicative function as it is too short. On the other hand, outside a video game, I can hardly imagine a trades person say "Krimskrams" to refer to their goods because it has a derogative tone to it. But that's the same with odds and ends, I suppose. Feb 22, 2019 at 11:36
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    maybe you should ask at gaming.se if anyone knows the exakt phrase from the german version.
    – mtwde
    Feb 22, 2019 at 23:54

5 Answers 5

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I am too lazy to reinstall, but well ... here we go:

In the german version the merchants say

Schmuckstücke, Krimskrams, solche Sachen.

enter image description here

which is similar to @PiedPiper 's answer.

In addition I would like to mention the north-german

Tüddelkram

as used in another game

EDIT

1)

"Schmuckstücke, Krimskrams, solche Sachen" is the answer to the players question:

Was habt Ihr zu verkaufen?

It's like a list of categories, not a complete sentence. One may say no one uses the word "Schmuckstück", but well ... trinket translates to Schmuckstück. Personally i would prefer

Schmuck, Krimskrams, solche Dinge.

but that's my personal opinion. The answer given by the merchant is ok as well (from my point of view).

"But, no one talks like that!" Well, a few days ago i was talking to one of my friends and asked her what she did at the gym and she said: "Gewichte, Beinpresse, sowas halt." It was very elliptic, but a valid answer. Just as the merchants.

2)

Tüddelkram -> knick-knacks

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    Maybe in this spacial game »Schmuckstücke, Krimskrams, solche Sachen.« is the German version of that phrase, but no German native speaker would ever say this in real live. Feb 24, 2019 at 9:20
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    @HubertSchölnast Why not?
    – Arsak
    Feb 24, 2019 at 20:25
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    I'd also like to know what's wrong with the phrase. Depending on that I'll need to decide whether I want to keep the quote.
    – Alissa
    Feb 25, 2019 at 1:32
  • Also, google translate doesn't know the word Tüddelkram and only suggests to translate from Estonian.
    – Alissa
    Feb 25, 2019 at 1:38
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    @Arsak This is an impossible question. There is no "reason" why people of a linguistic community say something the one way but not the other. They just do. - The phrase in the sub-title of the game is simply an idiotic translation made by somebody who did not care for the actual language. Of course, whoever creates these games is free to do so. But you should not derive from the mere fact that an expression is used in such a context that it is in any way a good translation. Feb 25, 2019 at 17:43
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There is a German idiom containing two synonyms for goods of lower value "Tand und Trödel":

Tand und Trödel Süddeutsche 2015
Tand und Trödel beim Flohmarkt NWZ Online 2009

The second quote will also give you a name for a market where these goods are usually sold, it is called Flohmarkt. If it is a shop you may use Trödelhandlung or Trödlerladen the shop owner would be a Trödelhändler (or when ancient language was desired Trödler).

You may also combine synonyms like Trödel, Plunder, Kitsch, Firlefanz, or more to put emphasis on the variety. A sufficently ancient term for small ornaments or jewelry of lower value you may be Zierrat. So a line transporting the essence of "trinkets, odds and ends" could e.g. be:

Tand und Trödel, Schmuck und Zierrat.

The translation offered by the German locale of Skyrim is unidiomatic, nobody would talk like that.

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    I don't know this video game (actually I do not know any video game) but I find it unrealistic that peddlers present themselves by saying Tand und Trödel, Plunder, Firlefanz or whatever, as all these terms are disparaging. (Unless this is how these people in that game behave. Which I do not know.) Feb 22, 2019 at 11:47
  • @ChristianGeiselmann: yeah, exactly.
    – Takkat
    Feb 22, 2019 at 11:50
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    Tand und Trödel beinhaltet auch auch alte, gleichwohl wertlose Möbel, Kleidung, Werkzeuge usw. - mir scheint es hier aber um wertlosen Schmuck, Dekor und Tünneff zu gehen, Dinge, die man auf die Fensterbank stellen kann usw. Feb 23, 2019 at 11:54
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    Da gab es früher den schönen Begriff der Galanteriewaren für "schönes Glump, das keiner braucht"
    – tofro
    Feb 25, 2019 at 8:19
  • @tofro: auch sehr schön! Wir evtl. von der Jugend nicht mehr verstanden ;)
    – Takkat
    Feb 25, 2019 at 8:23
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Now as a picture has been published (see above) where we see a clichee mediaevel macho figure standing behind a counter, we have a bit more insight into the context. This helps us finding adequate translations.

The picture reveals that this is not at all a greeting formula (as initially presented). Rather a customer asks the trader what he has to sell:

Was habt Ihr zu verkaufen?

The trader then answers something which in the English version seems to be "trinkets, odds and ends". Now, I suppose a native speaker of English, in the position of a shop holder, whould not say this either. Still, the wording can give us a hint what the goods are he sells (strangely enough the picture doesn't show it). In contemporary German, a possible thing so say would be

Schmuck und Geschenkartikel

or

Schmuck und Haushaltsgegenstände

depending on what he actually sells, of course.

Note that nobody would say Schmuckstücke. Traders do not sell Schmuckstücke, they sell Schmuck. You usually say Schmuckstück to things you find beautiful which however are not actual Schmuck.

Now, if you want to use a more old-style expression (to avoid contemporarian language) you may say:

Schmuck und Posamenten

This would then suppose that the "odds and ends" he offers are actual "odds and ends", i.e. garment adorning materials, i.e. passements. Which is a bit out of fashion today, but was an important branch of textile economy in the olden days.

An alternative, likewise in the area of apparel accessoires, would be

Schmuck und Kurzwaren

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Given that in the video game traders introduce themselves with

"Trinkets, odds and ends. That sort of things"

which is slightly self-disparaging, I would suggest that

"Plunder, Krimskrams. Solche Dinge"

would probably come closest to the spirit of the original

Update: The translation used in the German version of the game is "Schmuckstücke, Krimskrams, solche Sachen".

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    Maybe in this spacial game »Schmuckstücke, Krimskrams, solche Sachen.« is the German version of that phrase, but no German native speaker would ever say this in real live. Feb 24, 2019 at 9:20
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    @HubertSchölnast No English native speaker would ever say the original version either
    – PiedPiper
    Feb 24, 2019 at 14:29
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I'm not sure if you want to know which phrase the producers of the game skyrim used in the German version of the game, or if you want to know which phrase German native speakers would use in daily life. Because you never will hear the phrase from the game ("Schmuckstücke, Krimskrams, solche Sachen") in real life, spoken by a real native speaker in a normal conversation.

German native speakers don't use three words for this phrase (and »Schmuckstücke« is non of them!). They say:

  • Kram
  • Krimskrams
  • Trödel
  • Plunder
  • altes Zeug
  • Kitsch
    • Kitsch und Plunder
    • Kitsch und Trödel
  • Klimbim
  • Tand
  • Tinnef
  • Ramsch
  • Gerümpel
  • Nippes (regional)
  • Pillepalle (regional)
  • Geraffel (regional)
  • Klumpert (regional)
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    Nearly all of your translations are devaluating - It is very unlikely a trader would offer his goods as, for example, "Gerümpel". But that is probably owed to lots of missing context in the question.
    – tofro
    Feb 24, 2019 at 11:33

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