One of Britain's best-kept secrets

[misssciatta]

Hi everyone,

can the sentence "I think that Depeche Mode are one of Britain's best-kept secrets" be translated as "Credo che i Depeche Mode siano uno dei più grandi misteri della Gran Bretagna"?

Have you got any suggestion?

 

[saretta]

Il senso é quello, oppure potresti dire "uno dei segreti custoditi più gelosamente"

 

[TimLA]

"best-kept secrets" is a fixed phrase in BE/AE and I'm not sure the "mystery" is optimal.
I found "...dei segreti meglio custoditi al mondo..." so I wonder if you might try "segreti"????

 

[giovannino]

I think the sense is that whoever wrote the sentence believes that Depeche Mode are a great band who are, however, only well-known and appreciated in England but not in other countries. I'm not sure "uno dei segreti meglio custoditi" quite conveys that. I can't think of any other ways to translate it, though. Any ideas?

 

[michellenebiolo]

Concordo con giovannino sul significato. Non so trovare una traduzione decente, ma tanto per fare un po' di brainstoriming: "tesoro nascosto" "gemma ben custodita/tenuta al riparo"...

Altrimenti "una delle più grandi sorprese che la Gran Bretagna può riservare"? Non è letterale ma magari fa al caso tuo.

 

[misssciatta]

I think the sense is that whoever wrote the sentence believes that Depeche Mode are a great band who are, however, only well-known and appreciated in England but not in other countries. I'm not sure "uno dei segreti meglio custoditi" quite conveys that. I can't think of any other ways to translate it, though. Any ideas?

Hi Giovannino,

it is actually the opposite. They are widely appreciated all around the world but quite underrated in their home country, which is Britain. If I hadn't known that, I would have interpreted the phrase exactly in the way you did. I guess it is a fixed phrase, as Tim suggested, but can anybody explain in other words what it means?
Does it mean that nobody knows why Depeche Mode have had such a success or that their success lies in their being British? Or what else?

 

[futuretranslator]

Mmmm...in this sense then, it was maybe right the "mistery" meaning you mentioned before. They are a mistery, in the sense that nobody understands why they're not popular in Britain, even if it is their home country. Why on earth they are famous and appreciated all over the world and not at home? This is a mistery, isn't it?

 

[saretta]

Allora forse potresti dire

"Credo che i Depeche Mode siano uno dei più grandi enigmi della Gran Bretagna"?

 

[TimLA]

Hi Giovannino,

it is actually the opposite. They are widely appreciated all around the world but quite underrated in their home country, which is Britain. If I hadn't known that, I would have interpreted the phrase exactly in the way you did. I guess it is a fixed phrase, as Tim suggested, but can anybody explain in other words what it means?
Does it mean that nobody knows why Depeche Mode have had such a success or that their success lies in their being British? Or what else?

Mmmm...in this sense then, it was maybe right the "mistery" meaning you mentioned before. They are a mistery, in the sense that nobody understands why they're not popular in Britain, even if it is their home country. Why on earth they are famous and appreciated all over the world and not at home? This is a mistery, isn't it?

Let's try to explain it by example:

I think that Depeche Mode are one of Britain's best-kept secrets.
I think that Depeche Mode is a fantastic British group not well-known (inside) (or outside) of Britain
I think you could interpret it either way.
Given what you say about the group I would have stated it differently.
I think that Depeche Mode is one of the best-kept secrets inside of Britain.
or
Though Depeche Mode is well-known throughout Europe, it is one of the best-kept secrets inside the UK borders.

Other uses:
I think that the Pasta Museum near the Trevi is one of the best-kept secrets of Rome.
I think that the Pasta Museum is fantastic, but not well-known to tourists.

I think that Monteriggioni is one of the best-kept secrets of Tuscany.
I think that Monteriggioni is fantastic and not well known to tourists.

The point I was making only related to the fixed phrase "best-kept secrets".

 

[misssciatta]

Yes, a mistery, a question mark, an argument which has not been solved yet, so what do you think about "Credo che i Depeche Mode siano uno degli enigmi mai risolti dell'Inghilterra".

P.S. Is there any English/American native speaker out there?? (not for the translation, but for further explanation).

 

[misssciatta]

Excuse me, Tim. I hadn't seen your message. Thank you

 

[housecameron]

Credo che "uno dei segreti meglio custoditi" vada bene, anche perché l'espressione usata è quella
E come ha già detto Tim, non vedo bene misteri.

Underrated in their home country means Nemo propheta in patria

 

[misssciatta]

So could it be also "Credo che i Depeche Mode siano in Inghilterra uno di quei segreti custoditi gelosamente/ che pochi conoscono"?

 

[giovannino]

So could it be also "Credo che i Depeche Mode siano in Inghilterra uno di quei segreti custoditi gelosamente/ che pochi conoscono"?

Dopo che ci hai detto che, nel contesto, il senso è che i Depeche Mode sono molto meno noti in patria che all'estero, io opterei per "che pochi conoscono". "Uno di quei segreti custoditi gelosamente" mi farebbe pensare il contrario, cioè che gli inglesi se li tengono ben stretti e non vogliono condividerli con gli altri

Comunque Tim ha chiarito che questa espressione può avere entrambi i significati:

I think that Depeche Mode are one of Britain's best-kept secrets.
I think that Depeche Mode is a fantastic British group not well-known (inside) (or outside) of Britain
I think you could interpret it either way.

Infatti ho trovato un esempio su Google in cui è usata nel senso in cui l'avevo intesa io:

Since their founding in 1979, The Blues Band has remained one of Britain's best kept secrets in so far as America is concerned