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Fritz,<br>
<br>
>From the sample of dictionary definitions below, gleaned off the web
and elsewhere, it would appear that the English expression "<span
lang="EN-US">to let one’s hair down</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span>"
has a literal and a figurative sense, and the figurative sense is an
extension of the literal sense. In the past women in European culture
(and extensions thereof) had the practise of keeping their hair pinned
up for all occasions outside of the home. Only in the privacy of their
own homes did they take the pins out and let their hair down. This
practise therefore signified going from a formally constrained context
to a more relaxed uninhibited context. <br>
<br>
This meaning has since been extended to describe situations where women
do not literally unpin their hair and let it down, but to describe any
context where a person abandons some kind of formal constraint and
behaves accordingly.<br>
<br>
However, my own experience is that I hear (and read) it more often
applied to behaviour in general rather than specifically to "speaking
frankly". In fact, one of the dictionary examples given below: <span
lang="EN-US"><b>"Whenever
the two sisters get together, they let their hair down and discuss all
their
problems</b>." sounds odd to me. I don't know that I would use "let
your hair down" in relation to speaking frankly. I speak BrE and I
learned my English originally in Liverpool, NW England.<br>
<br>
<br>
</span><span lang="EN-US">The last example below from: Bathrobe's <em>Harry
Potter in
Chinese, Japanese & Vietnamese Translation</em></span><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span>
is interesting. This site gives some guidance in how to translate "let
your hair down" into Chinese, Japanese & Vietnamese. Do you have an
equivalent in German?<br>
<br>
John Roberts<br>
<br>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US">Definitions of: to let one’s hair down</span>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US">Longman Dictionary of English Idioms</span>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US">coll. to rest and enjoy oneself after a
long period during which one has had to keep oneself under control:
E.g. “It’s
wonderful to let your hair down at the weekend after you’ve been
working hard
all week.” Origin: Women formerly put up their hair for all occasions
and wore
it loose only when they were in private.</span>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span>
<br>
<st1:City><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Cambridge</span></st1:place></st1:City><span
lang="EN-US"> International Dictionary of Idioms</span>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US">to relax and enjoy yourself without
worrying what other people will think. </span>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US">E.g. “<span class="illustration">It's nice to
let your hair down once in a while and go a bit wild.”</span></span>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US">to relax and do what you want. </span>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US">E.g. “<span class="illustration">The party
gives you a chance to let your hair down at the end of the week.”<o:p></o:p></span></span>
<br>
<span class="illustration"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></span>
<br>
<span class="illustration"><span lang="EN-US">The Free
Dictionary<o:p></o:p></span></span>
<br>
<span class="illustration"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></span>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US">To drop one's reserve or inhibitions.<span
class="illustration"><o:p></o:p></span></span>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US">Answers.com</span>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US">Also, <span class="shw">let down one's hair</span>.
Drop one's reserve or inhibitions, behave casually or informally, as in
<b>Whenever
the two sisters get together, they let their hair down and discuss all
their
problems</b>. This expression alludes to the practice of women taking
down
their pinned-up long hair only in the privacy of the bedroom. <span
class="idiomdate">[c. 1900]</span></span>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US">Google search</span>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US">throw off constraint in one’s behavior, act
in defiance of social conventions: E.g. “Those who are doomed to a life
of
formality for five days a week look forward to the weekend when they
can let
their hair down.”</span>
<br>
<br>
<span style="">Wiktionary<o:p></o:p></span>
<ol start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;">(idiomatic)
To relax.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US">Urban dictionary</span>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US">(verb) to relax; to behave informally.</span>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US">Mirriam-Webster online</span>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span>
<br>
<span class="sensecontent"><span lang="EN-US">to act without
pretense or self-restraint</span></span>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US">Phrase finder:</span>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span>
<br>
Meaning<o:p></o:p>
<br>
Behave in a free or uninhibited manner.<o:p></o:p>
<br>
<br>
Origin<o:p></o:p>
<br>
<em>Letting one's hair down</em> was a commonplace part
of women's daily activities in the 17th century. The hair was normally
pinned
up and was let down for brushing or washing. The term used for this at
the time
was <em>dishevelling</em>. Anyone who is unkempt and generally untidy
might now
be described as dishevelled but then it applied specifically to hair
which was
unpinned. The first reference I can find which refers specifically to
this is
John Cotgrave's, <em>The English treasury of wit and language</em>,
1655:<o:p></o:p>
<br>
" Descheveler, to discheuell; to pull the haire
about the eares."<o:p></o:p>
<br>
<span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span><span style=""></span><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US"><br>
From: Bathrobe's <em>Harry Potter in
Chinese, Japanese & Vietnamese Translation</em></span><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span>
<br>
<span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US">Treatment of Puns and Word Play in
Translating Harry Potter</span>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US">(Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese)</span>
<br>
<span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span>
<br>
Prim and proper Professor McGonagall informs her students in <a
href="http://www.cjvlang.com/Hpotter/book4/bk4ch22.html" linkindex="6">The
Unexpected Task</a> (Book 4 Chapter 22) of the approaching Yule Ball, a
traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament which provides an
opportunity to
socialise with the foreign guests. The ball is open only to fourth
years and
above but participants may invite a younger partner to go with them.
This is
the cause of much giggling among the female members of the class.
Professor then
gives details of the time and dress code, followed by this passage: <o:p></o:p>
<br>
Professor McGonagall stared deliberately around the class.<o:p></o:p><br>
<br>
'The Yule Ball is of course a chance for us all to - er - let our hair
down,' she said, in a disapproving voice.<o:p></o:p><br>
<br>
Lavender giggled harder than ever, with her hand pressed hard against
her
mouth to stifle the sound. Harry could see what was funny this time:
Professor
McGonagall, with her hair in a tight bun, looked as though she'd never
let her
hair down in any sense.<o:p></o:p>
<br>
The incongruity here is between Professor McGonagall with her hair in a
tight bun -- a sign of extreme properness -- and her suggestion of
'letting
their hair down'. In English, 'let one's hair down' means 'to cast off
usual
restraints, relax, and have fun'. This is why Rowling uses 'looked as
though
she'd never let her hair down in any sense' -- whether the literal
sense of
untying her tight bun, or the figurative sense of relaxing and having
fun.<o:p></o:p>
<br>
<br>
In this case, the author has taken advantage of the dual meaning of
'let
one's hair down'. The CJV languages do not have equivalent expressions
to 'let
one's hair down' that also mean 'to forget usual restraints and have
fun'.
However, the meaning is fairly obvious from the context and the concept
should
travel relatively easily to other languages. Let's see how the
translators have
handled it. I have taken only two sentences from the passage for the
purpose of
comparison:<o:p></o:p>
<br>
<br>
<strong>'The Yule Ball is of course a chance for us all to - er - let
our
hair down.' <br>
</strong><o:p></o:p><br>
<strong>Professor McGonagall, with her hair in a tight bun, looked as
though
she'd never let her hair down in any sense.</strong><o:p></o:p>
<br>
<span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span><span
lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span><br>
<br>
Fritz Goerling wrote:
<blockquote cite="mid:000001c89cc6$ee84fe10$660aa8c0@mai.sil.org"
type="cite">
<meta http-equiv="Context-Type" content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII">
<div> <span>I am interested to learn how anglophones (from different
parts of the world) use the idiom “to let one’s hair down.” </span> <br>
<span> </span> <br>
<span>Fritz Goerling </span> </div>
<span></span>
</blockquote>
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