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Glossary entry

Swedish term or phrase:

om stjärnorna står rätt

English translation:

with a bit of luck

Added to glossary by Helen Johnson
May 17, 2011 12:35
13 yrs ago
6 viewers *
Swedish term

om stjärnorna står rätt

Swedish to English Other Idioms / Maxims / Sayings course description
Delat ledarskap en ledningsform med potential - om stjärnorna står rätt
"If the stars are right" sounds really strange - can anyone equate the Swedish with a recognised English saying or is the direct English really a phrase that's used in mythology, etc.?
TIA
Proposed translations (English)
3 +1 with a bit of luck
4 +1 if the stars align right
5 when the stars are in the right position
5 if the stars align
4 "all being well" or "with a bit of luck"
2 when all the ducks are lined up in a row

Discussion

Helen Johnson (asker) May 19, 2011:
The client wanted nothing to do with luck at all... where all the puzzle pieces fall into place is the sort of thing apparently - think that part of the title has been rewritten following a discussion.
Anna Herbst May 18, 2011:
Till Helen "If it's written in the stars" motsvaras på svenska av "om det står skrivet i stjärnorna", så det är inte samma sak som "if the stars are right".
SafeTex May 17, 2011:
Eng US but maybe not Eng GB I have NEVER heard this expression before but I concede it certainly exists on Internet but on American sites
If you are tranlsating into Eng GB, the only thing I can thing of is 'with a bit of luck' Bye everyone
Soren Petersen May 17, 2011:
Yes that would sound okay I think.
Helen Johnson (asker) May 17, 2011:
Just thought... does "if it's written in the stars" make sense here?

Proposed translations

+1
19 hrs
Selected

with a bit of luck

The 'if the stars align' expressions are for me American English
and Helen has kindly invited me to add my suggestion so here it is in all its glory
Peer comment(s):
agree Bianca Marsden-Day : This works for me.
2 hrs
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Although it doesn't fit the original context (see discussion), I think this is a good general option for UK English. Thanks for the suggestion, which I used before the client changed the sentence."
+1
7 mins

if the stars align right

I've seen this idiom used by native speakers
Peer comment(s):
agree Anna Herbst : or just "if the stars align"
17 hrs
Something went wrong...
9 mins

when all the ducks are lined up in a row

'When the stars are right' is normally connected with H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu stories and I must admit I haven't heard in mentioned in everyday speech. If it's a translation for an American audience. perhaps something like "when all the ducks are lined up in a row"?
Something went wrong...
10 hrs

when the stars are in the right position

:o)
Reference:

http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/merovingians/merovingian_dynasty/merovingian_dynasty01.htm

http://www.bridgehands.com/Services/eMagazine_Archive/eMag_NN_11.htm

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22 hrs

"all being well" or "with a bit of luck"

Depending on how informal you want to be, I would suggest either "all being well" - slightly less informal - or I would agree the suggestion "with a bit of luck" if you you are happy to be pretty informal.
Something went wrong...
1 day 1 hr

if the stars align

You don't translate "rätt." The expression is simply "If the stars align." You will see this also used to explain good luck in the past, as in "the stars must have aligned, since..."

There are tons of references to this, including: http://www.englishbaby.com/lessons/5003/slang/the_stars_alig...
Zach Galifianakis doesn’t necessarily believe in astrology. But he does use an expression that is related to astrology. He says that all the stars aligned and he got lucky in his career. This summer, he appeared in the hit comedy The Hangover, and he has several more movies coming out soon. Everything is going great in his career. It seems like the stars are aligning to make him a star.

When the stars align, everything comes together in a positive way. When talking about your own life you might say “My stars aligned,” or if you’re talking about someone else you can say “Her stars aligned.” If something great happens to you, you might also say it was written in the stars. And you might want to thank your lucky stars for your good fortune.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/13/sports/baseball/13score.ht...
Keeping Score
If the Stars Align, the Mets Could Surprise. Really.By DAN ROSENHECK
Published: February 12, 2011

There is also a song called Stars Align:
http://www.lyricsmania.com/stars_align_lyrics_virginia_coali...
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