en intern sak

English translation: an international case

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Norwegian term or phrase:en intern sak
English translation:an international case
Entered by: Michele Fauble

22:22 Dec 15, 2011
Norwegian to English translations [Non-PRO]
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Norwegian term or phrase: en intern sak
In an e-mail exchange, a man gets a long, somewhat defensive, answer to his question, and responds, "OK, men det var jo ikke meningen å lage en intern sak av dette."

I know "en intern sak" means "an internal matter" or "a domestic affair", but I wonder if it isn't an expression that implies more. Is my writer saying, "OK, but I didn't mean to make a federal case of it", as we'd put it in the US?

On the other hand, my writer's correspondent is rather aggressively competing with a colleague for my writer's business, and, while the colleague isn't mentioned in this email string, my writer's original question was certainly prompted by an earlier communication from him. Is it more likely that my writer is saying, "I didn't mean to stir up trouble in your company"?

Thanks for any help.

Regards,

Jim Crutchfield
Long Island City, NY
James Crutchfield
Local time: 09:48
an international case
Explanation:
This is what he probably meant.

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Note added at 7 hrs (2011-12-16 06:07:53 GMT)
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And yes, "make a federal case of it" would be the (US) English equivalent.

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Note added at 7 hrs (2011-12-16 06:11:05 GMT)
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www.fitnessprat.no/.../240-politimenn-slo-til-mot-...
Litt drøyt å gå inn med 240 apekatter som roper POLIZEI, og lage internasjonal sak av det.
Selected response from:

Michele Fauble
United States
Local time: 06:48
Grading comment
Thanks. I'm still uncertain, and would appreciate a native speaker's input. Ms. Fauble's answer assumes an abbreviation of "internasjonal" to "intern"; but since I find "intern sak" exists as a fixed expression in its own right, and in light of the internal conflict alluded to in my original message, it still seems at least as likely to me that the writer meant "intern", not "internasjonal". Thanks again, though.
3 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4an international case
Michele Fauble


  

Answers


7 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
an international case


Explanation:
This is what he probably meant.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 7 hrs (2011-12-16 06:07:53 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

And yes, "make a federal case of it" would be the (US) English equivalent.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 7 hrs (2011-12-16 06:11:05 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

www.fitnessprat.no/.../240-politimenn-slo-til-mot-...
Litt drøyt å gå inn med 240 apekatter som roper POLIZEI, og lage internasjonal sak av det.

Michele Fauble
United States
Local time: 06:48
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
Grading comment
Thanks. I'm still uncertain, and would appreciate a native speaker's input. Ms. Fauble's answer assumes an abbreviation of "internasjonal" to "intern"; but since I find "intern sak" exists as a fixed expression in its own right, and in light of the internal conflict alluded to in my original message, it still seems at least as likely to me that the writer meant "intern", not "internasjonal". Thanks again, though.
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