On the Exigencies of Translation

Cover art for the Wreck
prior to composition

While browsing through that well-known, though not well-sold, SF classic, The Wreck of "The River of Stars," TOF ran across the following line.

Beneath Grubb’s singlet she could mark the contours of his affection and so knew not only his longing, but how long it was.

A bit of archly lascivious punning.  Impelled by curiosity, TOF consulted Der Fluss der Sterne, where he found the line rendered thusly:

An Grubbs leichter Hose zeichneten sich die Konturen seiner Zuneigung ab - sie konnte nicht nur sein Verlangen erkennen, sondern wusste auch, wie groß es war.

At iGoogle, this back-translates as

At Grubbs lighter pants loomed the contours of his affection - she could not only recognize his desire, but also knew how big it was.

And then El Naufragio de "El Rio de las Estrellas," where it ran as follows:
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