--- In norse_course@egroups.com, Haukur Thorgeirsson <haukurth@...>
wrote:

> "Vit skulum aka tvau í Jötunheima."
>
> Meaning:
>
> "We two shall drive to Jötunheimar."
>
> But the form Loki uses is "vit tvau" which means (as shown above)
> "we two - a man and a woman". So Loki is jokingly suggesting either
> he himself is a woman or Þórr is.
>
> This subtle detail is impossible to translate into English.

Never say never :) I'm not sure how to translate it to achieve the
exact same effect. An English writer writing the same story might
have written:

"Let us two girls go to the Land of Giants."

But as you say later to Emma's similar suggestion, "we two girls"
translates as "vit tvær", not "vit tvau". It's harder to leave gender
mixed or undecided in English than in ON for example.
"Which is where the dog lies buried" or "where the knife's sitting
in the cow"... (silly Icelandic phrases that came to mind - they
mean "which is the problem we're facing" :)

Óskar