How would you translate "leannes bespoke vigor and honesty"

Question

Hello, I'm translating some chapters from a book and I'm finding it really hard because the author uses the oddest words.

So I ran into this sentence:

"In political terms, leannes bespoke vigor and honesty; in social terms, leannes bespoke lack of charity and the denial of a rightful American abundance"

I had never heard/read the word "bespoke". I looked for its meaning and according to google and my Oxford dictionary it means "something that is made according to the needs of an individual" like a customized thing, right?

But after reading the meaning of the word, I found myself with no idea of how to translate this sentence to Spanish.

Can you help me, please? Tell me if you need more context.

Answer 1

Thank you!

And yes, it was "leanness" I mispelled

Answer 2

Hola, Cisley,

"leannes bespoke vigor and honesty; in social terms, leannes bespoke lack of charity and the denial of a rightful American abundance"

I think the word intended here is "leanness" or the physical characteristic of being "lean" (thin).

Bespoke is a kind of old-fashioned word for which you could substitute the two words "spoke of" or "gave the impression of".

So to put it in slightly more modern speech:

In political terms, leanness gave the impression of (or denoted) vigor and honesty (think Abraham Lincoln, here) but in social terms (think high society, here) thinness gave the impression of (or denoted) a stingy or cold-hearted type of person, and someone who did not indulge in all the abundance America offered.

Good luck with the translation!

ps if you try to translate the sentence yourself into Spanish, I am sure many on this site will help! - NancyGrace, Mar 6, 2011