Help in translation

[Maurizio]

 In "The New Utopia" Jerome writes "...The State...cuts our corns". I'm Italian and trying to translate the essay.

Is he referring to feet corns? I also thought that it could be a slang  expression for  "getting an haircut"...

Thank You in Adnvance

Maurizio,
Naples
Italy

 

[jesthepres]

Hi Maurizio,
I have found the passage and, yes, he is simply referring to having even the corns on your feet cut by the State - i.e. even things like chiropody are taken care of.
There's no slang expression in English that connects getting corns cut to a haircut.
Hope this helps. Good luck with the translation - it's one of Jerome's best short stories!

[Maurizio]

Thank you for your kind and quick response.

«La nuova utopia» is about to be published.
 
Maybe it is of some interest for the Society:

In 1991, an Italian translation of The New Utopia appeared in an anthology of science fiction stories of the Victorian age. The book is out of print at the present.

My translation will be published in the quarterly periodical «Cristianità» together with my “A Note on JKJ and the Dystopian Literature” that is longer than any other note I’ve ever read. To write it, I found your Idle Thought on Jerome K Jerome extremely useful.

Thank you again

Maurizio