Help for translator

[Lucinda]

Hi! Can anyone help me to translate the following phrase: as Grandmother sometimes thought one was giving cheek when one was not.

The context: "What about Mattie?", carefully asked Amelia, as Grandmother sometimes thought one was giving cheek when one was not. Dusturbed, younger sister, Amelia, ask her grandmother where her sister Mattie would be during their aunt's journey abroad.

Thanks in advance

[David L.]

I think you mean, explain what it means, rather than translate it into another language.
Apparently, grandmother is a 'touchy' (=oversensitive to what is said to her) person. Amelia therefore has to be careful what she asks, and how she phrases it. She can't ask grandmother outright, something like, will Mattie be still living here, or is she going to stay with Aunt Mary while your away? Grandmother might feel that her judgment in deciding what would be best for Mattie in her absence was being questioned, and feel that Amelia was being cheeky or impudent. So she asks a more general question hopng that grandmother will spontaneously mention what Amelia is wanting to know.
Is that what you wanted to know? Tell me if it's not. I'm not 'touchy'.(lol)

[Naamplao]

Originally Posted by Lucinda

Hi! Can anyone help me to translate the following phrase: as Grandmother sometimes thought one was giving cheek when one was not.

The context: "What about Mattie?", carefully asked Amelia, as Grandmother sometimes thought one was giving cheek when one was not. Dusturbed, younger sister, Amelia, ask her grandmother where her sister Mattie would be during their aunt's journey abroad.

Thanks in advance

I think your problem is understanding the phrase "giving cheek". This means to talk rudely, to be impolite to someone (especially to an adult). A more modern slang term for "giving cheek" is "having an attitude" or "taking an attitude" or "coping an attitude".

In your sentence, Amelia thinks her Grandmother believes one child to be impolite and another child isn't. Amelia thinks her Grandmother is biased in this regard.