Jul 15, 2008 09:29
15 yrs ago
French term
On en a baisé d’autres
May offend
French to English
Art/Literary
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
As with my previous question, this is from a short story. Workers in an engineering factory, portrayed in the story as comical layabouts, have just been told by their bosses about a forthcoming job, and are now discussing the situation among themselves.
— Le module doit aller rejoindre une station spatiale. Nous devons construire sa paroi en titane. Hé bé, nous voilà bien avec ça !
— On en a baisé d’autres, grogna Maniek. Au boulot.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions...
— Le module doit aller rejoindre une station spatiale. Nous devons construire sa paroi en titane. Hé bé, nous voilà bien avec ça !
— On en a baisé d’autres, grogna Maniek. Au boulot.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions...
Proposed translations
(English)
Change log
Jul 16, 2008 14:42: Gayle Wallimann changed "May Offend" from "Not Checked" to "Checked"
Proposed translations
+6
20 mins
Selected
We've been there before (see explanation)
A suggestion for both questions:
Well that puts us up shit creek/So now we're up shit creek
We've been there before. So let's get paddling...
Well that puts us up shit creek/So now we're up shit creek
We've been there before. So let's get paddling...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Many thanks to everyone who answered or commented. Just goes to show the difficulty of literary translation - even more so than with non-literary work, there really is no 'correct' answer. My translation is an ongoing project, so, as with my previous question, I'm still undecided as to my own version, but proz is asking me to close this question, so I'm sending the points in this direction. Many thanks again for all the contributions."
+1
1 min
Jonathan MacKerron
Native in English
Retired as of Jan 2019!
Native in: English
Works in: German to English, French to English
Related KudoZ points
:
32
we've screwed a bunch of them over before
for starters
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Note added at 8 mins (2008-07-15 09:37:21 GMT)
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we can bollocks up any job if given the chance
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Note added at 8 mins (2008-07-15 09:37:21 GMT)
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we can bollocks up any job if given the chance
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Speakering (X)
: i like you being consistent with the character - good job~
13 hrs
|
-1
11 mins
Fabio Barbieri
Italy
Italy
Native in English
Specializes in field
Italy
I translate as I breathe
Native in: English (Variants: British, Irish, UK, US) 
, Italian
Works in: English to Italian, Italian to English, French to Italian, and 3 more.
We've got jobs just as bad before.
"Au boulot", let's get busy, in my view explains the content of the previous sentence. It means comical resignation to absurd requests, as in the famous English line: "We, the overworked, are used to doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much with so little, we are now qualified to do everything with nothing". I agree that "baiser" here means "to screw", but to render it in those terms would make little sense in English - you need a more or less slangish equivalent.
+2
14 mins
L.J.Wessel van Leeuwen
South Africa
South Africa
Native in English
Specializes in field
South Africa
Willing & Ready to be of service to YOU!
Native in: English , Dutch
Works in: Dutch to English, Afrikaans to English, French to English, and 3 more.
We've done this before
since he moans... or "what's new?"
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
emiledgar
: Yes, "This isn't the first time..."
31 mins
|
|
Thanks Emile
|
|
| agree |
Carol Gullidge
: I like your 2nd suggestion: "so what's new"
32 mins
|
|
Yes Carol, indeed, what's new!
|
-1
24 mins
Etienne Muylle Wallace
Spain
Spain
Native in French
Spain
QUICK SERVICE AND PERSONAL CONTROL
Native in: Dutch , French
Works in: French to Catalan, French to Flemish, French to Spanish, and 24 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
8
we ghave crossed other fires
Just another proposal, expressing the contents.
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Note added at 24 mins (2008-07-15 09:54:03 GMT)
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'have' of course
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Note added at 24 mins (2008-07-15 09:54:03 GMT)
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'have' of course
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Carol Gullidge
: sorry, but not idiomatic EN!
20 mins
|
| disagree |
Tony M
: Carol's right, not at all idiomatic English!
2 hrs
|
3 hrs
[come on!] we've got away with (stuff like) that before
another slant but hard to compete with Emma (!) in response to the previous comment about it being a pretty tough sounding job
4 hrs
We've stitched up others with that!
All a question of style:
Or; We've hoodwinked others with that (kind of job)!
Or; We've hoodwinked others with that (kind of job)!
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Speakering (X)
: not sure they are in the garment industry
9 hrs
|
|
Drôle!
|
-1
10 hrs
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