bien à feu

English translation: shotgun

09:08 May 28, 2006

French to English translations [Non-PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters / news report

French term or phrase: bien à feu

Lors de ces incidents sporadiques, trois policiers ont été légèrement blessés par des jets de pierre et quatre CRS ont reçu des plombs tirés par des armes à feu (bien à feu), a-t-on indiqué de même source.

bien à feu ? I've understood that they've been hit by pellets from fire arms, but why bien à feu ? thanks
This is talking about clashes between youths + police.

Julie Barber KudoZ activity Questions: 279 (9 open) (6 without valid answers) (8 closed without grading) Answers: 864 United Kingdom
Local time: 23:31

English translation:shotgun

Explanation:
You have proposed "pellets" as the translation of "plombs", which would be correct for the ammunition fired by air guns and also by shotguns. The emphasis on the weapons being "à feu" indicates that they were shotguns not air guns.

If you say that the pellets were fired by shotguns, you can leave out the "bien à feu" ... unless this is a play on words regarding the street violence and car fires late last year.

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Note added at 6 hrs (2006-05-28 15:59:57 GMT)
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On further thought, it might not be a shotgun or indeed a "proper" firearm but a pipegun, i.e. a weapon made from a piece of pipe designed to fire shotgun cartridges or bullets. In which case you might have to specify "an authentic firearm", even it is not "authentic" in the conventional sense.

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Note added at 6 hrs (2006-05-28 16:02:59 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Further research would appear to corroborate that it was not a "conventional" firearm. Your text (on the web) continues <<Un peu plus tard, un compagnie de CRS a été déployée dans le quartier, et celle-ci a été pris pour cible par un tireur qui a blessé quatre CRS avec une arme tirant des plombs>>

The formulation "arme tirant des plombs" suggests that it is a homemade device, not a shotgun, and "plombs" is reserved for pellets, not bullets.

Selected response from:

Bourth (X)
Local time: 00:31

Grading comment

Thanks for all your contributions, especially to Sue. I've chosen bourth's for his additional research. I'm going to use 'real firearms'. I think that there is also scope for using 'real fire power'.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

4 +6

for emphasis

Dr Sue Levy (X)

4 +1

shotgun

Bourth (X)

what fire! (sic)-

Andreas THEODOROU

actual firearms

Hélène Lévesque

4 -1

(sic)

CMJ_Trans (X)

4 -1

(yes, firearms!)

Najib Aloui

Discussion entries: 1

Answers

1 hr confidence:

peer agreement (net): -1

(sic)

Explanation:
is what one normally sees in English in cases like this

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Note added at 2 hrs (2006-05-28 11:13:15 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

it is a Latin word meaning "thus" and is used after a word that readers might find funny to show that it is not a printer's mistake but intentional

CMJ_Trans (X)
Local time: 00:31
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 231

Notes to answerer

Asker: Hi CMJ - can you give me a fuller explanation of what (sic) means please - I own up that I've never really understood it - thanks!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

disagree

Andreas THEODOROU: sorry CMJ ! i don't think that sic would be used here

17 mins

-> use your imagination

agree

Dylan Edwards: "sic" is certainly an option - in fact, when you're quoting a source, "sic" is a good way of indicating "they really did say that".

1 hr

agree

writeaway

2 hrs

disagree

Adam Deutsch: "sic" is normally used after an incorrect or mispelled word. That is not the case here. http://www.dict.org/bin/Dict?Form=Dict2&Database=*&Query=sic

3 hrs

-> no - it is also used to support a word that readers may not expect and therefore reassure them, i.e. meaning - yes, I really meant that

disagree

Peter Enright: I am with Adam Deutsch here, sic not quite right - gives the wrong impression, though I see where CMJ is coming from.

1 day 35 mins

2 hrs confidence:

what fire! (sic)-

Explanation:
This is clarification to asker re use of sic, a response to CMJ and my own answer

@CMJ: I am not calling into question your understanding of 'sic' but your comment could be misunterpreted by someone who doesn't understand it.

@ asker:

To clarify:

'were hit by pellets from fire-arms (sic)' is WRONG because the reader would not wonder whether firearms is a printing error

I could use my imagination and come up with a translation as follows:

were hit by pellets from fire-arms - what fire! (sic) -

This is a CORRECT use of sic which could be used , but it depends on your approach to translating.

Andreas THEODOROU
Spain
Local time: 00:31
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4

4 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

shotgun

Bourth (X)
Local time: 00:31
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 204

Grading comment

Thanks for all your contributions, especially to Sue. I've chosen bourth's for his additional research. I'm going to use 'real firearms'. I think that there is also scope for using 'real fire power'.

Notes to answerer

Asker: fabulous - thanks for this. I hadn't noticed properly the "arme tirant des plombs" part.....

25 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +6

for emphasis

Explanation:
real firearms - not air guns

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day2 hrs (2006-05-29 11:14:46 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I'm sorry if I have offended anyone/broken the rules/been a bad girl by proposing an explanation rather than a translation (in plain English). :-D

Dr Sue Levy (X)
Local time: 00:31
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 20

Notes to answerer

Asker: How about: 'firearms (yes firearms)....' or 'firearms (not air guns)...' thanks

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

Andreas THEODOROU: exactly - it's a play on words that can't reeally be translated

52 mins

-> thanks Andy :-)

agree

writeaway: lots of ways to work this in-is part of the fun of translating./yes no thank you?

2 hrs

-> indeed, thanks P :-)//excellent suggestion ;-)

agree

Dylan Edwards: At first I thought it meant "and they really were firing", but then I thought, probably just emphasis (how shocking, real guns). Glad to see you think so too.

2 hrs

-> thanks Dylan :-)

agree

Adam Deutsch

3 hrs

-> thanks Adam :-)

agree

Ingeborg Gowans (X)

7 hrs

-> thanks Ingeborg :-)

disagree

Najib Aloui: it's a newspaper article, not an academic paper, who would understand "for emphasis"?

12 hrs

-> everyone else understood what I meant - I'm answering the question "but why bien à feu?"

agree

Peter Enright

1 day 1 hr

-> thanks Peter :-)

agree

df49f (X)

8 days

5 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): -1

(yes, firearms!)

Explanation:
I think the situation is dramatic enough to require something other than a worn-out formula.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 23 hrs (2006-05-29 08:27:56 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

To Sue Levy, bonjour.
Of course, everyone here (including me by the way!) understands that it is "for emphasis". But now, are you inviting us to share your discovery or rather, suggesting a translation? In neither cases it's useful since we know that it is "for emphasis" and since "for emphasis" as a formula is not good at all as a translation.
I am really astonished by the number of "agrees" you've received, especially when considering that some of them come from people who, like writetaway, always chant the virtues of plain and straightforward English!

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Note added at 1 day3 hrs (2006-05-29 12:14:06 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Dear Sue, I am not offended at all (although you threw in, perhaps without realizing, "everyone ELSE") ...At this moment, my mood is that of smiling, especially with writeaway who stuck a red mark on my proposal without criticizing the proposal itself ...I knew there were chances he'd be the first to react...That's called judo...

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Note added at 1 day3 hrs (2006-05-29 12:50:29 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

My proposal came 5 hours later and Sue's reponse, 1 day 2 hrs and then, (according to you) the asker's note...Or am I wrong in my reading of the clock? (I must be since you're so sure , writeaway! Where are my glasses?)

Najib Aloui
Local time: 23:31
Works in field
Native speaker of:

French
PRO pts in category: 4

1 day 11 hrs confidence:

actual firearms

Explanation:
Pour indiquer qu'il s'agit bel et bien d'armes à feu...

Hélène Lévesque
Local time: 16:31
Works in field
Native speaker of:

French,

Spanish

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