Aug 23, 2007 13:27
16 yrs ago
French term

élevé à la crise

French to English Marketing General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
In marketing blurb for a new car (intended for dealers). It's probably obvious, but I cannot think what this phrase means!

>

All suggestions gratefully received - MTIA
Change log

Aug 23, 2007 16:23: writeaway changed "Field (specific)" from "Automotive / Cars & Trucks" to "General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters"

Proposed translations

+1
2 hrs
Selected

suggestions.......

weren't born with a silver spoon in their mouths
haven't always had it so good
been through the tough times
know what it is to count the pennies

Any of these would do
Peer comment(s):

agree Serena Warlu (X) : I like "haven't aways had it so good". My feeling is that "élevés à la crise" is intended to suggest "brought up in crisis/difficult home situation". Wouldn't during the economic crisis have been written as 'pendant la crise'?
17 hrs
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3 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks for the suggestions. In the end I used "been through tough times". Not sure it's what the writer meant, but then I think they probably got carried away with their gobbledygook!"
43 mins

grown-up during the economic crisis

*
Peer comment(s):

disagree AllegroTrans : \Incorrect English: surely you mean "who grew up during..." ??
3 hrs
agree Claire Chapman : Vraiment je rappelle les crises pétrolières des années 70 et les résultats économiques. I would say that they were “raised during the crisis.”
14 hrs
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51 mins

accustomed to difficult days

why not...
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+1
59 mins

possibilities

I hardly think it's obvious either. The "obvious" answer is as Francis suggests, but I don't really see how that would be relevant to the description of this kind of person. Then again, it IS marketing blurb, and we all know how seriously any of that should be taken ...

I tend to think it might (be meant to) mean something like "brought up to handle a crisis, expecting crisis at any moment, brought up in an unstable, changing environment" - which might (of course I'm no Sigmund Freud) mean they are not at all inclined to settle down and purr, but are rather perched on top of each other's heads with their claws firmly embedded in their scalps but ready to run for it at the sound of a cork dropping. Hyper. Of course to my mind this does not sit well with "rational, simple, and down-to-earth in their daily lives" , but then I'm Taurus ...

Of course by putting in something meaningless that appears to point in one direction while being contradicted by something else on the next line, they can be sure their dealers will try to throw the vehicle at anything that moves close to the forecourt gate rather than size them up and see if they meet what might otherwise be strict criteria regarding the target buyer ;-)

Note from asker:
Thanks for the ideas, which certainly helped to make up my mind. Still a bit of a mystery... And I hadn't considered purring!
Peer comment(s):

agree Claire Chapman : with your 1st suggestion. The original French phrase is ambiguous so I've posted agrees for both you and Francis :-)
15 hrs
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1 hr

pragmatic/no frills OR used to rolling with the punches

this is like a conclusion based on the rest of the context and suggestions
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1 hr

brought up to overcome any crisis

The Fr is shorthand to me. I'm not even entirely sure whether it refers to the parents or their children. Maybe this might cover it.

above any crisis?
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4 hrs

prone to ride the tide

another suggestion
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5 hrs

used to life's hard knocks

I don't think this one has been suggested yet (apologies if I missed it). I like it because it's a bit neater than the ones that require the addition of 'who + verb' in English
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6 hrs

with a proactive approach to problem solving

perhaps that's stretching it - but you never know with car manufacturers.
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