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  3. Idioms / Maxims / Sayings

une oeuvre qui nous ressemble à s'y meprendre

English translation: a work that is a close reflection of who we are and where we come from

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:une oeuvre qui nous ressemble à s'y meprendre
English translation:a work that is a close reflection of who we are and where we come from
Entered by: Don Green

11:37 Jan 25, 2008
French to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
French term or phrase: une oeuvre qui nous ressemble à s'y meprendre
..crée depuis plus de vingt ans une oeuvre qui nous ressemble à s'y méprendre.
Don Green
France
Local time: 05:09
a work that is a close reflection of who and what we are
Explanation:
a work that closely reflects who and what we are
projects as close a portrayal as you can get of us

I would just forget the s'y méprendre bit ... it means the spitting image but after that it depends on the rest of the context and the register
as close a portrayal as you can get

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Note added at 1 hr (2008-01-25 13:12:35 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

thinking about it, the à s'y méprendre adds emphasis, so you may prefer somethink like
"provides and astonishing reflection of our own selves ..."

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2008-01-25 13:13:02 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

sorry, provides AN astonishing ...
Selected response from:

suezen
Local time: 05:09
Grading comment
This fit my context the best imho. My thanks to all for the pertinent suggestions.
I entered "a work that is a close reflection of who we are and where we come from" in the glossary.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +2a work that resembles us to the point of confusion
David Vaughn
3 +2a work that is a close reflection of who and what we are
suezen
4 +1a work bearing an uncanny resemblance to ourselves
Anne de Freyman (X)
3a work that strikes such a chord that one should be wary of it
Cath St Clair (X)
3a work that is unbelievably/incredibly like us
Emma Paulay
3a work so like us that it's confusing
B D Finch
3works that are an incredible reflection of our way of life
MatthewLaSon


Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


4 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
a work that strikes such a chord that one should be wary of it


Explanation:
or something like that!

More context would help...

Cath St Clair (X)
Spain
Local time: 04:09
Native speaker of: English
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22 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
a work that resembles us to the point of confusion


Explanation:
I think a direct translation may work here.

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Note added at 25 mins (2008-01-25 12:03:32 GMT)
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The expression means that something is so similar that you can hardly tell the difference

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 38 mins (2008-01-25 12:16:32 GMT)
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trying to find the idea in English:

"resonates in us so fully that we recognize ourselves in its fabric"

David Vaughn
Local time: 05:09
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Victoria Porter-Burns:
1 hr
agree  Cath St Clair (X): This is more like it!
20 hrs
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
a work that is unbelievably/incredibly like us


Explanation:
Another way

Emma Paulay
France
Local time: 05:09
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 35
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

55 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
a work that is a close reflection of who and what we are


Explanation:
a work that closely reflects who and what we are
projects as close a portrayal as you can get of us

I would just forget the s'y méprendre bit ... it means the spitting image but after that it depends on the rest of the context and the register
as close a portrayal as you can get

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2008-01-25 13:12:35 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

thinking about it, the à s'y méprendre adds emphasis, so you may prefer somethink like
"provides and astonishing reflection of our own selves ..."

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2008-01-25 13:13:02 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

sorry, provides AN astonishing ...

suezen
Local time: 05:09
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 28
Grading comment
This fit my context the best imho. My thanks to all for the pertinent suggestions.
I entered "a work that is a close reflection of who we are and where we come from" in the glossary.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Jean-Claude Gouin
9 hrs
  -> thanks 1045!
agree  Claire Chapman: I like "a work that closely reflects who and what we are" best :-) and then my second choice is "provides an astonishing reflection..."
1 day 5 hrs
  -> thanks Claire :-)
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
a work so like us that it's confusing


Explanation:
Another variation.

B D Finch
France
Local time: 05:09
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 28
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
a work bearing an uncanny resemblance to ourselves


Explanation:
another suggestion

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 hrs (2008-01-25 16:10:10 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

As your source sentence talks about an exhibition and "more than 20 years" it really should be "works that..." or "a body of work that...", the word "oeuvre" referring to all of the artist's pieces.

Anne de Freyman (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 04:09
Native speaker of: French
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  MatthewLaSon: I like this! I really misunderstood this. I thought it had to do with "work whose sytle is so similar to ours, you'd think we had done it." It just wasn't clear to me.
7 days
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7 days   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
works that are an incredible reflection of our way of life


Explanation:
Hello,

So much so that you'd mistake what is shown in the works a mirror reflection of our way of life. That's what the "s'y méprendre" means here (so close you'd mistake for...)

I hope this helps.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 7 days (2008-02-01 19:19:42 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

"l'œuvre" means "workS of the collection."

MatthewLaSon
Local time: 23:09
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 30
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