je bats jamais de l'oeil

English translation: I never bat an eye

17:49 Mar 2, 2013

French to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters

French term or phrase: je bats jamais de l'oeil

I am translating a text in French about an American singer from the 1950s. In this part of the text, the singer is speaking about himself:

Je suis ma propre banque... Je suis mon propre patron...
Je suis jamais à court de boulot, ***je bats jamais de l'oeil***.

I have seen that 'battre de l'oeil' can mean 'agoniser' in slang, but I'm not sure what it means here. Could they simply mean 'je ne ferme jamais les yeux'? There is a drawing of the singer next to this text and, in it, he has his eyes closed!

Many thanks in advance for any ideas!

Sheila

Sheila Hardie KudoZ activity Questions: 767 (6 open) (7 without valid answers) (19 closed without grading) Answers: 2978 Spain
Local time: 14:18

English translation:I never bat an eye

Explanation:
To ''never bat an eye '' means to have no reaction to something shocking, surprising, to a situation, to remain calm, cool and collected. ex:

E
It means the singer is a strong individual, can face obstacles, can stand up to people.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs (2013-03-02 21:27:57 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

the term is ''to not bat en eye'', ''to bat an eyelid'', to bat an eyelash'' but the most frequent term used is the first one 'eye'

Selected response from:

CANFR
Canada
Local time: 08:18

Grading comment

In the end, this was the closest answer to the actual words written by the singer. I'd like to divide up the points, but think it's only fair they go to CANFR. Many thanks, everyone!

4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

5 +6

I never bat an eye

CANFR

4 +2

nothing gets me down

Jane F

3 +3

I never flinch / I face it all and I stand tall

Carol Gullidge

3 +2

I've got no worries

Sheila Wilson

3 +1

I never blink

gkshenaut

I never wince

Francis Marche

Discussion entries: 10

Sheila Hardie

Spain

ASKER

Found it!!!

17:25 Mar 5, 2013

I have now found the original words the singer himself wrote in English - and see where the French translation came from. The thing is, I'm not sure who to award the points to - you have all helped me.

Here is the text in any case:

I'm my own bank and I'm my own boss,

I ain't never out of work,

***My eye ain't never batting.***

http://oldpapersheets.blogspot.com.es/2010_07_01_archive.htm...

John Holland

France

Maybe it's an American thing?

17:12 Mar 5, 2013

Saying that someone "didn't bat an eyelash" to mean he or she "didn't flinch" or "wasn't in the least surprised" really sounds fine to me. And, there are examples of this in use, as well:
https://duckduckgo.com/?q="didn't bat an eyelash"

That's with the negation, though. I agree that "batting" or "fluttering" ones' eyelashes, without the negation, is about flirting.

Sheila Wilson

Spain

Eyelash(es)

17:02 Mar 5, 2013

I don't think we actually say we bat these at all; you flutter your eyelashes - they're much too delicate to bat.

Wolf Draeger

South Africa

Eyelids/eyelashes

14:44 Mar 5, 2013

To not bat an eyelid means to not show shock or surprise, as others have pointed out. But to bat one's eyelashes means to flirt, as far as I know.

Sheila Hardie

Spain

ASKER

16:50 Mar 3, 2013

Thanks for all the ideas! The text was written by a French person but, in this case, I agree that it may well be a literal translation into French of an English expression. Maybe the singer actually used this expression (in English) and the author just translated it literally. Thanks again! Sheila

Nikki Scott-Despaigne

11:59 Mar 3, 2013

I tend to agree with Emile here. The original should read "NE jamais" by the way. It reads like a backtranslation, unless the original was loosely based on the expression "s'en battre de l'oeil" as someone else has suggested, in which case the French is a little off target : http://lessignets.com/signetsdiane/index.php?page=titulaires...

emiledgar

Belgium

21:55 Mar 2, 2013

I think this was translated from English originally and is a literal translation of "not batting an eye"

Paul Hirsh

France

18:45 Mar 2, 2013

I think the expression that means agoniser is "battre de l'aile"

Sheila Wilson

Spain

@ John

18:14 Mar 2, 2013

I forgot to pick up on that in my answer. I wasn't 100% familiar with the exact expression, but my dictionary gave several possibilities for slang using "battre" that all came out meaning practically the same: ne rien avoir à battre de qqch; j'en ai rien à battre; s'en battre l'oeil; s'en battre les couilles.

John Holland

France

bat an eye

18:07 Mar 2, 2013

Maybe it's a literal translation of the English idiom "bat an eye":

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/bat an eye
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bat_an_eyelash

Answers

10 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

I've got no worries

Explanation:
That's the gist of it I believe, though of course there are 101 ways to translate it! My bilingual slang dictionary talks about not giving a shit/monkey/cuss/damn. However, I think the context points more to "I haven't a care in the world".

Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 13:18
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 64

1 hr confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

nothing gets me down

Explanation:
I would translate the whole thing as "I'm my own banker, my own boss, I'm never short of work and nothing gets me down"

Jane F
France
Local time: 14:18
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 58

41 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +6

I never bat an eye

you are a teller at a bank, a robber comes in and ask you for the money, you act without panicking, you gave him the money WITHOUT BATTING AN EYE.
You are nervous when hosting a party, but your mother can handle it without batting an eye.

CANFR
Canada
Local time: 08:18
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English,

French
PRO pts in category: 4

Grading comment

In the end, this was the closest answer to the actual words written by the singer. I'd like to divide up the points, but think it's only fair they go to CANFR. Many thanks, everyone!

6 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +3

I never flinch / I face it all and I stand tall

Explanation:
The context suggests this is about somebody who is fiercely independent, who looks you / challenges straight in the eye...

But through it all, when there was doubt
I ate it up and spit it out
I faced it all and I stood tall and did it my way

Frank Sinatra

OK, if this is about another singer, then perhaps you'd better avoid using the Sinatra quote :)

Carol Gullidge
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:18
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 124

1 day 9 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

I never blink

Explanation:
This expression is often used to indicate unwavering intensity, which seems to fit here. Also, in googling, there were several cases of « sans battre de l'œil » that appeared to parallel the text, perhaps as a back-formation from « battement de l'œil ».

gkshenaut
Local time: 05:18
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English

1 day 15 hrs confidence:

I never wince

Explanation:
"never wince" is in many songs

Francis Marche
France
Local time: 14:18
Works in field
Native speaker of:

French,

English
PRO pts in category: 15

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English translation: I never bat an eye

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