admettent se baser du bout des lèvres

08:51 Feb 20, 2018 

loathingly / regretfully / reluctantly / grudgingly / unwillingly etc ...

but you can not change the basic meaning.

And sometimes the choice of just one term in preference to another can tell a lot. Like "to admit reluctantly" telling you that there is something someone would prefer to hide [NOT that they are uncertain of something] etc etc ... Analysing a sentence / a whole text - so far only done by humans ... no need to worry about MT, for the time being.

08:35 Feb 20, 2018 

Sorry to have to contradict you Daryo, but there are options - as there so often are in translation. This isn't about the dictionary definition of the term, which the asker is perfectly well aware of I'm sure, it's about interpreting it in this context: you yourself say "it seems that for some reason these banks find their interest in scaremongering" = your particular interpretation of the banks' motivation. I read it as the banks being tentative in case they are wrong. polyglot has suggested a scenario where they are being oblique to cover up. Any of these options could be right, the asker will be able to weight them up. That's what we're here for, to debate different possible options, explore interpretations and make suggestions. Which is why machine translation isn't (yet) putting us out of a job!!

08:19 Feb 20, 2018 

regarding the possible meaning of "admettre [...] du bout des lèvres"

HERE: these French banks would rather avoid admitting that they are "relying on more reasonable predictions", but they have to if cornered.

From the extract of the ST given, it seems that for some reason these banks find their interest in scaremongering, trying to push some doomsday scenario, and when forced to show their hand are reluctantly admitting that themselves are relying on not-so-bleak predictions. All that being connected to the threat of "la bombe à retardement sociale" ... Sounds like a case of tying to use the "FUD Factor" (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) and being forced to admit to it.

IOW "admettre [...] du bout des lèvres" in its [only] meaning makes perfect sense in this ST, even within the small extract given.

08:17 Feb 20, 2018 

are not open about using these figures as a basis. They let it be vaguely understood but they are drawing a veil of silence over it.

Maybe "obliquely" ?

08:16 Feb 20, 2018 

I don't think "half-heartedly" works here, but as long as you use "reluctantly" or "grudgingly", I think your proposed translation is fine. Why do you think it might not be?

23:18 Feb 19, 2018 

The dictionary says "half-heartedly" or "reluctantly", but I'm not sure either of these quite fits the context. I wonder if it means something like "more in hope than expectation".
http://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/french-englis...

22:29 Feb 19, 2018 

This is what I have at the moment Rob:
Let's say these predictions are wrong. And that we stick with those - much more reasonable ones - which the French banks admit to half-heartedly taking as their starting point. The “social time bomb” would then still be manageable.

22:23 Feb 19, 2018 

Mark, it might help to have an idea of your working translation for this paragraph or sentence…