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clins d'oeil

English translation: a wink in the direction of

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:clins d'oeil
English translation:a wink in the direction of
Entered by: B D Finch

10:34 Jun 9, 2009
French to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Music
French term or phrase: clins d'oeil
"qui se permettent quelques clins d'oeil du côté de la bossa nova"
Ega
Local time: 03:41
a wink in the direction of
Explanation:
Limited context, but I think that: he allows himself a wink in the direction of ... seems OK.

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Note added at 4 mins (2009-06-09 10:38:08 GMT)
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"Could this not be a wink in the direction of Hoffmann? With its interrupted snippets from Beethoven's 'Ghost Trio', Beckett's teleplay - which I think of as ..."
books.google.co.uk/books?isbn=0312068271...

"There's a level of acceptance of his ideas, a nod and a wink in the direction of irony. Advanced technology has indeed changed the face of warfare. ..."
tmcq.co.uk/articles/bowling-for-baudrillard/
Selected response from:

B D Finch
France
Local time: 03:41
Grading comment
thank you so much!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
2 +5shades of/a hint of/hinting at
Kari Foster
4 +3allusion to / veiled reference to
Michael McCain (X)
3 +3a wink in the direction of
B D Finch


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


2 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +3
a wink in the direction of


Explanation:
Limited context, but I think that: he allows himself a wink in the direction of ... seems OK.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 mins (2009-06-09 10:38:08 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"Could this not be a wink in the direction of Hoffmann? With its interrupted snippets from Beethoven's 'Ghost Trio', Beckett's teleplay - which I think of as ..."
books.google.co.uk/books?isbn=0312068271...

"There's a level of acceptance of his ideas, a nod and a wink in the direction of irony. Advanced technology has indeed changed the face of warfare. ..."
tmcq.co.uk/articles/bowling-for-baudrillard/

B D Finch
France
Local time: 03:41
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 12
Grading comment
thank you so much!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Irene McClure: I would go for "a nod and a wink to" from your second ref.
2 mins
  -> Thanks savtrad - I think that "a nod" would introduce a slightly different idea.
agree  Rami Heled
6 mins
  -> Thanks Rami
neutral  writeaway: plural, not singular/not really a few winks isn't the same as 'a' wink
10 mins
  -> Plural in French, singular in English, same idea expressed in both.
agree  Helen Shiner
14 mins
  -> Thanks Helen
disagree  David Vaughn: Does this mean something in English? Not for me. I'm afraid this is false friend territory, with the two not being equivalent. A nod and a wink in English is an acknowledgment, not in the French usage here.
26 mins
  -> It means a slight reference to, showing a slight influence from (the bossa nova). Acknowledging that influence but not dwelling on it.
agree  Michael McCain (X): This also works; I am usually cautious about using it because I hear the "clin d'oeil" metaphor much more in French than English.
27 mins
  -> Thanks Michael, I think it's a question of whether the expression is in fashion and, if so, with whom.
neutral  Tony M: I agree with W/A: 'a few winks...' is rather different... and I must say, I still prefer 'nod' / Not approval; but to me 'nod' suggests acknowledgement, whereas 'wink' suggests some degree of cheeky complicity (not implied in the FR); and the pl/s
42 mins
  -> Does a nod signify more approval than a wink?
agree  Noni Gilbert Riley: A nod in the direction of//Noni ;-)
58 mins
  -> Thanks aceavila, or is it Noni?
disagree  Clayton Causey: Agree with Vaughn. Attention les faux amis ! There's a subtle difference in nuance here. "Winks" and "nods" exist in English, but I challenge that no one here can find an example of usage that implies influence by the thing nodded to or winked at.
2 hrs
  -> I thought my references did that.
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): +5
shades of/a hint of/hinting at


Explanation:
Quite a departure from the original and would probably involve a total rewording, but if I had written the sentence I might well have used one of these.

Kari Foster
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:41
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Michael McCain (X): "a few hints of bossa nova" sounds good to me
8 mins
agree  David Vaughn: Or "hints of bosa nova"
40 mins
agree  writeaway: but not dictionaryesque enough it seems. Anyway we have absolutely no idea at all what this is about
51 mins
agree  Clayton Causey: Agree with Vaughn. Just "a hint of bossa nova" though, depending on whether were talking about one piece (singular) or an artist's style or an album/set of songs/pieces (plural).
1 hr
agree  Tony M: Yes, depends to what extent (if any) there is an element of 'tribute to...' — with Hoffman that might be true, with bossa nova, almost certainly not.
3 hrs
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5 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
clin d'oeil
allusion to / veiled reference to


Explanation:

Source: Le Grand Robert & Collins



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Note added at 3 hrs (2009-06-09 14:28:52 GMT) Post-grading
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I do like bossa nova (as a guitarist, I've played it for years), but I don't think I'd rush out to hear a musician who "winks in the direction of bossa nova". I mean, can you imagine saying "Chick Corea winks in the direction of country in his new duo with Bela Fleck"? Just a matter of preference.

(Vaughn: Agree. 'Veiled' is not suitable in this particular case.)



Michael McCain (X)
France
Local time: 03:41
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  writeaway: French is in plural however/it's already in most dictionaries.
9 mins
  -> I singularized it in case it becomes a kudoz glossary entry.
agree  Tony M: I think this would be best in the given context
40 mins
agree  roisin56: My first thought was 'covert reference' but I like allusion too.
1 hr
agree  Kari Foster: I considered "oblique reference" but it sounds too technical. "Allusion" is fine.
1 hr
neutral  David Vaughn: I'd avoid the "veiled", which isn't "alluded" to here. ;-)
1 hr
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