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repond de facon jaune

English translation: responds with a constrained smile

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:repond de facon jaune
English translation:responds with a constrained smile
Entered by: Barbara Cochran, MFA

16:31 Jun 30, 2007
French to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature / Interpersonal Reaction
French term or phrase: repond de facon jaune
In a play where George Washington and General Howe, Commander-in-Chief of the British Army (Revolutionary War) have just met and started up a conversation. Howe doesn't realize that it's Washington himself.

Context:

HOWE
Ah oui, pardonnez-moi, Monsieur. Cette revue des canons s'est un peu eternisee...

WASHINGTON
Ah! Votre servante m'a dit les soldats, votre fille les chevaux mais en fin de compte c'etaient...

HOWE
Les canons, oui.

Il a un rire canaille et complice auquel Washington **repond de facon jaune.**

I was wondering if the "jaune" has to do with cowardice, but Washington was never known as being cowardly.

Merci!

femme
Barbara Cochran, MFA
United States
Local time: 08:06
with a constrained smile
Explanation:
very simply & to keep the sentence short
Selected response from:

jean-jacques alexandre
France
Local time: 14:06
Grading comment
Merci.
3 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +3gives back a constrained smile
Euqinimod (X)
4 +2without meaning it
Etienne Muylle Wallace
4answers with a sickly smile
Francis MARC
4responds with a bilious look on his face
Katarina Peters
4with a constrained smile
jean-jacques alexandre
3responds rather forcedly
Christopher Erdal (X)
3to return stiffly/woodenly
Emma Paulay


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
answers with a sickly smile


Explanation:
Termium:
Domaine(s)
  – Translation Problems
  – Language Problems
Domaine(s)
  – Problèmes de traduction
  – Problèmes de langue
 
give a sickly smile Source VERBE

rire jaune Source

OBS – expression idiomatique

Francis MARC
Lithuania
Local time: 15:06
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 20
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10 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
without meaning it


Explanation:
rire jaune: means laughing when you don't want to lauch, but you do it out of politenessso you do not mean what you express

Etienne Muylle Wallace
Spain
Local time: 14:06
Native speaker of: Native in DutchDutch, Native in FrenchFrench

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  NancyLynn
1 min
agree  Anna Quail: forced laugh: e.g. Robert & Collins - "il faisait semblant de trouver ça drôle, mais en fait il riait jaune  : he pretended he found it funny but in fact he had to force himself to laugh"
4 mins
neutral  CMJ_Trans (X): he gave a forced laugh in return.... but "not meaning it" is only an explanation, not a translation
1 hr
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44 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
responds with a bilious look on his face


Explanation:
bilious or yellow as in bile...the origin of the word jaune

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 45 mins (2007-06-30 17:16:59 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

...the word jaune in this context, that is...

Katarina Peters
Canada
Local time: 08:06
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in HungarianHungarian, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 14
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
responds rather forcedly


Explanation:
I agree with the others, and thought this was appropriate in the context

Christopher Erdal (X)
France
Local time: 14:06
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
gives back a constrained smile


Explanation:
"Rire jaune" in French means to give a forced, constrained laugh, out of pique or vexation.

Euqinimod (X)
Local time: 14:06
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 16

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Lidija Lazic
2 hrs
neutral  jean-jacques alexandre: ooops, just noticed your use of "constrained" which is, I think, the best solution
10 hrs
agree  A Word For I (X): How about "returns" instead of "gives back"? - also keeping it short. Love those great alliterations and medical analogies on this page too. This one hits the Bull's eye though I think.
11 hrs
agree  Hebat-Allah El Ashmawy
14 hrs
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14 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
with a constrained smile


Explanation:
very simply & to keep the sentence short

jean-jacques alexandre
France
Local time: 14:06
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 25
Grading comment
Merci.
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1 day 2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
to return stiffly/woodenly


Explanation:
a laugh which he returned stiffly
a laugh which he returned woodenly
a laugh which he echoed stiffly/woodenly

Emma Paulay
France
Local time: 14:06
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 56
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