elle est passée par ici, elle repassera par là

English translation: {See how it runs}/{did you ever see a mousie go this way and that that way?}

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

French term or phrase:	elle est passée par ici, elle repassera par là
English translation:	{See how it runs}/{did you ever see a mousie go this way and that that way?}
Entered by:	Carol Gullidge

05:52 Jan 27, 2011

French to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature / Nursery rhyme or saying?

French term or phrase: elle est passée par ici, elle repassera par là

I am working on a craft book, and lots of the projects include embroidered phrases, many of which are sayings or nursery rhymes.

This particular project, a quilt cover, shows a mouse and a wriggly line suggesting the path of the mouse. Along one side of the quilt is the phrase "elle est passée par ici" and on the other "elle repassera par là".

I can translate this literally - eg. "it went this way, it will go back that way" - but I get the impression from the web that this is a "saying" and so that it's meaning could be a bit looser (eg. "here, there, everywhere"?) or, if from a nursery rhyme, refer to a specific scenario.

Melissa McMahon KudoZ activity Questions: 78 (none open) (17 closed without grading) Answers: 515 Australia
Local time: 14:08

{See how they run}/{did you ever see a mousie go this way and that that way?}

Explanation:
1) if you need a genuine mouse-related nursery rhyme, there's always Three Blind Mice. The whole thing might be too gory, but perhaps just "see how they run" would fit the bill here

OR
2) If you're looking for a gentle nursery rhyme that captures he essence... No mice in the original English one, sadly, but you might me able get away with this adaptation of:
Did you ever see a lassie
Go this way and that?
Go this way and that way,
And that way and this way,
Did you ever see a lassie
Go this way and that?

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs (2011-01-27 09:10:38 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

sorry, that should be only one "that" in the 2nd proposal:

"Did you ever see a mousie go this way and that way"

Selected response from:

Carol Gullidge
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:08

Grading comment

Thanks to everyone. I really need to divide the honours between Emma and Carol, since together they have let me explain the context to the client and offer an analogy to work with if they want to use English in the final publication.
2 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

3 +1

They seek him here, they seek him there..

Marian Vieyra

{See how they run}/{did you ever see a mousie go this way and that that way?}

Carol Gullidge

the mouse ran up, the mouse ran down

Catherine Gilsenan

Summary of reference entries provided

Il court, il court, le furet

Emma Paulay

Answers

3 hrs confidence:

{See how they run}/{did you ever see a mousie go this way and that that way?}

Carol Gullidge
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:08
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 80

Grading comment

4 hrs confidence:

the mouse ran up, the mouse ran down

Explanation:
From Hickoryu Dickory Dock

Hickory Dickory Dock
The Mouse ran up the Clock
The Clock struck one
The Mouse ran down
Hickory Dickory Dock

Just an idea

Catherine Gilsenan
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:08
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 7

6 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

They seek him here, they seek him there..

Explanation:
They seek that mousie everwhere!

Marian Vieyra
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:08
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 16

Reference comments

6 mins peer agreement (net): +3

Reference: Il court, il court, le furet

Reference information:
Ferreted this out for you!

Reference: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Il_court,_il_court,_le_furet

Emma Paulay
France
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 56

Note to reference poster

Asker: Aha! That's why I couldn't find it, the old il/elle switcheroo! That's certainly it, a great help.

Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

Return to KudoZ list

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

See also:

ProZ.com term search

Search millions of term translations

elle est passée par ici, elle repassera par là

English translation: {See how it runs}/{did you ever see a mousie go this way and that that way?}

Answers

Reference comments

KudoZ™ translation help

Your current localization setting

Select a language

elle est passée par ici, elle repassera par là

English translation: {See how it runs}/{did you ever see a mousie go this way and that that way?}

Answers

Reference comments

KudoZ™ translation help

You have native languages that can be verified

Your current localization setting

Select a language