bouées de feu dans le plein
English translation: lit buoys across the open expanse of sea
| 20:23 Feb 25, 2011 |
| French to English translations [PRO] Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature / Novel | |||||||
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|  Selected response from: Clive Phillips United Kingdom Local time: 22:00 | ||||||
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| Discussion entries: 22 | |
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Answers
2 hrs confidence: 
fire rings on the sea Explanation: It seems that here "plein" designates the sea. I have no idea of the equal expression in english. PLEIN MAR. La pleine mer ♦ La marée haute. On voit le long des rivages plusieurs rochers applatis (...) qui lors de la pleine mer deviennent des îles (Crèvecoeur, Voyage, t.2, 1801, p.315). Expr. La mer est pleine. La mer est haute et étale. La mer de toutes parts monte, et elle sera pleine à cette heure où se lève un petit vent (Claudel, Échange, 1954, ii, p.772). ♦ Le large. On se reposait dans un pré, ayant (...) en face la pleine mer (Flaub., Coeur simple, 1877, p.21). |
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12 hrs confidence:
rings of fire floating on the horizon Explanation: I'm suggesting a phrase without "the sea" in it, as that seems to be obvious... also aiming for a slightly more literary touch. |
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1 day 13 mins confidence:
patches of fire on the open sea Explanation: Leaving it vague. I am still thinking of this as burning oil or tar floating on the water. |
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Notes to answerer
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3 days 53 mins confidence:
..glowing buoys, alight in the middle of the ocean Explanation: I make this suggestion on the basis that, as this is 1981, the "rings" are actually buoys. |
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1 day 1 hr confidence:
lit buoys across the open expanse of sea Explanation: I maybe completely wrong but this is my suggestion. In a hurricane, lit buoys (marking the boundary of one or more hazards, and vital for safe passage and avoidance of rocks, etc) would be visible only intermittently, if at all. They are described as embers because that is how they appear through the spindrift, foam, surf and rain. They appear only when they are at the peak of a wave and the observer is in a similar position. -------------------------------------------------- Note added at 3 days17 hrs (2011-03-01 13:32:24 GMT) Post-grading -------------------------------------------------- Without the benefit of the wider context, this is my attempt at a rather free translation of the quoted passage : "They then caught sight of them and fixed on these glowing embers. If the ship held together, they would hold through too. Secretly they vowed to return without delay to their own corner of dear old Europe and its much calmer waters. But this lasted only as long as a truly wonderful dream, much too short, like a fleeting moment. Soon the lit buoys across the open expanse of sea dipped out of sight again and they were engulfed in a tortured victim's demented visions." |
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