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la boule me tourne

English translation: my head is spinning

18:31 Jul 21, 2015
French to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature
French term or phrase: la boule me tourne
I am currently translating part of a novel called "La Tonte" by Guy Croussy.

The story is told from the point of view of a schoolboy, whose mother has had her head shaved because of alleged collaboration with German soldiers during the occupation. The head shaving takes place in the boy's classroom in front of him and all of his classmates. This sentence comes up shortly after his mother has fled the scene after having her head shaven. His grandfather walks into the classroom and the little boy is overcome by emotion and wets himself.

My problem is that I am struggling to understand the last part of this sentence.

"Et j'eus soudain envie de pleurer, comme ça m'arrive quand je découvre quelque chose qui dépasse l'espérance terrestre et que la boule me tourne."

My attempt so far reads:
"Suddenly, I felt like crying, as happens to me when I discover something that goes beyond earthly hope and ...."

I cannot find any reference to 'la boule me tourne' as a phrase or an idiom anywhere and a literal translation sounds extremely odd.

I'm also not 100% sure about my translation of 'comme ça m'arrive' either.

Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Many thanks,
Cecilia
CeciliaJW
United Kingdom
English translation:my head is spinning
Explanation:
la boule c'est la tête. la tête me tourne.... comme dans la chanson de Piaf "tu me fais tourner la tête"... my head is spinning en anglais
Selected response from:

patrickfor
France
Local time: 21:40
Grading comment
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +5my head is spinning
patrickfor


Discussion entries: 5





  

Answers


22 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +5
my head is spinning


Explanation:
la boule c'est la tête. la tête me tourne.... comme dans la chanson de Piaf "tu me fais tourner la tête"... my head is spinning en anglais


patrickfor
France
Local time: 21:40
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Verginia Ophof
9 mins
  -> thank you!
agree  philgoddard: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/boule#French
24 mins
  -> thanks Phil, well thanks for the wiki :-)
agree  Sheri P
25 mins
  -> Thanks!
disagree  Anne Bohy: je pense que cela a plutôt le sens de "bouleversé", voir ma note dans la discussion. "Boule" ne signifie "tête" qu'en argot... Dans le verbe tournebouler en tout cas, le sens étymologique est plutôt boyau (boel en ancien français, d'où bowel en anglais)
1 hr
  -> je ne suis pas d'accord, et l'image est claire en plus. Qu'est ce que veut dire 'la boule me tourne" alors ?
agree  Simon Charass
7 hrs
  -> Merci !
agree  erwan-l
10 hrs
  -> Merci !
agree  Michele Fauble
22 hrs
  -> Merci !
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