Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
\"à vous faire tomber les ratiches\"
English translation:
It\'s enough to make your eyes pop out!
Added to glossary by
Grace Kenny
Nov 12, 2015 12:32
8 yrs ago
1 viewer *
French term
"à vous faire tomber les ratiches"
French to English
Art/Literary
Poetry & Literature
The phrase occurs in Antoine Compagnon's book, Petits spleens numériques, a series of Huffington Post posts on IT devices, page 178, where he is discussing a phrase used by la duchesse de Guermantes, "à vous faire tomber vos dents de sagesse", and where he suggests this phrase as a variant. I would like a good English equivalent.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 3 +1 | It's enough to make your eyes pop out! |
Ben Lenthall
|
References
| Context |
philgoddard
|
Change log
Nov 12, 2015 21:22: Yolanda Broad changed "Term asked" from "\\\"à vous faire tomber les ratiches\\\"" to "\"à vous faire tomber les ratiches\""
Proposed translations
+1
6 mins
French term (edited):
\"à vous faire tomber les ratiches\"
Selected
It's enough to make your eyes pop out!
a fairly standard expression of total surprise.
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Note added at 7 mins (2015-11-12 12:39:51 GMT)
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Nothing unusual about similar expressions in both languages but with a change of animal/bodily part/ nationality
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Note added at 5 days (2015-11-17 13:12:13 GMT) Post-grading
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I guess so, Grace although taken literally, away from the everyday expression, the idea of your eyes actually popping out is also pretty bizarre, n'est-ce pas? I notice that no one has taken up Phil's challenge of explaining the whole HP quote in context.
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Note added at 7 mins (2015-11-12 12:39:51 GMT)
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Nothing unusual about similar expressions in both languages but with a change of animal/bodily part/ nationality
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Note added at 5 days (2015-11-17 13:12:13 GMT) Post-grading
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I guess so, Grace although taken literally, away from the everyday expression, the idea of your eyes actually popping out is also pretty bizarre, n'est-ce pas? I notice that no one has taken up Phil's challenge of explaining the whole HP quote in context.
3 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks for your thoughts. Indeed your eyes do pop and your jaw does drop when you are very surprised. However, I was looking for something to match the bizarrerie of your teeth falling out.
Grace KENNY"
Reference comments
6 hrs
philgoddard
United States
United States
Native in English
United States
Six languages into flawless English
Native in: English
Works in: German to English, French to English, Spanish to English, and 4 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
16
Reference:
Context
I haven't had time to read the full article and understand the point being made, but the translation won't make sense unless you leave this phrase in French with a few words of explanation. I'm not sure what "restais baba" means.
"C'est un peu comme si étions les personnages d'un roman d'Agatha Christie, Dix petits nègres, attendant l'arrivée du terroriste. Avec mon ami Yoshikawa, nous discutons quelques points obscurs de sa traduction de la Recherche en japonais. Comment comprendre cette expression de la duchesse de Guermantes, "à vous faire tomber vos dents de sagesse"? J'aurais dit "à vous faire tomber les ratiches", si j'avais voulu exprimer que j'en restais baba. Comme cela, nous tuons le temps.
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Note added at 7 hrs (2015-11-12 19:53:49 GMT)
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Rester baba means to be flabbergasted, but I still don't get the point they're making. Can anyone explain?
"C'est un peu comme si étions les personnages d'un roman d'Agatha Christie, Dix petits nègres, attendant l'arrivée du terroriste. Avec mon ami Yoshikawa, nous discutons quelques points obscurs de sa traduction de la Recherche en japonais. Comment comprendre cette expression de la duchesse de Guermantes, "à vous faire tomber vos dents de sagesse"? J'aurais dit "à vous faire tomber les ratiches", si j'avais voulu exprimer que j'en restais baba. Comme cela, nous tuons le temps.
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Note added at 7 hrs (2015-11-12 19:53:49 GMT)
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Rester baba means to be flabbergasted, but I still don't get the point they're making. Can anyone explain?
Discussion
Grace KENNY
Not very interesting, but fine.
GK
I don't have a proper English translation to hand.
Grace
Grace KENNY