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avoir du chien à revendre
à retardement
Feb 4, 2011 14:50
13 yrs ago
français term

esprit de contradiction

français vers anglais Autre Idiômes / maximes / proverbes
Oui, la demoiselle a bien l’esprit de contradiction.

challenging spirit?
Proposed translations (anglais)
4 +2 likes to court controversy
4 +2 argumentative
3 +3 a right Little Miss Contrary
5 Spirit of contradiction
5 full of contradictions
2 +2 contentious nature / contentious spirit
3 +1 Like to answer back
3 +1 confrontational
3 a contrarian attitude
3 to be be contrary
Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

Non-PRO (1): cc in nyc

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Discussion

philgoddard Feb 7, 2011:
This is still not proper context of the kind you were asked to provide when you posted the question
Sandrine Guyennet (asker) Feb 4, 2011:
context this is an article for a trendy magazine about a contemporary artist.
I think the 'esprit de contradiction' here means she likes to paint unexpected things.
BrigitteHilgner Feb 4, 2011:
with writeaway I'm interested because reading the French I immediately thought of the German "Widerspruchsgeist"; then I wondered what this might be in English, looked in a dictionary (Pons Collins) and got the answer "spirit of opposition". I'm not too keen on this term although it gets quite a few google hits but now I'm keen to know what would be a suitable English expression - and what's suitable does depend on the context ...
writeaway Feb 4, 2011:
please provide context so others can judge whether or not suggestions can be considered and to avoid forcing people to guess
writeaway Feb 4, 2011:
context? period, author, book/play/discussion/letter ...??

Proposed translations

+2
1 heure
français term (edited): a bien l’esprit de contradiction
Selected

likes to court controversy

Just thought I'd throw another way of putting it into the mix.
Peer comment(s):
agree Verginia Ophof : I think this would fit nicely in context provided by asker
1 jour 4 heures
thanks, Verginia!
agree Yvonne Gallagher : (with added context) would work
1 jour 21 heures
thanks, gallagy!
Something went wrong...
3 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "thanks!"
+2
3 minutes

contentious nature / contentious spirit

Just another suggestion which may or may not fit in the context. I believe that someone with a "contentious" streak may fulfil this quality of an "esprit de contradiction", but it ultimately depends on the further information which is available to you from the context.
Peer comment(s):
agree Yvonne Gallagher : with added context given, this would work
1 jour 22 minutes
agree Ana Rodrigues
6 jours
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+1
6 minutes

Like to answer back

"Yes, the young lady certainly likes to answer back". That's how contradiction is often referred to.
Peer comment(s):
agree cc in nyc
1 heure
thanks
Something went wrong...
+1
10 minutes

confrontational

Maybe a bit too strong, but depends on your context...?
Peer comment(s):
agree cc in nyc : to be used with verb "is"
1 heure
Something went wrong...
+2
12 minutes

argumentative

As in: "she (la demoiselle) is argumentative (a l'esprit de contradiction)".

Simply another possibility...
Peer comment(s):
agree cc in nyc
1 heure
agree Imanol : has to contradict everything
1 jour 18 heures
Something went wrong...
15 minutes

a contrarian attitude

It really depends on the context. It may be possible to turn the sentence to say the the young lady was a contrarian.
Something went wrong...
29 minutes

Spirit of contradiction

Example of phrase : <<...However, one other thing I remember and which still can bring a smile to my face from time to time is the seemingly endless argumentative well from which I drew the energy to question almost anything I’d find wrong or insufficiently explained. For this rather annoying–but also valuable–facet of my personality, I was often given the appellation of spirit of contradiction, which is something that Spanish children tend to hear at least once in their lives (far more often, thinking about it…). You are spirit of contradiction, would say my mother, and I couldn’t but take it as a complement, even then... >>
Reference:

http://spiritofcontradiction.wordpress.com/why-spirit-of-contradiction/

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7 minutes

to be be contrary

one possibility..

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 15 mins (2011-02-04 15:05:25 GMT)
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-be

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2011-02-04 15:50:52 GMT)
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Don't see the problem here :). "Being contrary" according to Cambridge dictionary: "describes a person who intentionally wants to disagree with and annoy other people."

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2011-02-04 15:54:36 GMT)
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but ok, seeing the actual context now.. I like the 'contrarian attitude' of Marco Solinas much better...
Reference:

http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=241904

Peer comment(s):
disagree writeaway : not a possibility. doesn't correspond grammatically for starters/un esprit isn't a verb in either language (or in Dutch for that matter)/at some point it has to fit in and convey the same meaning. English really isn't a free for all
0 minute
But isn't translation all about translating ideas instead of words/grammatical structures?
agree Conor McAuley : Translation is all about translating ideas. Thanks for helping me along with my line of thought.
2 heures
Something went wrong...
+3
2 heures

a right Little Miss Contrary

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=fr&biw=991&bih=449&q="litt...

The "demoiselle" may be an attempt at an age-based put-down -- too young to be any good. (Depending on the wider context and tone of the piece.)
Peer comment(s):
agree Yvonne Gallagher : like this one, and don't see it as necessarily a put-down. She could be what Americans call "sassy"
6 heures
Depends on the tone of the piece. Sassy is good. Thanks!
agree B D Finch : Neatly covers "demoiselle" too, but "sassy" would avoid any risk of being condescending.//Would that be saahf Lunnun?
18 heures
Thanks BD. Think of it in a Lunnun accent. Agree re sassy. / Exactly!
agree Sandra Mouton : Great to convey the "mademoiselle"
3 jours 2 heures
Something went wrong...
21 heures

full of contradictions

Used a lot to describe people.
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