Oct 20, 2011 23:09
12 yrs ago
French term
histoire de 5 minutes
Non-PRO
French to English
Other
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
colloquial expression
One man is bragging to his coworker about how he got a bigger office. The coworker asks him how big it is and gets a less-than-precise answer (It's big!). He demands that the man be more exact, to which the man responds to the effect of: Do you want me to get the blueprints? And the architect's measurements? "Tu me le dit hein, c'est l'histoire de 5 minutes, ca tombe bien parce que la j'ai que ca a foutre!"
(Sorry I do not have any easy way to use accents on this computer. I also apologize for the crudeness.)
Any help would be much appreciated!
(Sorry I do not have any easy way to use accents on this computer. I also apologize for the crudeness.)
Any help would be much appreciated!
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +6 | it would only take five minutes |
Estelle Demontrond-Box
|
| 5 +2 | it's just a five minute thing |
Susana Magnani
|
| 4 +1 | It'll only take a mo' |
Bourth (X)
|
| 3 | It'll only take (you) a minute |
Sandra Petch
|
Change log
Oct 21, 2011 00:25: writeaway changed "Field (specific)" from "Slang" to "General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters" , "Field (write-in)" from "Expression used on a TV show" to "colloquial expression"
Proposed translations
+6
9 mins
Estelle Demontrond-Box
Australia
Australia
Native in French
Specializes in field
Australia
Qualified Translator & Published Writer
Native in: French (Variant: Standard-France)
Works in: English to French, French to English, French
Related KudoZ points
:
12
Selected
it would only take five minutes
Imo in the sense of "a matter of"
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Marie Martin
27 mins
|
|
Merci Marie!
|
|
| agree |
Pablo Strauss
1 hr
|
|
Thank you Pablo!
|
|
| agree |
ACOZ (X)
1 hr
|
|
Thank you ACOZ!
|
|
| agree |
Tony M
6 hrs
|
|
Thank you Tony ;-)
|
|
| agree |
Kelly Harrison
17 hrs
|
| agree |
AllegroTrans
: or maybe "it won't take 5 minutes"
21 hrs
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
+2
33 mins
Susana Magnani
Argentina
Argentina
Native in English
Specializes in field
Argentina
Over 30 years' experience.
Native in: Spanish 
, English 
Works in: Spanish to English, English to Spanish, French to English, and 3 more.
it's just a five minute thing
because of the register, this is the way i'd say it. good luck! :)
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Christine Poulin
: I'd simply say "it's a 5 minute thing"
13 hrs
|
|
thanks, christine! :)
|
|
| agree |
staceyvikki
: I agree with Christine. Emphasis on the reluctance to commit time would follow in the next part of the sentence so you don't really need the "just".
1 day 7 hrs
|
|
thanks, staceyvikki! :)
|
+1
7 hrs
It'll only take a mo'
Full script here: http://camera-cafe.hypnoweb.net/episodes/saison-1/episode-6/...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 7 hrs (2011-10-21 06:50:14 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
The script suggests there should be an "Exits" at that point, so you could possibly say "Back in a jiff/jiffy".
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 7 hrs (2011-10-21 06:50:14 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
The script suggests there should be an "Exits" at that point, so you could possibly say "Back in a jiff/jiffy".
13 hrs
It'll only take (you) a minute
I'm pretty sure that in (UK) English we talk about something taking a minute, rather than five minutes.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 13 hrs (2011-10-21 12:32:46 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
OR
It won't take a minute / five minutes
"Five minutes" fits better worded this way
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 13 hrs (2011-10-21 12:32:46 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
OR
It won't take a minute / five minutes
"Five minutes" fits better worded this way
Discussion
Here's the Quebec version with slight changes to the dialogue:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJw3WSc9RrI