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je te balance des horreurs
macro-comparateur
Jul 10, 2018 10:11
5 yrs ago
français term

vivre à tes crochets

français vers anglais Autre Général / conversation / salutations / correspondance
"Vivre aux crochets de quelqu'un" means living at someone else's expense, but I was wondering if it can ever be used to mean something more figurative, as in "I live for you" or something like that. Or if it is only ever used to refer to relying on someone else for physical needs or expenses.
Proposed translations (anglais)
5 +8 to live off someone else (financially, materially)
4 +4 I'm dependent on you
4 to sponge off someone else
Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

Non-PRO (2): Nikki Scott-Despaigne, GILLES MEUNIER

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Discussion

Charles Davis Jul 10, 2018:
Absolutely "J'en ai marre d'etre si chieuse et demandante avec toi". Pretty powerful stuff. There's a terrible note of guilt and self-loathing here (I don't think that's putting it too strongly), not just about her emotional immaturity but also her self-centredness.

I doubt it's about money, or at least not mainly.
Nikki Scott-Despaigne Jul 10, 2018:
Just looked back to your previous question Given the context, I am almost certain the person is bringing h/self down and being deliberately self-critical. It would be a strange choice of expression in French otherwise. I think you need to retain that, otherwise you lose something of the intention of the French. I think she is deliberately using a critical expression and that the tone is lost if you use "to be dependent on".
Nikki Scott-Despaigne Jul 10, 2018:
With the benefit of this further context, Tony's suggestion may be a better fit here. Either way up, there is no ambiguity; it always describes a situation of dependence. It is unusual however for someone to say it of him/herself, as it is basically something of an admission. I've always heard it used by one person criticising another. The expression carries an idea of one person being maintained by another, sometimes even to the extent of exploiting another, almost as a parasite. I would suggest that if someone uses this term about him/herself, they are bringing themselves down, that he/she is not proud of him/herself.

As this seems an unusual choice of expression about oneself, I think it is deliberate. You might like to ask the client. If the choice is deliberate, if there is an element of self-criticism in there, then that needs to be relayed in the English. ;-)
Roberta Beyer (asker) Jul 10, 2018:
some better context "Je vis a tes crochets et ai besoin de toi , plus que toi de moi. Je suis co­dependante a beaucoup de chose, dont toi." It's tricky because I can quite easily read it either way and it makes sense.

Proposed translations

+8
17 minutes
français term (edited): vivre aux corchets de quelqu'un
Selected

to live off someone else (financially, materially)

The short anwer to your question is no.

http://www.linternaute.fr/expression/langue-francaise/361/vi...

"Au début du XVIIe siècle, on utilisait l'expression "être sur les crochets de quelqu'un", qui signifiait "être sur le dos de quelqu'un", dans le sens d'y "être suspendu, en dépendre". La forme actuelle, elle, est apparue au début du XIXe siècle, et signifie toujours que l'on dépend de quelqu'un financièrement et matériellement."





--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 20 mins (2018-07-10 10:31:46 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"To live off someone else" is already fairly figurative. It's close to the French idiom of hanging on to someone else. It means being dependent on someone else and often has a negative inference.

"To live for someone else" means something completely different.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 hrs (2018-07-10 14:56:00 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

See discussion post.
Peer comment(s):
agree Pierre POUSSIN
1 heure
agree ormiston : agree with your comments also
2 heures
agree Evelyne Trolley de Prévaux
2 heures
agree Victoria Britten
3 heures
agree writeaway
3 heures
neutral Yvonne Gallagher : rather blunt and is unlikely to be admitted by the person doing so...
3 heures
It is rather blunt, I agree; so is the French. It almost always have negative overtones. I think there is a reason this self-critical term has been used, which leads me to think the bluntness needs to be retained if the EN is to be faithful to the FR. ;-)
agree Charles Davis : I entirely agree about the bluntness. Normal expectations don't apply here. This is almost self-flagellation. She hates herself for the way she behaves and hates feeling so guilty about it.
4 heures
Yes, self-flagellation is it here, particularly given the context from the other question.
neutral Tony M : I agree in principle with your arguments, but I think this actual expression is unfortunate, it sounds like a pimp talking about one of his 'girls' — "living off immoral earnings" etc.
4 heures
Haha! The fact remains that the choice is deliberate and the expresssion has been chosen by the person herself, which makes it all the more poignant.
agree GILLES MEUNIER
18 heures
agree Elisabeth Gootjes
22 heures
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
3 heures

to sponge off someone else

This is the most informal way we express it here in the US.

We also call it "freeloading".
Something went wrong...
+4
1 heure

I'm dependent on you

I think that's a good way of maintianing the ambiguity in EN, as well as fitting with what your context goes on to say "...and I need you — more than you need me."

It also ties in nicely with the "codependent" that follows...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 hrs (2018-07-10 15:29:18 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I think "dependent" is excatly the right word here, as she uses it in another place too; she is acknowledging that she is "needy" in an emotional sense, and possibly also in a material sense too
.
Peer comment(s):
agree Philippa Smith : I agree about finding a way to be ambiguous that avoids "I live off you", which I don't think fits the context tone-wise. Maybe "totally dependent on you".
26 minutes
Thanks, Philippa!
agree B D Finch : I think this fits the context better than "I'm living off you", which is a bit blunt.
2 heures
Thanks, B!
agree Yvonne Gallagher : I'm so dependant on you... (fits tone better)
3 heures
Thanks, Yvonne!
neutral Nikki Scott-Despaigne : With the addditional post, maybe; but not with the previous post. It is unusual for someone to use it about him/herself. The choice suggests that the person is not proud, bringing h/self down, self-critical. She is not "nice" about h/s in previous post.
3 heures
That's exactly what I was seeking to convey: she is aware of the fact that she is depnddent on him, and obviously isn't entirely happy about that situation.
agree Michele Fauble
6 heures
Merci, Michele !
neutral Daryo : in the sense of "clinging to you"? maybe.
14 heures
Thanks, Daryo! Yes, i think the beauty of this expression is that it covers all these possibilities, in a simlilar way to the FR; thus it remains midly ambiguous and open to interpretation, which in view of the lack of context is probably wise.
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