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a gravi une marche intéressante à défaut d'être définitive

English translation: ...Marseille have opened up a clear but not unassailable lead

01:00 Apr 30, 2017
French to English translations [PRO]
Sports / Fitness / Recreation / soccer
French term or phrase: a gravi une marche intéressante à défaut d'être définitive
From a soccer article on recent game between OM and Saint Etienne:

"En repoussant Saint-Etienne à six points, l'OM a gravi une march intéressante à défaut d'être définitive."

Thank you!
Peggy Daly
United States
Local time: 04:19
English translation:...Marseille have opened up a clear but not unassailable lead
Explanation:
"...by increasing the gap to Saint-Etienne to six points, Marseille have opened up a clear but not unassailable lead."

After that game, Marseille did not move up a place, but consolidated sixth; Saint-Etienne were in seventh. Had ASSE won, they would have been level on points. That sort of match is known as a "six-pointer".

Marseille could still have been caught with a six point lead and (what was then) five games left.


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 10 hrs (2017-04-30 11:07:13 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

(Use preterite/perfect tense according to the date of the article, as things have changed since then)
Selected response from:

Paul Connolly (X)
Local time: 10:19
Grading comment
Thank you!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +5...Marseille have opened up a clear but not unassailable lead
Paul Connolly (X)
5 +2OM scored a victory that, though not decisive, opens up possibilities
Jordan Arzoglou
3moved a step up, if not to the final one, [at least it was] an interesting one
Daryo
3Suggested rephrasing
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
3 -1was higher ranked, but still far from the top of the League table
Francois Boye


  

Answers


1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): -1
Gravi une marche intéressante à défaut d\'être définitive
was higher ranked, but still far from the top of the League table


Explanation:
My footballistic formulation

Francois Boye
United States
Local time: 05:19
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 2

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Tony M: Not terribly idiomatic in EN, and also not a terribly accurate translation, substituting the tenses between 'perfect' and 'imperfect', which makes quite a difference here.
3 hrs
disagree  Daryo: you can't play fast and loose with tenses this way, especially when you end up twisting the meaning in exactly the opposite direction: what you said in FR is that is the OM was higher ranked BEFORE this match!!! // past comes before present, no?
5 hrs
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +2
OM scored a victory that, though not decisive, opens up possibilities


Explanation:
That's what the meaning is.

Jordan Arzoglou
France
Local time: 11:19
Works in field
Native speaker of: English

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tony M: Very nice and idiomatic!
17 mins
agree  Charles Davis: Yes, well put. (Unfortunately, since beating ASSE 4-0, Marseille have faltered with three straight draws, so "à défaut d'être définitive" was prescient.)
2 hrs
neutral  Martyn Greenan: "Scored" used in this way is actually not all that idiomatic (in the football world). If you swapped in "achieved", "claimed", "clinched", "picked up" or even "bagged", this would be fine, though.
10 hrs
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6 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
moved a step up, if not to the final one, [at least it was] an interesting one


Explanation:
although personally I would say

[OM] moved a step up, if not to the final one, [at least] a significant one

"to move a step" up seems to be used quite often for competitions in football:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q="moved a step up"




Daryo
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:19
Native speaker of: Native in SerbianSerbian, Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 12
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8 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +5
...Marseille have opened up a clear but not unassailable lead


Explanation:
"...by increasing the gap to Saint-Etienne to six points, Marseille have opened up a clear but not unassailable lead."

After that game, Marseille did not move up a place, but consolidated sixth; Saint-Etienne were in seventh. Had ASSE won, they would have been level on points. That sort of match is known as a "six-pointer".

Marseille could still have been caught with a six point lead and (what was then) five games left.


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 10 hrs (2017-04-30 11:07:13 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

(Use preterite/perfect tense according to the date of the article, as things have changed since then)

Paul Connolly (X)
Local time: 10:19
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thank you!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  writeaway: spot on imo
1 hr
agree  katsy
1 hr
agree  Rachel Fell
3 hrs
agree  Martyn Greenan: Yes, and good point about the tense.
5 hrs
disagree  Jordan Arzoglou: Well expressed but "a clear lead" is not in the text.
5 hrs
  -> True, although it's an attempt to account for 'marche interessante' in this case.
agree  Yvonne Gallagher
1 day 58 mins
agree  paul karamath: In seeing off SE, Marseille have... looks spot on
9 days
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16 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
OM a gravi une marche intéressante à défaut d'être définitive
Suggested rephrasing


Explanation:
https://www.om.net/actualites/313550/om-4-0-saint-etienne-pa...

L’étincelle est arrivée en ce week-end pascal face à un autre grand du championnat de France. Certes, à cette heure, les deux clubs ne discutent plus sur les hauteurs de la Ligue 1, mais ils luttent pour une qualification européenne. En repoussant Saint-Etienne à six points, l’OM a gravi une marche intéressante à défaut d’être définitive.

Ideas for the first part

"This might not be the final act,... "

"It is not over yet,..."

"There's more to come,..."


Ideas for the second part

"by taking a 6-point lead over Saint-Etienne, OM has made a step in the right direction."
(OK, this is a step forward, not up, but the idea of progress is there.)

"but with SE in the rear-view mirror, OM now has an interesting lead of 6 points".

Or renderings of that ilk.

http://www.leparisien.fr/sports/football/football-un-om-de-g...

http://www.eurosport.fr/football/ligue-1/2015-2016/l-om-surc...

http://www.ligue1.com/ligue1/article/week-33-reactions-garci...



Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Local time: 11:19
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 21
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