Dec 21, 2021 22:18
2 yrs ago
50 viewers *
French term
tirer le fil
French to English
Social Sciences
Social Science, Sociology, Ethics, etc.
context of phrase : "... Si on tire grossièrement le fil,..." (tirer le fil) (the rest of the paragraph goes on to make a very rough and generalised comparison between 2 types of government regimes)
would the translation of this french expression be : "To put it simply" ???
I can't seem to find anything on the internet regarding this expression. I deduced it could be something along the lines of "To put it simply", but wanted to double check.
Lots of links regarding "tirer sur la corde", but not at all relevant for the paragraph I'm translating.
thanks !
would the translation of this french expression be : "To put it simply" ???
I can't seem to find anything on the internet regarding this expression. I deduced it could be something along the lines of "To put it simply", but wanted to double check.
Lots of links regarding "tirer sur la corde", but not at all relevant for the paragraph I'm translating.
thanks !
Proposed translations
(English)
| 3 +3 | to stretch the point |
Conor McAuley
|
| 2 +1 | to stretch it a bit |
Marco Solinas
|
| 3 | If one gives the narrative thread in broad terms |
Anastasia Kalantzi
|
| 2 | pull apart |
Justin Reeve
|
Proposed translations
+3
1 hr
Conor McAuley
France
France
Native in English
France
Excellence, Expertise & Experience
Native in: English (Variants: Scottish, Irish, British, Wales / Welsh, UK)
Works in: French to English, English
Related KudoZ points
:
18
Selected
to stretch the point
The more common expression is "tirer sur le fil":
https://lesecritoires.com/2019/02/06/tirer-sur-le-fil/
"« Curieuse entreprise, d’écrire des souvenirs. On tire sur le fil, et on ne sait pas ce qui va en sortir. Comme ces illusionnistes qui extraient de leur bouche, suspendus en guirlande, une fleur, une lame de rasoir, une ampoule allumée, un petit lapin… »
René Barjavel, La charrette bleue, 1980"
If you pull carelessly and aimlessly on a loose thread on a jumper, it could unravel, similar to picking at a scab.
But I think that this is what fits:
***stretch a/the point***
To interpret or exaggerate a point or opinion beyond what is normal, acceptable, or logical. It would be stretching a point to compare him to such a legend like Wayne Gretzky, but I agree that he is incredibly talented.
Stretch the point - Idioms by The Free Dictionary
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/stretch the point#:~:te...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2021-12-22 00:05:01 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Lots of examples:
Free-born Englishman - TLS - Times Literary Supplementhttps://www.the-tls.co.uk › articles › free-born-english...
So, if you wish ***to stretch the point*** – and Edward himself could often do that most gracefully – his new book covers three centuries of English history and ...
History of Russia. Vol. 10, The Reign of Ivan the Terrible - jstorhttps://www.jstor.org › stable
by DE Schafer · 1996 — Soloviev set new standards for the Russian historical profession. ... of Italy for French monarchs remained; ***to stretch the point***, both Napoleon in.
The Black Diaspora and Pan-Africanism - jstorhttps://www.jstor.org › stable
by DR Wright · 1997 · Cited by 3 — Africans in the Americas: A History of the Black Diaspora. By Michael L. ... (A chapter on athletics seems to ***stretch the point***.) Still, both of the
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2021-12-22 00:10:33 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
I think the author is playing with (not exactly subverting, but similar) the more common expression, indicating the risk involved in making very rough comparisons, or...just could have left the word "sur" out.
grossièrement - translate as "very rough"?
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2021-12-22 00:11:43 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
(Left the word "sur" out unintentionally, is of course what I mean.)
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 16 hrs (2021-12-22 14:47:48 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Maybe "Very broadly speaking...", to make the language slightly more formal.
https://lesecritoires.com/2019/02/06/tirer-sur-le-fil/
"« Curieuse entreprise, d’écrire des souvenirs. On tire sur le fil, et on ne sait pas ce qui va en sortir. Comme ces illusionnistes qui extraient de leur bouche, suspendus en guirlande, une fleur, une lame de rasoir, une ampoule allumée, un petit lapin… »
René Barjavel, La charrette bleue, 1980"
If you pull carelessly and aimlessly on a loose thread on a jumper, it could unravel, similar to picking at a scab.
But I think that this is what fits:
***stretch a/the point***
To interpret or exaggerate a point or opinion beyond what is normal, acceptable, or logical. It would be stretching a point to compare him to such a legend like Wayne Gretzky, but I agree that he is incredibly talented.
Stretch the point - Idioms by The Free Dictionary
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/stretch the point#:~:te...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2021-12-22 00:05:01 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Lots of examples:
Free-born Englishman - TLS - Times Literary Supplementhttps://www.the-tls.co.uk › articles › free-born-english...
So, if you wish ***to stretch the point*** – and Edward himself could often do that most gracefully – his new book covers three centuries of English history and ...
History of Russia. Vol. 10, The Reign of Ivan the Terrible - jstorhttps://www.jstor.org › stable
by DE Schafer · 1996 — Soloviev set new standards for the Russian historical profession. ... of Italy for French monarchs remained; ***to stretch the point***, both Napoleon in.
The Black Diaspora and Pan-Africanism - jstorhttps://www.jstor.org › stable
by DR Wright · 1997 · Cited by 3 — Africans in the Americas: A History of the Black Diaspora. By Michael L. ... (A chapter on athletics seems to ***stretch the point***.) Still, both of the
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2021-12-22 00:10:33 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
I think the author is playing with (not exactly subverting, but similar) the more common expression, indicating the risk involved in making very rough comparisons, or...just could have left the word "sur" out.
grossièrement - translate as "very rough"?
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2021-12-22 00:11:43 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
(Left the word "sur" out unintentionally, is of course what I mean.)
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 16 hrs (2021-12-22 14:47:48 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Maybe "Very broadly speaking...", to make the language slightly more formal.
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
philgoddard
: You've given more references than Marco, but most are English, and the first one simply means "pull the string".
41 mins
|
| agree |
Samuël Buysschaert
: "Le fil" fait référence "au fil de la pensée ou des idées" de l'auteur, "stretch the point" sounds good to me, in the way you explained in your note & definition.
10 hrs
|
|
Thanks Samuël!
|
|
| agree |
liz askew
1 day 11 hrs
|
|
Thanks Liz!
|
|
| agree |
Ben Gaia
27 days
|
|
Thanks Ben! (I only just got the notification for your agree -- I think the website is on its last legs.)
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks Conor :)"
1 hr
Justin Reeve
United States
United States
Native in English
United States
Archaeologist, Historian, Linguist
Native in: English 
Works in: French to English, English to French, German to English, and 1 more.
pull apart
I think that more context would help, but they might be trying to "pull apart" or "lay into" the idea.
+1
1 hr
Marco Solinas
Native in English
Accurate, professional translations
Native in: English , Italian
Works in: Italian to English, French to English
to stretch it a bit
I am basing my answer on the expression "tirer sur la ficelle", which means "to exaggerate"(see https://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/tirer_sur_la_ficelle ). However, I am not sure that the two expressions are interchangeable.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
philgoddard
: Your reference also says "tirer sur la corde". I think this must be the meaning.
40 mins
|
12 hrs
Anastasia Kalantzi
Greece
Greece
Specializes in field
Greece
EnFrGreek Medical/Mechanical/Legal
Native in: Greek (Variant: Modern) , Greek (Ancient) (Variants: Aeolic, Koine (common), Doric, Homeric, Ionic)
Works in: French to Greek, Greek to French, English to Greek, and 5 more.
French term (edited):
Si on tire grossièrement le fil
If one gives the narrative thread in broad terms
The obvious is often right in front of us, and we try to see through the lines or the words something well-hidden which basically does not exist at all, and the meaning is simple without any verbal or idiomatic expressions. My meaning is to take each word's meaning one by one and combine it.
Since the context of the question suggests that this is about a very rough and general comparison between two government regimes, I took the more obvious meaning of ''fil'', which in this case is ''fil narrative'': narrative thread. So the rest is simple and translatable, at least for me.
Since the context of the question suggests that this is about a very rough and general comparison between two government regimes, I took the more obvious meaning of ''fil'', which in this case is ''fil narrative'': narrative thread. So the rest is simple and translatable, at least for me.
Reference:
Discussion
Whatever about that, sometimes a basic but great technique is "Fill in the gaps", like missing word stuff in school, and "To stretch the point..."/"Very broadly speaking..." fits just fine here.