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écume de lard
redressement (here)
Oct 14, 2008 10:32
16 yrs ago
2 viewers *
French term

placard doré

French to English Bus/Financial Human Resources audit on social situation
Term used to describe the position of former plant managers while waiting for retirement.
I've thought of "sitting on a golden shelf" - other ideas welcome.
Proposed translations (English)
3 +2 well paid, cushy job
4 +1 prestigious sinecure
4 +1 relegated to cushy back-room jobs
3 +1 Twiddling their thumbs in their plush offices
3 (sitting on their hands and) waiting for their comfy pensions (to come along)
3 left to rot in his golden broom cupboard
3 golden closet
2 sitting out their days
References
reference
In support of Fabio's answer

Discussion

ormiston Oct 14, 2008:
is the term used with envy or pity ?

Proposed translations

+2
35 mins
Selected

well paid, cushy job

"Doré" is a reference to salary, not necessarily to surroundings. A "placard" is also a "dead-end job".
Peer comment(s):
agree lundy : "cushy" is the first word that came to me; I'm not even certain that you have to add "well paid" because there is an inference of this in the word "cushy". Basically someone getting paid for not doing a great deal
16 mins
neutral polyglot45 : my only reservation is that you lose the Peter Principle dimension
2 hrs
neutral ormiston : the relegated to the broom cupboard slant is missing (although you define it so well in your comment)
3 hrs
I did toy with 'well paid dead-end jobs'. Maybe "well paid, end of the road jobs...".
agree Julie Barber : I like your last suggestions to Ormiston! I agree that a combination of terms could work best
9 hrs
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks ! "
10 mins

sitting out their days

Not sure if this fits into the sentence.
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38 mins

(sitting on their hands and) waiting for their comfy pensions (to come along)

Another suggestion, with bits in brackets optional.
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+1
13 mins

Twiddling their thumbs in their plush offices

sitting out the end of their careers in luxury /conditions surroundings

no real English expression for this

Whiling away their time in luxury/comfort (twiddling their thumbs) until they can retire



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Note added at 2 hrs (2008-10-14 13:03:47 GMT)
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I admit I didn't cover all angles with this reply.
Let's add
FAT CATS, twiddling etc....
Peer comment(s):
agree Esther Lavedrine : Yes, this describes fits the "doré" part better.
24 mins
neutral lundy : I think by using "plush offices" you're moving the focus from the notion of their getting good salary for doing very little. I think the accent has to be on the job rather than the surroundings
40 mins
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+1
4 hrs

prestigious sinecure

A sinecure is the kind of job where all you have to do is to show up and collect your pay.
Peer comment(s):
agree Sheila Wilson :
4 hrs
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2 hrs

left to rot in his golden broom cupboard

I think this combines the idea of people still being paid their salaries although being practically ignored in the workplace, which seems to happen quite often in big French companies, in the hopes that the person concerned will get so frustrated and bored that he'll leave of his own accord, thus obviating the need for a golden handshake, dismissal hassles etc. I have no idea what the right term is in English but I doubt whether most of the suggestions encompass this whole idea. Maybe I'm wrong...

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Note added at 6 hrs (2008-10-14 17:10:42 GMT)
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I should add that I don't think it is necessary fun (cushy, prestigious, etc.) to have to flog into town through traffic every day to sit at your desk for 8 hours staring at the ceiling, no matter how good the salary is. I think this is why the system usually works and the person leaves of his/her own accord.
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7 hrs

golden closet

Evaluating the elite management system
The problem with the corporatisme that accompanies the elite educational system is that, in taking care of its own, the corps ensures that even the bad one gets a "placard doré", a golden closet

Reference:
http://books.google.co.in/books?id=C0kxrOXYMPQC&pg=PA423&lpg...
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+1
4 hrs

relegated to cushy back-room jobs

My stab at it !

" Working Life - [ Traduire cette page ]... Fitch paid $40 million in December 2005 to employees and job applicants who had ... white male sales force, with minorities relegated to back-room jobs. ...

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Note added at 8 hrs (2008-10-14 19:01:55 GMT)
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Final offering :
they are (gently?) relegated to the sidelines as they approach retirement
Peer comment(s):
agree Susan Gastaldi : What's wrong with relegated to the broom cupboard? Renders the idea, I should think
2 hrs
neutral Sheila Wilson : can relegated and cushy go together?
4 hrs
it's hard to combine the golden cage slant I agree but there is a contradiction in the term in French - i.e. ' a cushy YET dead-end sort of job' ...
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Reference comments

2 hrs
Reference:

reference

Emploi peu intéressant bien que correctement rémunéré d’un salarié (cadre supérieur notam.) auquel on retire tout pouvoir sans pour autant le licencier. Un placard doré.
http://immo-tns.info/6.html
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8 hrs
Reference:

In support of Fabio's answer

I don't want to post this separately as I think the important term is sinecure.

However, I think that "paper-pushing sinecure" really conjures up an image of someone sitting in a room just big enough for a desk, which is piled high with paper, and the employee is just moving the sheets around until he gets to retire.

East Bay Express | News | Tales from the Crypt of Politics
- [ Traduire cette page ]
Harris was put out to pasture with a paper-pushing sinecure in the state building that bears his name, while Brown got to cut ribbons on development deals ...
www.eastbayexpress.com/news/tales_from_the_crypt_of_politic...
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