Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
élancements à la poitrine
English translation:
feel one\'s heart miss/skip a beat / stop
Added to glossary by
gkshenaut
Jan 12, 2013 19:45
11 yrs ago
1 viewer *
French term
Not a translator
élancements à la poitrine
Non-PRO
French to English
Art/Literary
Poetry & Literature
I do not think this refers to actual twinges of pain in the chest, it's more indicative of a certain state of anxiety.
Elle avait peur de ses sentiments, peur de se tromper. Si Jean l'abandonnait comme l'avait fait Gilles ? Elle avait des **élancements à la poitrine** quand la téléphone sonnait chez elle.
Maybe “was starting to have palpitations”? I've seen that used in similar circumstances, I believe, but to me, it sounds a bit old-fashioned.
On the other hand, perhaps some people do feel twinges of pain in their chests from romantic anxiety. What do you think? To me, “twinges of pain” or any kind of physical pain just makes her sound too much like a cardiac patient.
(This is from a fairly recent roman policier.)
Elle avait peur de ses sentiments, peur de se tromper. Si Jean l'abandonnait comme l'avait fait Gilles ? Elle avait des **élancements à la poitrine** quand la téléphone sonnait chez elle.
Maybe “was starting to have palpitations”? I've seen that used in similar circumstances, I believe, but to me, it sounds a bit old-fashioned.
On the other hand, perhaps some people do feel twinges of pain in their chests from romantic anxiety. What do you think? To me, “twinges of pain” or any kind of physical pain just makes her sound too much like a cardiac patient.
(This is from a fairly recent roman policier.)
Proposed translations
(English)
| 3 +3 | feel one's heart miss a beat / stop |
cc in nyc
|
| 3 | her stomach (would) flip / (she got) butterflies |
Wolf Draeger
|
Proposed translations
+3
19 mins
French term (edited):
avoir des élancements à la poitrine
Selected
feel one's heart miss a beat / stop
So, "she felt her heart miss a beat" or "she felt her heart stop." That's my try. ;-)
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Note added at 2 hrs (2013-01-12 22:15:02 GMT)
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"... skip a beat" is fine too. ;-)
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Note added at 2 hrs (2013-01-12 22:15:02 GMT)
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"... skip a beat" is fine too. ;-)
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Yes, I agree that that fits the context very well. Thanks."
9 hrs
Wolf Draeger
South Africa
South Africa
Native in English
Specializes in field
South Africa
Related KudoZ points
:
32
her stomach (would) flip / (she got) butterflies
Two for the price of one :-) the pain is both figurative and physical, but one usually experiences these sensations in the gut, so that's another option for you. Nothing wrong with hearts that skip beats, of course :-)
Example sentence:
Her stomach would flip (over) every time the telephone rang.
She got butterflies every time the telephone rang.
Note from asker:
| Thank you for the answer, I think butterflies in the stomach would also work. |
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