French term
Pas un chat
Extrait :
"Je n’ai aucune idée de ma position. Ces collines sans horizons ne livrent aucun secret, et leur haleine se fait glacée à mesure que le soleil dégringole. PAS UN CHAT... même si CE NE SONT PAS LES CHATS que je crains. Comme jailli de ma peur, un chien de berger grec apparait soudain, surplombant le talus, à vingt mètres à peine de moi"
Non-PRO (1): Yvonne Gallagher
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Proposed translations
Not a soul to be seen, not a cat's chance in hell of anyone appearing ... although it's not cats ...
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Note added at 2 hrs (2020-06-03 11:04:39 GMT)
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Glad you like it. Strictly speaking, 'not a cat in hell's chance' is the usual phrase: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/not-have...
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/not-a-c...
So you could change it to 'Not a soul to be seen, not a cat in hell's chance of anyone appearing ... although it's not cats ...
I like it. But is "a cat's chance in hell" an actual English phrase? |
agree |
philgoddard
: Good idea. I think "cat in hell's chance" flows better.
2 hrs
|
neutral |
ormiston
: The wee problem will be tying this in with the dog and the writer's anxiety. Actually you have introduced the idea...
3 hrs
|
agree |
Yvonne Gallagher
: "not a cat in hell's chance of anyone appearing" is over-interpretation surely?
3 hrs
|
agree |
Chris Pr
: Not a soul to be seen...
6 hrs
|
agree |
EirTranslations
7 hrs
|
agree |
SafeTex
: Nice but maybe "not a soul in sight"?
8 hrs
|
agree |
Rocsana Guignaudeau
10 hrs
|
agree |
MoiraB
: cat in hell's chance. I don't think it's over-interpretation, as it seems pretty key to get the cat/dog contrast in there.
22 hrs
|
Thanks - that's what I thought.
|
|
agree |
James A. Walsh
23 hrs
|
agree |
Rebecca Reddin (X)
1 day 4 hrs
|
agree |
Carolyn Brice
1 day 7 hrs
|
agree |
RBell01
3 days 5 hrs
|
I was as nervous as a cat on hot bricks
disagree |
Tony M
: A quite different metaphor, not at all appropriate here, and an awfuly clumsy way to try and shoe-horn it in.
18 mins
|
Well, that's me told :-) I *did* point out it's a different idea, but unfortunately it's not always possible to find the same image.
|
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disagree |
AllegroTrans
: Much "too different" an idea
12 hrs
|
Possibly, but it does tie in with another element in the text.
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neutral |
Ben Gaia
: Yep. That's you told.
2 days 9 hrs
|
Not (even) a cat in sight
agree |
Melanie Kathan
: Nice and simple. Without the following sentence, I would go with "not a soul in sight," so this works best to me.
1 hr
|
thanks
|
|
agree |
Yvonne Gallagher
: don't see what the problem is with this?//prefer "to be seen" https://books.google.ie/books?id=-9owDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT133&lpg=P...
2 hrs
|
thanks
|
|
neutral |
philgoddard
: I don't think this works, because a cat is just an arbitrary object, not commonly found in the wilds of nowhere. They might just as well say computer or swimming pool.
3 hrs
|
well yes but that's what he says, maybe he's disorientated or having hallucinations....
|
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neutral |
MoiraB
: agree with Phil. Talking about not seeing a cat is so random in English, whereas it's a well-known phrase in French.
20 hrs
|
don't you think the whole of this monologue is of a rambling nature?
|
|
agree |
Eliza Hall
: Something like this is the best possible under the circumstances.
1 day 9 hrs
|
thanks
|
Cat steps
PAS UN CHAT... même si CE NE SONT PAS LES CHATS que je crains. = "Cat steps, although it is not cat steps I fear."
Pas de chat
Step of (the) cat
neutral |
AllegroTrans
: the text does not say "pas de chat" so why make up a non-existent scenario?
4 hrs
|
Discussion
A challenge indeed.