Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
un peu fada sur les bords
English translation:
a bit of an oddball
French term
United States
Laudable Lady Linguist
Native in: English 
Works in: Spanish to English, French to English, English to Spanish, and 3 more.
un peu fada sur les bords
"Un bon gars. Je l'ai connu tout minot. **Un peu fada sur les bords** aussi. Je ne sais pas si c'est à cause de son prénom (Olivier), il s'est mis dans la tête de relancer la production d'huile d'olive sur la domaine (familiale) et de la vendre. Il fera pas fortune avec ça.
Merci,
Barbara
Dec 24, 2011 16:35: writeaway changed "Field" from "Art/Literary" to "Other"
Dec 26, 2011 02:28: Susanna Garcia changed "Level" from "PRO" to "Non-PRO"
Dec 29, 2011 04:16: Barbara Cochran, MFA Created KOG entry
Non-PRO (3): Rob Grayson, Nikki Scott-Despaigne, Susanna Garcia
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Proposed translations
Native in: English , French
Works in: English to French, French to English, German to French, and 4 more.
slightly mad/a bit crazy/a bit of an oddball
| agree |
Tony M
36 mins
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| agree |
Jessica Noyes
: "oddball" works for the US, where the asker is located
45 mins
|
| agree |
kashew
: just a little bit crazy?
1 hr
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slightly bonkers// a bit of a fruitcake
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| agree |
Verginia Ophof
1 hr
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| agree |
writeaway
: lots of options in Fr-En dicitionaries. Not exactly a mystery term
1 hr
|
| agree |
NancyLynn
: oddball
7 hrs
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| agree |
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
: http://www.mediadico.com/dictionnaire/synonymes/fada/1
21 hrs
|
| agree |
Jean-Claude Gouin
: ... isn't playing with a full deck ... the light is on but there's nobody home ... his oars aren't touching the water ...
2 days 48 mins
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| agree |
AllegroTrans
2 days 20 hrs
|
Translation, Copy-Editing, Writing
Native in: French , English
Works in: English to French, French to English
a bit off his rocker
| agree |
Sheila Wilson
: http://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/fada
15 mins
|
| neutral |
Tony M
: I can't help thinking "of his rocker" is perhaps a bit too strong here? After all, 'fada' can me as little as 'a bit dotty'.
28 mins
|
| disagree |
AllegroTrans
: fada = simple d'esprit; "off his rocker" is much too strong here
3 days 3 hrs
|
inclined to be a bit hare-brained
I did think of 'dotty' too, but I don't think that fits well in the context here.
'A bit daft' might work too.
| agree |
B D Finch
: But not mad as a hatter! Merry Yuletide!
3 mins
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Quite! Thanks, Barbara! Compliments of the season to you!
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| agree |
Bourth (X)
: Daft.
1 day 1 hr
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Thanks, Alex! Hope you're enjoying the festive season, had hoped to call by, but am only here for a flying visit ;-(
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a little bit naive
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Note added at 2 heures (2011-12-24 16:10:45 GMT)
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I think even "simple-minded" is going too far. After all, it's only a very little touch of "fada".
slighty off-kilter
Psychologist, Court-certified legal
Native in: English 
Works in: French to English
a bit rough around the edges
Something or a person which is a little rough around the edges is not qutie finished, lacking in finesse, etc. THis may never the less fit in context :
http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/rough?region=us&rsk...
rough around the edges
having a few imperfections:
until we clean up and lay down the new carpet, it’s going to look a little rough around the edges
not refined:
Donnie is a bit rough around the edges, but she loves him
Discussion