Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
pick at (a dish)
French translation:
chipoter dans son assiette
English term
pick at (a dish)
Context (from PG Wodehouse, "Quick Service"):
‘Some fancy cakes, please,’ said Sally.
‘Fancy cakes, right,’ said the ladylike waitress.
‘Couldn’t touch ‘em,’ moaned Mr Duff.
‘Oh, but you must,’ urged Sally, now they’re here. I can’t eat alone. Just one.’
‘Well, one,’ said Mr Duff weakly. ‘You like to hear what this is going to do to me? Just going to kill me, that’s all.’
He *picked feebly at* the gruesome lump of cream and pastry which had been placed before him; then, catching the waitress’s eye, attacked it with more animation.
See? He begins by fiddling at it with his fork before really tucking in. I thought of "attaqua mollement", but "attack" is used later on. Any ideas?
| 4 +5 | chipoter dans son assiette |
yael cohen (X)
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| 4 +2 | entamer du bout des lèvres |
veroperl
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| 3 | manger du bout des dents |
Melzie
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| 3 | ci-dessous |
marie-christine périé
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| 3 | tripoter... |
ormiston
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Dec 4, 2007 15:24: ormiston changed "Level" from "Non-PRO" to "PRO"
PRO (3): Melzie, marie-christine périé, ormiston
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Proposed translations
chipoter dans son assiette
see the link there are other synonyms but this one feels more appropriate
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Note added at 21 hrs (2007-12-05 08:07:49 GMT)
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I'd say : " il chipota dans son assiette la masse informe et repoussante du gâteau à la crème ..."
I think you need to add "assiette" in order to make sense ...
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Note added at 1 day20 hrs (2007-12-06 07:46:57 GMT) Post-grading
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merci beaucoup !!
| I like "chipoter", but how would you link it to the "lump"? "Il chipota la boule/masse/etc. repoussante ..." ? "Il chipota dans la ..."? |
| agree |
Sokratis VAVILIS
52 mins
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merci socratis !
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| agree |
sophieb
1 hr
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merci sophie
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| agree |
ormiston
: je vois dans l'anglais plus l'idée de jouer avec sa fourchette, sans le courage même de goûter
3 hrs
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suis d'accord. merci !
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| agree |
Lionel CHEVALIER
3 hrs
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merci lionel
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| agree |
jean-jacques alexandre
20 hrs
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merci jean jacques
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entamer du bout des lèvres
| agree |
Sokratis VAVILIS
27 mins
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merrci Socratis!
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| agree |
yael cohen (X)
: pas mal non plus ;-)
1 hr
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merci Yael, chipoter aussi est pas mal :)
|
manger du bout des dents
I wanated to put pittronnier though I have no idea of the spelling, any NFSs out there who know please help, because it also has the feel of fiddling with the food.
ci-dessous
qui va dans le même sens que vous (c'est aussi l'image qui me vient à l'esprit)
Mais n'est-ce pas trop interpréter que parler d'une fourchette ?
Autre idée : il préleva mollement/sans conviction une miette/bouchée...
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Note added at 2 heures (2007-12-04 13:17:52 GMT)
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en fait, l'ambiguïté n'est pas à mon avis couvert ou pas couvert, comment autrement attaquer un "gruesome lump of cream and pastry", mais s'agit-il d'une fourchette ou d'une cuillère ? Il y a plusieurs écoles !
| C'est mon intime conviction qu'il a une fourchette, mais c'est vrai, je lis entre les lignes! |
| Thanks for your elegant suggestions -- I'd have been happy to reward two answerers, but it's against the rules! |
Discussion