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pantouflage/pantoufle
appartenance (territoriale)
Jun 3, 2020 08:53
3 yrs ago
90 viewers *
French term

Pas un chat

French to English Art/Literary Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Help! Here there is a play on words with the French expression "pas un chat" (not a soul?). This is the story of someone lost in the mountains, who fears dogs, and therefore the writer plays with this expression, implying that what he fears is dogs, not cats. If someone finds me a pun that can transcribe this into English, it would be great! It's a real challenge...

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"
Proposed translations (English)
3 +11 Not a soul to be seen, not a cat's chance in hell of anyone appearing ... although it's not cats ...
3 +3 Not (even) a cat in sight
4 Cat steps
3 -2 I was as nervous as a cat on hot bricks
Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

Non-PRO (1): Yvonne Gallagher

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Discussion

Danielle Coleman Jun 5, 2020:
Keep the cat! I think you would lose the subtle humour of the author's text if you lost the cat entirely. I like the author's set-up: We have [literally] not a cat - although it's not cats I'm afraid of, followed by the inevitable appearance of a frightening dog. If we lost the cat and went straight to a dog metaphor, we would lose this opposition, which I think would be a shame.
MoiraB Jun 5, 2020:
@ Sophie You say "it seems the author only used the cat phrase because there's no equivalent dog phrase". I don't agree. I think the author is simply using language in a playful way for humorous effect.
Sophie Cherel Jun 5, 2020:
keep the dog, throw out the cat I like Ormiston's suggestion: you can actually totally lose the cat, in my opinion, as it seems the author only used the cat phrase because there's no equivalent dog phrase.
ormiston Jun 3, 2020:
Register aside, here's one metaphor... Hardly a dog day afternoon, thankfully, as dogs are my pet hate. But then suddenly, as if sensing my fear...

A challenge indeed.

Proposed translations

+11
23 mins
Selected

Not a soul to be seen, not a cat's chance in hell of anyone appearing ... although it's not cats ...

A suggestion to get the ball rolling. I also though of using 'scaredy-cat' but I don't think the register is correct, looking at the extract you've posted.

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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 ...
Note from asker:
I like it. But is "a cat's chance in hell" an actual English phrase?
Peer comment(s):
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
1 day 4 hrs
agree Carolyn Brice
1 day 7 hrs
agree RBell01
3 days 5 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks Danielle! That was challenging "
-2
55 mins

I was as nervous as a cat on hot bricks

Or: I was as nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof. Or (for either): I was like a cat.... Not the same idea but I took my cue from the fact he's afraid.
Peer comment(s):
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.
disagree AllegroTrans : Much "too different" an idea
12 hrs
Possibly, but it does tie in with another element in the text.
neutral Ben Gaia : Yep. That's you told.
2 days 9 hrs
Something went wrong...
+3
1 hr

Not (even) a cat in sight

That's all I can make of it
Peer comment(s):
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....
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
Something went wrong...
1 day 23 hrs

Cat steps

If it is a play on words, I am going to refer to the Ballet phrase "pas de chat", which is "step of the cat" or "cat step".

PAS UN CHAT... même si CE NE SONT PAS LES CHATS que je crains. = "Cat steps, although it is not cat steps I fear."
Example sentence:

Pas de chat

Step of (the) cat

Peer comment(s):
neutral AllegroTrans : the text does not say "pas de chat" so why make up a non-existent scenario?
4 hrs
Something went wrong...
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