Oct 19, 2011 13:31
12 yrs ago
2 viewers *
French term
United States
Laudable Lady Linguist
Native in: English 
Works in: Spanish to English, French to English, English to Spanish, and 3 more.
yeux de merlan frit
French to English
Art/Literary
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Romance Novel
Contexte:
"Une main sur l'oreille gauche, il héla le barman et lui parla. L'homme roula des **yeux de merlan frit,** tout en lui faisant signe qu'il ne l'avait pas entendu."
Merci Beaucoup,
Barbara
"Une main sur l'oreille gauche, il héla le barman et lui parla. L'homme roula des **yeux de merlan frit,** tout en lui faisant signe qu'il ne l'avait pas entendu."
Merci Beaucoup,
Barbara
Proposed translations
(English)
References
| This should help |
Sharon Polson
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Proposed translations
+8
45 mins
French term (edited):
roula des yeux de merlan frit
Selected
rolled his eyes to the ceiling
That's what I would use here. ;-)
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Sandra Petch
: Absolutely. Fish or sheep aren't appropriate here. The barman is simply showing his complete disinterest.
4 mins
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...possibly feigning listening more intently. Thank you.
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| agree |
Sharon Polson
13 mins
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Thank you.
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| agree |
polyglot45
: or just "rolling his eyes"
14 mins
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Thank you. Yes, that might be enough.
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| agree |
Marie Martin
20 mins
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Thank you.
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| agree |
Evans (X)
: my first thought was just "rolling his eyes" tout court.
31 mins
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Indeed... it works just like that, all alone. Thank you.
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| agree |
philgoddard
: From the additional context that Barbara has given, I would say 'rolled his eyes apologetically' or something like that.
3 hrs
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It's possible; I don't think we know exactly why he roula des yeux de merlan frit. Thank you.
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| agree |
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
: "rolled his eyes" is fine and if anything is added, then" to the ceiling" is good. The idea is that there are just the whites of his eyes. Being startled, etc has nothing to do with it. And anyone who has ever fried a whiting can well imagine!
6 hrs
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Thank you. I agree with all you say.
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| agree |
Lisa Maldonado
: I think this works the best, avoiding sheepishness, moon eyes etc. because it seems he is just trying to hear better
23 hrs
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Thank you. That's indeed my thought.
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
9 mins
Susana Magnani
Argentina
Argentina
Native in English
Specializes in field
Argentina
Over 30 years' experience.
Native in: Spanish 
, English
Works in: Spanish to English, English to Spanish, French to English, and 3 more.
sheepy eyes / sheepish eyes / sheepily
you would have to adjust the expression to the rest of your translation, but I think this might help. good luck!
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Note added at 11 mins (2011-10-19 13:42:38 GMT)
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sorry, meant "sheepishly"
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Note added at 11 mins (2011-10-19 13:42:38 GMT)
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sorry, meant "sheepishly"
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
philgoddard
: Are you confusing merlan with mouton?
48 mins
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no, phil. i find that both phrases mean that there is a kind of "stupid" air to them. however, i cannot vouch that this is right, since we don't know how the story is developing (or what the future holds, for that matter) :)
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| neutral |
cc in nyc
: "sheepishly" usually conveys embarrassment http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sheepishly
1 hr
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you're right cc, i had not considered that very important part of the meaning. thank you!
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-1
14 mins
Nicolas Roussel
Philippines
Philippines
Native in French
Philippines
English to French Technical Translation
Native in: French (Variants: Canadian, Standard-France)
Works in: English to French
eyes wide open / wide opened eyes
"yeux de merlan frit" is a typical expression meaning the person is astouned
Peer comment(s):
| disagree |
Marie Martin
: no. not astouned, more like annoyed
50 mins
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| neutral |
cc in nyc
: just for the record, "astounded"
1 hr
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-2
25 mins
googly eyes
For instance. Altough I don't know whether the expression in used in the UK
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
isabellefreeman
12 mins
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| disagree |
Sandra Petch
: I'm pretty sure this (and "goo goo eyes") means to look adoringly at someone.
23 mins
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| neutral |
cc in nyc
: googly eyes [3804 up, 854 down] Sept 8, 2011 Urban Word of the Day: when a person sees someone they like a lot http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=googly eyes
Also, wiggly eyes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Googly_eyes
2 hrs
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| disagree |
emiledgar
: nothing like that
3 hrs
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| disagree |
bigmimi
: it means looking rather stupid or surprised!
1 day 8 hrs
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27 mins
Lara Barnett
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
Specializes in field
United Kingdom
www.lingocraft.co.uk
Native in: English (Variants: Irish, Singaporean, UK, South African, British, Scottish)
Works in: French to English, Italian to English, Romanian to English, and 2 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
42
startled eyes
I don't think we have a similar expression relating to fish or small animals that would translate effectively here. Therefore I would go for sonnetigni more descriptive.
-1
47 mins
making moon eyes at sb.
It may fit the context.
Yeux levés au ciel, de manière affectée, ridicule, ne laissant paraître que le blanc de l'œil. , as in Il affecte l’air distrait.
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Helen Shiner
: Generally denotes puppy love or similar.
5 hrs
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| disagree |
Lisa Maldonado
: Yes...making moon eyes means you have a crush on someone. Not good here.
23 hrs
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+1
1 hr
gape at somebody (to show one does not understand) see below
if it is to express love: to make sheep's eyes at somebody
ref: Harraps' dictionary
ref: Harraps' dictionary
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
cc in nyc
: it's possible too... but I think "he gaped at him" is a little too vague here... maybe "he gaped unknowingly"?
12 mins
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thanks
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| neutral |
Helen Shiner
: gape is what a mouth does, not eyes.
51 mins
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| neutral |
philgoddard
: I think this might be perfect - shame we don't have more context
2 hrs
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Thank you
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| agree |
John Detre
8 hrs
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Thank you
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3 hrs
his dead-fish eyeballs rolled into their sockets...
descriptif pr traduire l'image en FR
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
cc in nyc
: AMA c'est trop fort pour le contexte. Et même si l'homme faisait ainsi, je crois que l'on dirait plutôt "he rolled his eyes back [into his head]" comme le dit Matthew
40 mins
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3 hrs
rolled his eyes back into his head
Hello,
I think that gives a better idea of the French than just "rolling his eye" (to be sarcastic).
The idea here is that the person's eye are like that of "merlan frit", where you can only see the whites of their eyes (even though the eyes are out of socket).
See this great link for an explanation:
http://www.expressio.fr/expressions/rouler-des-yeux-de-merla...
I hope this helps.
I think that gives a better idea of the French than just "rolling his eye" (to be sarcastic).
The idea here is that the person's eye are like that of "merlan frit", where you can only see the whites of their eyes (even though the eyes are out of socket).
See this great link for an explanation:
http://www.expressio.fr/expressions/rouler-des-yeux-de-merla...
I hope this helps.
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Helen Shiner
: Sounds like some kind of creature from a horror movie!//Sorry, Matthew, but to my ears, in this context, it would sound exactly like a horror movie. But that's just my opinion.
2 hrs
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Not in this context it wouldn't. LOL. This is no horror film. This would be understand just like many of the other translations: utter exasperation. Have a nice evening.
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| neutral |
cc in nyc
: For me, this is a bit strong... "he rolled his eyes back," maybe OK so far... "into his head," uh-oh, sounds like he's dead or having a fit or at least passing out, at least to me. :-( But maybe I just have a weak stomach. :o
8 hrs
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Just maybe, cc in nyc! LOL. Bonne Journée!
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4 hrs
wide-eyed / eyes wide
the man, wide-eyed/eyes wide looked to the ceiling
The free dictionary describes wide-eyed as: Having the eyes completely opened, as in wonder. 2. Innocent; credulous. wide- eyed. adj. innocent or credulous.
The free dictionary describes wide-eyed as: Having the eyes completely opened, as in wonder. 2. Innocent; credulous. wide- eyed. adj. innocent or credulous.
Reference:
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
cc in nyc
: Why such wonderment? (And innocence, etc. won't do here.)
7 days
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+3
5 hrs
Kiwiland Bear
New Zealand
New Zealand
Works in field
New Zealand
Translation with excellence
Native in: Russian
Works in: Russian to English, English to Russian, French to English, and 3 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
16
rolled his eyes in exasperation
Cheating a little bit here since I offer this after the Barbara's latest clarification regarding context as well as Sharon's reference link (thanks for that Sharon).
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Rachel Fell
: I nearly mentioned "exasperation" when looking at this earlier
34 mins
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Thank you.
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| agree |
Helen Shiner
: Given the new context, this comes closest - exasperation or frustration.
56 mins
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Thank you. Yes, "frustration" sounds good too.
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| neutral |
cc in nyc
: It's possible... ;-)
6 hrs
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I can understand your being cautious... as I admitted from the start this depends, in large measure, on the addiitional context and links provided by others.
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| agree |
casper (X)
: Fits well
1 day 22 mins
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Thank you.
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Reference comments
9 mins
Sharon Polson
Native in English
Concise Fr/Eng Eng/Fr Translation
Native in: English
Works in: French to English, English to French
Reference:
This should help
......[ SIGNIFICATION ]
Avoir des regards énamourés et ridicules.
Avoir les yeux levés au ciel, de manière affectée, ridicule, ne laissant paraître que le blanc de l'œil.
Fixer avec étonnement, stupéfaction.
Avoir des regards énamourés et ridicules.
Avoir les yeux levés au ciel, de manière affectée, ridicule, ne laissant paraître que le blanc de l'œil.
Fixer avec étonnement, stupéfaction.
Peer comments on this reference comment:
| agree |
philgoddard
: Thank you!
20 mins
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Will be keeping the site for reference myself....
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| agree |
AntonOverby
: The discussion from WordReference seems to have people saying the same kinds of things regarding the different contexts for "les yeux de merlan frit".
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=456347
8 hrs
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Discussion
If you want, Barbara, to trade one idiomatic expression for another, I think "L'homme roula des yeux de merlan frit" may well be expressed by the English expression "The man had a blank expression/gave a blank stare".
Again, all depends on the context and if you're willing to trade idioms.
From what I can gather, "les yeux de merlan frit" has to do with the rolling of the eyes, yes.
If the reaction of the barman is malignant towards the man he cannot understand, then the phrase "rolled his eyes" + whatever adverb would seem like a good way to go.
If the reaction is benign, however, and "les yeux de merlan frit" are a reaction NOT out of annoyance and purely out of trying to cope with misunderstanding, I think the American English idiom "deer in the headlights" may work.
Depends on the context, really. It seems like there's a lot of variation even with native French speakers about this phrase. Check out the link I posted in the Reference Answers for a discussion forum on WordReference about the subject.
You could translate it simply as "rolled his eyes in..." followed by a noun which will depend on the context, such as "frustration" or "exasperation".