Rêve et boit de l'eau

English translation: A promise that is unlikely to happen/far from reach (but not impossible)

20:45 Jan 9, 2021
French to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Idioms / Maxims / Sayings / West Africa
French term or phrase: Rêve et boit de l'eau
A young man tells a young woman about all the luxuries he'll shower her with when he makes his millions (he's unlikely to; and she's not that into him): she says
"Rêve et boit de l'eau" West African (possibly Muslim) context.
Is it an expression? Is it more
"Dream on buddy, ain't gonna happen!"
or "If only!" (like, if wishes were horses then beggars would ride, or similar)
or "From your mouth to God's ear" I heard that drinking water in a dream in Islamic culture is a presager of good fortune.
TIA!
Margaret Morrison
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:53
English translation:A promise that is unlikely to happen/far from reach (but not impossible)
Explanation:
She's almost sure that he won't get rich, and therefore she won't get all the luxuries.
I've given you the meaning, you can replace that with whatever proverb that you know and which means the same.
There is another Arabic proverb which goes like "you can name the baby when it's born"

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Note added at 6 days (2021-01-16 13:00:07 GMT) Post-grading
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Nice to be of some help, although my participation is missing the exact expression you're looking for.
Selected response from:

Youssef Chabat
Morocco
Local time: 13:53
Grading comment
Explains the meaning, thank you, tho nearest English saying is probably culturally inappropriate.
2 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3A promise that is unlikely to happen/far from reach (but not impossible)
Youssef Chabat
2"Dream on, or when Allah sends you a sign"
Conor McAuley


Discussion entries: 17





  

Answers


15 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5
Rêve et boit de l\\\'eau
"Dream on, or when Allah sends you a sign"


Explanation:
Depends entirely what the tone is.

Using the above, you can hedge your bets a bit.

Ref. Andrzej's first discussion entry. The expression may have evolved over time (ref. Emmanuella).

You also need to be culturally sensitive.

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Note added at 16 hrs (2021-01-10 13:39:12 GMT)
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If you decide on a sarcastic tone:

"In your dreams"

"In your dreams, man"

Almost "go take a hike" maybe.



Conor McAuley
France
Local time: 14:53
Does not meet criteria
Native speaker of: English
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1 day 22 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
A promise that is unlikely to happen/far from reach (but not impossible)


Explanation:
She's almost sure that he won't get rich, and therefore she won't get all the luxuries.
I've given you the meaning, you can replace that with whatever proverb that you know and which means the same.
There is another Arabic proverb which goes like "you can name the baby when it's born"

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 days (2021-01-16 13:00:07 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Nice to be of some help, although my participation is missing the exact expression you're looking for.

Youssef Chabat
Morocco
Local time: 13:53
Meets criteria
Native speaker of: Native in ArabicArabic
PRO pts in category: 2
Grading comment
Explains the meaning, thank you, tho nearest English saying is probably culturally inappropriate.
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



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