Translation please

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Message de imightbewrong posté le 2004-08-17 17:13:47 (S | E | F | I)
Can anybody tell me the meaning of " to push one's luck" and "to saddle up"?
Thanks for your answers.

Réponse: re:Translation please de liz66, postée le 2004-08-17 17:18:04 (S | E)
to push one's luck: y aller fort, exagérer!

Réponse: re:Translation please de willy, postée le 2004-08-17 17:33:18 (S | E)
To saddle up : you do so before you ride a horse : ...

Réponse: re:Translation please de serena, postée le 2004-08-17 19:23:29 (S | E)
to push one's luck : forcer sa chance

to saddle up : seller son cheval

Réponse: re:Translation please de traviskidd, postée le 2004-08-17 21:30:32 (S | E)
To push/press one's luck = pousser trop loin sa chance. tester une fois trop sa chance après avoir eu des succès,, prendre trop de risques.

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I just saw serena's translation. I think I would trust hers

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Edité par traviskidd le 2004-08-17 21:32:49

Réponse: re:Translation please de imightbewrong, postée le 2004-08-17 21:37:32 (S | E)
So does "Don't push your luck" mean like "Ne prends pas trop la confiance" or "ne t'enflamme pas" and in that case, is it that familiar?

Réponse: re:Translation please de serena, postée le 2004-08-17 23:24:33 (S | E)
no, imm..... ;) , "to push one's luck" means " donner un coup de main à la chance.
for example, if you're given a chance ( une occasion ) to do something, and you seize it, and you succeed, then, you had pushed your luck.

Réponse: re:Translation please de traviskidd, postée le 2004-08-17 23:46:43 (S | E)
No serena ... imightbewrong is in fact not wrong but correct!!

"You're lucky that your salary is $40,000 per year. Don't push your luck by asking for $50,000!!!"

Réponse: re:Translation please de serena, postée le 2004-08-18 00:02:12 (S | E)
are you sure ?

I would rather say : the boss appreciates my work, I'm going to push my luck and ask for a rise."

But if we consider your definition, then you're right : To push/press one's luck = pousser trop loin sa chance. tester une fois trop sa chance après avoir eu des succès,, prendre trop de risques.

the one I gave is: forcer sa chance.

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Edité par serena le 2004-08-18 00:31:19

Réponse: re:Translation please de traviskidd, postée le 2004-08-18 01:47:50 (S | E)
ok. I trusted your translation because you know French, but I think this time you didn't really know the English! Your example is not really correct, although I will admit it does make a little sense. But in your case you're not really pushing/pressing your luck, you are just seizing and taking advantage of an opportunity, not to mention an opportunity
that you worked hard to create for yourself.

You worked for your boss's appreciation, you didn't get it by luck.
Therefore you're not "pushing your luck" in asking for a raise.

I don't know if there's a succinct way of conveying the notion of "to push one's luck" in French. Perhaps the ones that imightbewrong gave are the best. On the other hand, you seem quite satisfied with mine.

There was a game show that I loved as a child in the 80s, called "Press Your Luck". I don't think I could do it justice by trying to describe it, but if you're interested you can find information about it on the Internet. If you ever get a chance to watch it, though, I strongly recommend it!

I will just mention its most famous line (the one the contestants always said):

"BIG BUCKS, BIG BUCKS, NO WHAMMIES, AAAAAAAAANNNNNDDDD STOP!"

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Edité par traviskidd le 2004-08-18 02:00:57

Réponse: re:Translation please de liz66, postée le 2004-08-18 08:37:12 (S | E)
.. yes, I think there's a succinct way of conveying the notion "to push one's luck" in French:
he's pushing his luck = il exagère, il y va fort (familiar language)
("if someone pushes their luck, they take a risk and try to achieve more than is reasonable in a particular situation" from COLLINS COBUILD)

Réponse: re:Translation please de pj, postée le 2004-08-18 11:05:59 (S | E)
To push one's luck :
To keep on doing something even when one is aware that something might well go wrong.

Réponse: re:Translation please de serena, postée le 2004-08-18 11:28:36 (S | E)
hello
by making this mistake, we can now understand the real meaning of this expression. first, I gave the right one, and then I pushed my luck by explaining it more to mislead myself. "autant pour moi ! "

many thanks to have rescued me from my drowning.

I think I deserve a whammy ! ;)

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Edité par serena le 2004-08-18 17:57:28

Réponse: re:Translation please de imightbewrong, postée le 2004-08-18 12:54:31 (S | E)
Thanks everybody for your involvement on that question.I guess now I'll remember the meaning of "push ones luck" forever!
WHAT about "autant pour moi"? or "au temps pour moi"?
Is there any equivalent expression in english?

Réponse: re:Translation please de serena, postée le 2004-08-18 18:02:12 (S | E)
hello, immi.......
we'll both remember this expression forever !! ;)
about "autant pour moi", thanks for asking the others. if I knew it in english, I would say it instead of french. it'll also be a plus for me.

Réponse: re:Translation please de willy, postée le 2004-08-18 18:28:23 (S | E)
Autant pour moi = my mistake. (while we are about /at it : tant que nous y sommes/qu'on y est).

Réponse: re:Translation please de violettina, postée le 2004-08-18 21:01:06 (S | E)
hello willy

please, make a sentence with " puisqu'on y est" in english, I don't understand it very well.

Réponse: imightbewrong & serena de mariet, postée le 2004-08-18 21:27:30 (S | E)
Maintenant que vous avez eu toutes les explications à propos de 'to push one's luck', passons à son équivalent en français :
"Don't push your luck !" = "Ne tire pas trop sur la corde !" (Tu as déjà eu de la chance d'obtenir ça, ne risque pas de tout perdre en demandant encore plus.)

Réponse: re:Translation please de traviskidd, postée le 2004-08-18 22:00:30 (S | E)
Ah! This is the nice & succinct French equivalent I was wondering about. Thanks mariet!

Réponse: re:Translation please de willy, postée le 2004-08-18 22:02:04 (S | E)
Well, I meant that it was the right time to give Imightbewrong and Serena the English translation of the French expression as both of them had just said that they didn't know it.
While we were at it, .........

- We've been on holiday to Spain, Canada and lots of other countries.
- While we are at it (talking about holidays), have you ever been to Italy ?

Est-ce plus clair ?

Réponse: re:Translation please de serena, postée le 2004-08-18 23:39:42 (S | E)
thank you, willy

c'est clair et net !

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