Aug 9, 2012 18:37
11 yrs ago
2 viewers *
French term

filer le parfait bonheur

Non-PRO French to English Social Sciences Idioms / Maxims / Sayings Horse Racing
Quoiqu’il en soit, XXXX semble filer le parfait bonheur non seul sur le plan familial mais aussi dans le trot et amble montrêalais.





I'm guessing "Living the perfect life"...I don't know how else to phrase this one.

Thanks in advance.

Discussion

Wolf Draeger Aug 10, 2012:
OK; and does the text indicate if his horses are doing well, below/above expectations? Does he have reason to be feeling good, or does he appear to be happy/successful, but without a clear or obvious reason (projecting a certain image, maybe, or staying positive, or knows something no one else does)?

I understand the literal meaning of the expression; I'm just trying to get a grip on what the writer means by it, especially in regard to your other post (tirer l'épingle), which seemed to suggest the horses are not winning a whole lot of races and so might not inspire a overdue amount of confidence.
Hélène Curtis (asker) Aug 10, 2012:
@Wolf XXXX is a horse trainer
Wolf Draeger Aug 10, 2012:
Context, please Hi Hélène, who or what is XXXX; what is the wider context here?

Proposed translations

+2
17 mins
Selected

everything seems to be going his way/living the life of his dreams

he's as happy as a sandboy

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 22 mins (2012-08-09 18:59:58 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

riding the crest of the wave
Peer comment(s):

agree Nikki Scott-Despaigne : seems to be going his/her way
2 hrs
agree cc in nyc : everything seems to be going his/her way
4 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you "everything seems to be going his way" fits with the rest of the article. "
17 mins

to be walking on air

Just another suggestion. I don't think you can find an idiom that could literally translate the "filer le parfait bonheur" expression.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 18 mins (2012-08-09 18:56:50 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

http://fr.bab.la/dictionnaire/anglais-francais/be-walking-on...
Something went wrong...
43 mins

living the life of Reilly

another suggestion

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 45 mins (2012-08-09 19:23:25 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Where does the saying, "Living the life of Riley" come from ...
I found two different origins for that expression: Meaning: An easy and pleasant life. Origin. The phrase originated with the Irish/American soldiers in the US Army ...
askville.amazon.com/Living-life-Riley/AnswerViewer.do?... - Cached
More results from askville.amazon.com »
Something went wrong...
+2
2 hrs

XXX seems that he/she couldn't be happier

Hello,

My try...


I hope this helps.
Peer comment(s):

agree Nikki Scott-Despaigne : Like the simplicity of this one.
32 mins
Thank you, Nikki! I appreciate it.
agree Wolf Draeger : Or "X seemingly couldn't be happier...".
1 day 1 hr
Thank you, Wolf! I appreciate it.
Something went wrong...
2 mins

be on cloud nine

Very GB expression which may not work for the target reader (where?) nor in context. A low confidence rating therefore.


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2012-08-09 21:21:41 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

New suggestion : "is as happy as happy can be"
Peer comment(s):

neutral MatthewLaSon : We say this all the time in the US/Canada.
1 hr
I'm thinking this may be a little OTT now.
neutral writeaway : with Matthew. definitely not just a UK expression
9 hrs
Something went wrong...
+1
23 hrs

(appears to have found) true happiness

The FR is a bit hyperbolic, and may be derived from filer le parfait amour. A simple means of putting across the writer's intention in EN.

"Horse training" could be a substitute for trotting and pacing.
Example sentence:

...X appears to have found true happiness, not only in his family, but also in the world of trotting and pacing.

Peer comment(s):

agree Daryo : this seems to me to be the nearer to the source text
1 hr
Thanks Daryo.
Something went wrong...

Reference comments

21 hrs
Reference:

Context

As per Asker, in case anyone finds it useful :-) From a community harness racing (horses) publication, 1979.


Pour la majorité des amateurs de courses à Montréal, le nom des conducteurs et leur petite histoire personnelle dans le trot et amble local est un fait connu ou presque. Mais lorsque vient le temps de parler de certains entraîneurs, on est beaucoup plus profane et c’est normal puisque beaucoup d’entre eux travaillent dans l’ombre.

C’est le cas par exemple de X...qui a fait depuis belle lurette des courses sous harnais son gagne-pain favori.

Pour X, les courses sous harnais et l’entraînement des chevaux sont devenus une histoire de famille. Marié et père de trois admirables filles... qui adorent toutes les trois le métier de le père, X se trouve présentement à la tête d’une écurie de sept chevaux qui sont bien connus du public et qui tirent passablement bien leur épingle du jeu. II s’agit de A, B, C, D, E & F, de même que G, une récente acquisition.

Quoiqu’il en soit, X semble filer le parfait bonheur non seul sur le plan familial mais aussi dans le trot et amble montrêalais. II possède de bons associés en Mr et Mme Y...
Something went wrong...
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search