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van
May 15, 2020 18:37
3 yrs ago
55 viewers *
French term

travaillant comme dix

French to English Other Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Sa conjointe, travaillante comme dix, perfectionniste, connait son affaire, gestion de la main-d'œuvre.

I understand that she is a very hard worker. Works as hard as ten people?

Looking for a better equivalent expression in English but I'm coming up short.
Proposed translations (English)
3 +2 tireless/indefatigable | diligent/industrious [worker]
3 +8 work like a Trojan
5 +4 Work your fingers to the bone
4 working like crazy/a horse
4 doing the work of ten
3 works as is she has the stamina of 10 people,..
4 -2 Working like ten
References
Travaillant(e) comme dix

Discussion

SafeTex May 17, 2020:
@AllegroTrans and all I agree with that. I thought the question was probably for a literary work of some sort at the start.
AllegroTrans May 16, 2020:
@All Now that asker has told us this is in a loan application, it seems clear that none of the "hyperbole" (or even everyday) expressions are appropriate and all we need is a neutral term to express the notion that this person works hard.
Barbara Cochran, MFA May 16, 2020:
Other Things Go Into It, Other Contexts Such as the cultural and historical context in which the translator has carried out her/his life. That is why there is such a diversity among individual translators when it comes to the intepretation of cetain words and phrases in a source text.
Barbara Cochran, MFA May 15, 2020:
Hyperbolic Description Is Better, IMO... ...since she, alone, seems to be doing the equivalent of work that is usually only produced by "10" (more of less) people.
Wolf Draeger May 15, 2020:
btw I'd avoid "like a horse" which might prompt unintended smirks or sniggers in the farming context...
Wolf Draeger May 15, 2020:
Canadian French? It seems to me travaillant/travaillante here means worker rather than working, and a quick online search suggests travaillant comme dix is a slang Quebecois expression that simply means hard worker.

Not extremely hard or to exhaustion, mind you, so maybe a simile like diligent or industrious is best to avoid repetition but not exaggerate.
Barbara Cochran, MFA May 15, 2020:
Dynamite Worker... ...if you want a rendition that expresses how dynamic she is.
Laura Molinari (asker) May 15, 2020:
It's an assessment for a loan application. As part of that, they assess the business and the people who run it. It's a farming business. Earlier they describe the husband as 'travaillant', which I said he was 'hardworking'. It's clear she's also an asset to the business and also works very hard. But don't want to just say "works very hard". I think "works like a horse" is the best so far. "works her fingers to the bone" to me implies that she is worn out, overworked, etc.
Wolf Draeger May 15, 2020:
Context @Asker, could you give us some context and tell us more about the text? For one thing, it's not clear from the sentence and travaillante whether the person works very hard or is very good at her job ("worth ten workers").

Proposed translations

+2
19 hrs
Selected

tireless/indefatigable | diligent/industrious [worker]

I don't think hyperbole or overexaggeration is appropriate for a loan application assessment, so maybe best to keep it plain.

I'm not at all sure, but I think this is a Canadian French/Quebecois expression that, whatever its origins, has come to mean someone who works hard to make an honest living, but not necessairily beyond measure. A salt of the earth type, diligent, tireless, exemplary.

As usual we need more context and background, and in this case we need to better understand the meaning and usage of what appears to be a set expression in its cultural and linguistic context.

If you want or need to exaggerate a little, you could say works nonstop, day and night, round the clock or 24/7, but again I'd be wary of that in a document that probably requires a more formal tone.
Peer comment(s):
agree AllegroTrans : This is definitely the right way to go now that we know this term is in a loan application assessment
33 mins
Ta!
agree Yvonne Gallagher
1 hr
Ta!
Something went wrong...
3 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "This was a really hard one to choose where to award points. Many great suggestions, just most not the right fit for the context. Thank you all!"
-2
6 mins

Working like ten

suggetion
Peer comment(s):
disagree AllegroTrans : Not an English expression
1 hr
disagree Tony M : Not idiomatic in EN; in certain contexts, "does the work of ten men" — but that would not be appropriate here.
2 hrs
Something went wrong...
+8
8 mins

work like a Trojan

Hello
If you want to drop the comparison with ten people and replace it with an expression, other than "works his arse off", here is one.
I'm sure other people will come up with other expressions.
Reference:

https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/work-like-a-trojan

Peer comment(s):
agree Jennifer White
33 mins
thanks
agree AllegroTrans : Yes, best not to try to incorporate ten and to use an everyday English expression
1 hr
thanks
agree Reuben Wright
2 hrs
thanks
agree Tony M : There was a time when we'd have said "working like a n***er", but clearly that is no longer acceptable (if indeed it ever was!)
2 hrs
If you said that in the Swahili to English group, you would already be banned :)
agree ormiston
2 hrs
thanks
agree katsy
15 hrs
Thanks Katsy
agree Daryo
17 hrs
Thanks Daryo.
agree Victoria Britten : "WorkS like..."
17 hrs
Thanks Victoria
Something went wrong...
+4
9 mins

Work your fingers to the bone

This is one of the renowned idiom in English to say she/he works very hard
Peer comment(s):
agree EirTranslations
10 mins
agree Yolanda Broad
1 hr
agree Reuben Wright
2 hrs
neutral Tony M : I don't sense this fits the context here; it usually relates to a person working incredibly hard, possibly without achieving the hoped-for results; a downbeat connotation that I don't think fits here.
2 hrs
neutral ormiston : Nice, but perhaps accentuates the suffering involved!
2 hrs
agree Paulina Sobelman
4 hrs
neutral Victoria Britten : I agree with Tony: also, this is used more to describe the way someone works in a given situation than their capacity for work.
17 hrs
neutral AllegroTrans : This really implies that she wears herself out whereas I think the intention is to simply say that she works hard
1 day 22 hrs
neutral Yvonne Gallagher : too negative
2 days 18 hrs
Something went wrong...
1 hr

works as is she has the stamina of 10 people,..

...all rolled into one.
Peer comment(s):
neutral ormiston : You mean 'if '?
45 mins
Yes, of course.
neutral Tony M : Apart from the typo, this is dreadfully wordy, clumsy, and frankly clunky, and while over-translating on the one hand, errs on the side of being way too literal on the other. / Big LOL :-)
59 mins
Not nearly as "wordy, clumsy, and frankly clunky", as your comment, with your typo "had).
neutral Daryo : Sounds more like a long-winded explanation
13 hrs
Nothing wrong with that. According to translation theory, explanation is just one of the ways a translator can choose to translate.
Something went wrong...
2 hrs

working like crazy/a horse

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/like-...

work-like-a-horse
Verb
(simile) To work very hard; toil
Peer comment(s):
neutral Tony M : 'working like crazy' tends to suggest frenetic activity, while 'working like a horse' suggests almost superhuman strength — neither of which seems to me to quite fit the context here.
22 mins
travaillant comme DIX = one person producing the result of ten people. If this is not working like a horse, what is?
neutral AllegroTrans : Now that we know it's simply an assessment, this is the wrong register
1 day 20 hrs
Something went wrong...
2 hrs

doing the work of ten

I don't see a need to find other ways of expressing it when a literal translation works.

To Ebenezer Elliott, the Corn Law Rhymer, Cobden was “the man of men, doing the work of ten."
http://www.historytoday.com/archive/cobden-and-bright

But at other times, I'm full steam pumping, idea generating and feel I'm doing the work of ten.
http://medium.com/betterism/12-life-hacks-to-be-more-product...
Peer comment(s):
neutral Victoria Britten : For me, this would be more appropriate to describe the amount of work a person is doing in a particular situation, whereas here it's about the amount she's capable of doing.
14 hrs
No it's not. It says "travaillant", not "capable de travailler".
Something went wrong...

Reference comments

4 hrs
Reference:

Travaillant(e) comme dix

Not sure but I suspect this is a Quebecois expression that just means "hard worker". Some examples of its use from Canadian websites:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/genevievegingras/en
“Le dicton qui dit que « Nul n’est irremplaçable», ne s’applique tout simplement pas à Geneviève. [...] Travaillante comme dix, perfectionniste et mue d’une énergique débordante, Geneviève est brillante, efficace, fiable [...]”

https://servicesfunerairesfournier.ca/tribute/details/56/Ren...
“[...] Camionneur et travaillant comme dix, il a été derrière le volant de son camion jusqu'à l'âge vénérable de 75 ans. [...]”

https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2018/08/10/gretzky--tout-d...
“Parce qu’un journaliste fouineur et travaillant comme dix avait obtenu l’impensable scoop avant le reste de l’Amérique.”

Wiktionary traces travaillant as a noun to Louisiana French, so it's plausible this usage exists in Canadian French, too.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 hrs (2020-05-15 23:32:05 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Some more examples of travaillant as a noun in Canadian French:
http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/fichier/citations.asp?session=4854...
Reference:

http://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/travaillant

Peer comments on this reference comment:
agree Daryo : .. Good starting point!
10 hrs
Something went wrong...
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