Involved in skating by

French translation: se la couler douce / se la jouer discret

12:11 May 9, 2019
English to French translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature / Autobiographie - Navy Sea
English term or phrase: Involved in skating by
Bonjour,

je suis toujours sur l'autobiographie d'un ancien navy seals et il y une phrase que je ne comprends pas.
Voici le contexte et la paragraphe dans lequel se trouve l'expression :

One morning, about halfway through the school year, I milled into Spanish class and grabbed my workbook from a back cupboard. There was technique involved in skating by. You didn’t have to pay attention, but you did have to make it seem like you were, so I slumped into my seat, opened up my workbook, and fixed my gaze on the teacher who lectured from the front of the room.

Auriez-vous une petite idée svp ?
merci !!
Carine Paturel
France
Local time: 19:57
French translation:se la couler douce / se la jouer discret
Explanation:
je pense qu'un peu d'argot serait approprié ! Il veut garder un profile bas, ne pas faire trop d'efforts… !
Selected response from:

ormiston
Local time: 19:57
Grading comment
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +4se la couler douce / se la jouer discret
ormiston
4Flâner/lambiner
Samuel Clarisse
4 -1involved in "staying by"
Andrin.K. Max Vivien Kouame
3tirer au flanc, ça s'improvise pas
Ph_B (X)
Summary of reference entries provided
Elisabeth Richard

Discussion entries: 5





  

Answers


11 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +4
involved in skating by
se la couler douce / se la jouer discret


Explanation:
je pense qu'un peu d'argot serait approprié ! Il veut garder un profile bas, ne pas faire trop d'efforts… !

ormiston
Local time: 19:57
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Maximilien Petitjean: J'aime bien "se la couler douce".
3 mins

agree  Michael Confais (X)
4 hrs

agree  Eliza Hall
5 hrs

neutral  Ph_B (X): Ça traduit bien skating by, mais pour technique involved ?
17 hrs

agree  GILOU
17 hrs
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18 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
involved in skating by
involved in "staying by"


Explanation:
Bonjour,
selon le contexte de votre paragraphe, je pense que l'auteur fait allusion a la position qu'il adoptait, pendant le cours d'espagnol.

Andrin.K. Max Vivien Kouame
Cote D'ivoire
Local time: 18:57
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  B D Finch: No: a) that isn't what "skating by" means; b) "staying by" isn't correct English in this context.
1 day 2 hrs
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28 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
technique involved in skating by
tirer au flanc, ça s'improvise pas


Explanation:

Pour le plaisir...

La proposition de polyglot45 dans la discussion est excellente.

Ph_B (X)
France
Local time: 19:57
Native speaker of: French
PRO pts in category: 4
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
involved in skating by
Flâner/lambiner


Explanation:
Tout dépend du niveau de langue que vous voulez appliquer, mais "flâner" passerait plutôt bien dans un livre, autrement "lambiner" pour utiliser un argot qui reste plutôt joli à l'oeil et à l'oreille.

Samuel Clarisse
France
Local time: 19:57
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 8
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Reference comments


10 mins
Reference

Reference information:
Globalement cela veut dire ne rien faire, éviter de s'impliquer. Il y a un autre mot anglais moins argotique que celui-ci mais là tout de suite, je n'arrive pas à m'en souvenir.
Cette entrée de l'urban dictionary le décrit assez bien, mais j'avoue que j'ignorais que c'était un acronyme!


    https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Skate
Elisabeth Richard
France
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 4
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