Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
ils viendront te manger dans la main
English translation:
you'll have them eating out of your hand
Added to glossary by
Sheila Hardie
Aug 11, 2004 18:04
19 yrs ago
French term
'lui mangeait dans le mans"
French to English
Other
Government / Politics
Is this an expression of some sort? Does it mean he has everybody eating out of his hand? ?...
Proposed translations
(English)
3 +10 | lui mangeait dans ***la main*** - eating out of his hand... | Sheila Hardie |
4 | brown-nosing | Conor McAuley |
Proposed translations
+10
4 mins
French term (edited):
'lui mangeait dans le mans
Selected
lui mangeait dans ***la main*** - eating out of his hand...
'eating out of his hand'...
If the final part is 'la main' and not 'le mans'.
More context would be useful though.
HTH
Sheila
verbe intransitif (se nourrir) to eat; manger dans une assiette/dans un bol to eat from ou off a plate/out of a bowl; manger dans la main de qn lit to eat out of sb's hand; ***ils viendront te manger dans la main figuré you'll have them eating out of your hand***; manger à sa faim to eat one's fill; donner à manger à to feed [bébé, animal]; to give [sb] something to eat [pauvre]; donner or faire à manger à to cook for [famille]; je leur ai donné des légumes à manger I gave them some vegetables; manger froid (un plat refroidi) to eat [sth] cold [soupe, quiche]; (un repas froid) to have a cold meal; inviter qn à manger to invite sb for a meal; je vous invite à manger à midi let me take you to lunch; manger chinois/grec to have a Chinese/Greek meal; manger au restaurant to eat out; on mange mal ici the food is not good here; avoir fini de manger to have finished one's meal.
Oxford Superlex
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Note added at 9 mins (2004-08-11 18:13:32 GMT)
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ND 130: Pierre PELLETIER
... Mais je retrouvais, dans ce Portugal -et dans l\'Espagne voisine-, une Église qui
mangeait dans la main d\'un gouvernement de droite, presque fasciste, et une ...
pages.ca.inter.net/~csrm/nd130/pelletier.html - 14k - Còpia en memòria - Pàgines similars
If the final part is 'la main' and not 'le mans'.
More context would be useful though.
HTH
Sheila
verbe intransitif (se nourrir) to eat; manger dans une assiette/dans un bol to eat from ou off a plate/out of a bowl; manger dans la main de qn lit to eat out of sb's hand; ***ils viendront te manger dans la main figuré you'll have them eating out of your hand***; manger à sa faim to eat one's fill; donner à manger à to feed [bébé, animal]; to give [sb] something to eat [pauvre]; donner or faire à manger à to cook for [famille]; je leur ai donné des légumes à manger I gave them some vegetables; manger froid (un plat refroidi) to eat [sth] cold [soupe, quiche]; (un repas froid) to have a cold meal; inviter qn à manger to invite sb for a meal; je vous invite à manger à midi let me take you to lunch; manger chinois/grec to have a Chinese/Greek meal; manger au restaurant to eat out; on mange mal ici the food is not good here; avoir fini de manger to have finished one's meal.
Oxford Superlex
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 9 mins (2004-08-11 18:13:32 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
ND 130: Pierre PELLETIER
... Mais je retrouvais, dans ce Portugal -et dans l\'Espagne voisine-, une Église qui
mangeait dans la main d\'un gouvernement de droite, presque fasciste, et une ...
pages.ca.inter.net/~csrm/nd130/pelletier.html - 14k - Còpia en memòria - Pàgines similars
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Louise Dupont (X)
5 mins
|
thanks, Louise:-)
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agree |
GILLES MEUNIER
6 mins
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thanks, Gilles:-)
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agree |
zaphod
10 mins
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thanks, zaphod:-)
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agree |
Hebe Martorella
12 mins
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thanks, Hebe:-)
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agree |
translatol
14 mins
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thanks, translatol:-)
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agree |
Amy Grieve
15 mins
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thanks, Amy:-)
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agree |
Maurice Thibaux
: But be careful - it could be out of HER hand too, or even ITS! Cheers,
1 hr
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thanks, Maurice - of course it could be, I should have mentioned that - the problem is we really don't have enough context here to know , do we:-)
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agree |
Aisha Maniar
1 hr
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thanks, Aisha:-)
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agree |
ben baudoin
3 hrs
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agree |
Brian Gaffney
19 hrs
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
12 hrs
French term (edited):
'lui mangeait dans le mans
brown-nosing
A literal translation of this is fine, but the basic meaning is of a unbalanced relationship in terms of power, possibly unhealthily balanced in terms of power.
I would be tempted to translate as a**licking or brown-nosing (more in use in N. Am. than in European English) if you'll excuse the vulgarity.
See: www.bartleby.com/62/91/B0199100.html
See
http://www.google.fr/search?q="eating out of his hand"&ie=UT...
for examples of "eating out of his hand" which are many and varied in terms of the way the expression is used, and the strength and meaning of it.
You may need something stronger (as outlined above), depending on the all-important context.
The safe bet is to go literal, I suppose.
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Note added at 12 hrs 47 mins (2004-08-12 06:51:30 GMT)
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That Bartleby definition is really good, BTW, with similar expressions, some of them politer, which you may be able to use.
I find that a Roget\'s Thesaurus comes in handy too.
I would be tempted to translate as a**licking or brown-nosing (more in use in N. Am. than in European English) if you'll excuse the vulgarity.
See: www.bartleby.com/62/91/B0199100.html
See
http://www.google.fr/search?q="eating out of his hand"&ie=UT...
for examples of "eating out of his hand" which are many and varied in terms of the way the expression is used, and the strength and meaning of it.
You may need something stronger (as outlined above), depending on the all-important context.
The safe bet is to go literal, I suppose.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 12 hrs 47 mins (2004-08-12 06:51:30 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
That Bartleby definition is really good, BTW, with similar expressions, some of them politer, which you may be able to use.
I find that a Roget\'s Thesaurus comes in handy too.
Discussion