https://www.proz.com/kudoz/french-to-english/art-literary/75128-le-ciel-a-du-descendre-pendant-la-nuit.html?
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Trachonitide et Tiberiade
pas être tassé
Aug 13, 2001 16:37
23 yrs ago
French term

le ciel a du descendre pendant la nuit

Non-PRO French to English Art/Literary
Il fait chaud en cette fin de septembre. Le ciel a du descendre pendant la nuit et depuis il ne bouge plus.
Proposed translations (English)
0 +1 The sky must have come down during the night
0 +1 Heavy Rain
0 +1 It felt like the sky had closed in overnight
0 +1 the mugginess settled in during the night...
0 the sky must have come down during the night
0 the sky must have descended during the night and has stayed like that ever since
0 My last word - I can hear you breathing a sigh of relief!
0 -1 the sky must have descended (dropped) during the night
0 -1 the sky must have fallen...
0 -1 Clouds must have descended during the night ...
0 -1 The night sky had vanished
0 -1 the clouds had gathered during the night
0 -1 Clouds must have gathered

Proposed translations

+1
3 hrs
Selected

The sky must have come down during the night

It's hot this end of september. The sky must have come down during the night and hasn't moved since.

Feels like this in Texas, too.
Peer comment(s):
agree roberhenri : This is of course metaphoric.
1 day 8 hrs
Something went wrong...
3 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you very much - it was the comparison to Texas that I liked the best - it really DOES feel like that!"
-1
1 min

the sky must have descended (dropped) during the night

The sky must have descended (dropped) during the night and it hasn't moved since.
Peer comment(s):
disagree Nikki Scott-Despaigne : Not dropped - makes me think of the Chcken Licken story - descended may work after all though!
16 hrs
Something went wrong...
+1
23 mins

Heavy Rain

Perhaps heavy rain during the night was the case since ciel may not move ?
Peer comment(s):
agree CLS Lexi-tech : Do you mean "the sky opened and it rained?" Good idea!
6 mins
agree annekneip (X) : ...it rained and it is stil raining
8 hrs
disagree Nikki Scott-Despaigne : Too great a departure from original meaning
15 hrs
Something went wrong...
-1
1 hr

the sky must have fallen...

during the night and it has not budged since...

I think the ref is to the oppressive heat, giving the feeling of an unmoving,stifling atmosphere...
There is no reason to assume any rainfall in this context..("il ne bouge plus")
Reference:

my opinion...

Peer comment(s):
disagree Nikki Scott-Despaigne : falling & dropping sound too physical, images of bits of sky falling down to planet earth
15 hrs
it is a poke at the chicken LITTLEstory...LITTLE not Licken..you watch too many commercials
Something went wrong...
-1
1 hr

Clouds must have descended during the night ...

This passage has the feel of an impending electrical storm, oppressive heat, etc.
Peer comment(s):
disagree Nikki Scott-Despaigne : I'm not mad about the idea of clouds on this one...
15 hrs
Something went wrong...
-1
1 hr

The night sky had vanished

It seems as though someone is outside, looking at the stars. Suddenly, the stars seem to disappear. It sounds poetic in this sense.
"The night sky had vanished and the darkness no longer moved." It would work.
Peer comment(s):
disagree Nikki Scott-Despaigne : the sky cannot go away altogether
14 hrs
It is in a metaphoric sense. This is noth literal. Ask any native English speaker!
Something went wrong...
2 hrs

the sky must have come down during the night

and has not budged since.


As i read it, it is no doubt referring to a terribly heavy atmosphere. Without the "has not budged since" bit, it could have been meaning that the heavens have opened, but the previous part also deals with heat and so on.
Something went wrong...
-1
8 hrs

the clouds had gathered during the night

and they've been there ever since
Peer comment(s):
disagree Nikki Scott-Despaigne : You cna have 100% cloud cover (whiteout effect) without seeing individual clouds
7 hrs
Something went wrong...
9 hrs

the sky must have descended during the night and has stayed like that ever since

Broadly I think the other "descended" answer is correct. I think this is as idiomatic as I can make it sound. I don't think it's referring to rain but simply that the sky has come to seemingly envelop everything.
Something went wrong...
+1
10 hrs

It felt like the sky had closed in overnight

and it hadn't moved since.

Just another suggestion. I think, in English, we are more likely to express the comparison explicitly ...

But that's just me!

Hope it helps

Mary
Peer comment(s):
agree Nikki Scott-Despaigne : Nice idea. I don't like refs to clouds here and am going off the idea of descending skies. One way round it for GB Eng.
6 hrs
Thanks, Nikki, I feel quite honoured with all these 'disagrees' flying around!!
Something went wrong...
-1
10 hrs

Clouds must have gathered

Clouds must have gathered during the night and stayed like this till now.

Referring to a grey heavy day.
Peer comment(s):
disagree Nikki Scott-Despaigne : Assumption too far removed form original idea
5 hrs
Something went wrong...
+1
13 hrs

the mugginess settled in during the night...

... and hasn't budged since.

"It's hot, here at the end of September...," and "mugginess" is the logical offspring of heat and a lowering or oppressive sky. So why not strike a blow against the tyranny of the source text (i.e., literalism) and go with the underlying sense of it? (not to mention the rather nice kinship of "bouge" and "budge"...)

Cheers,
HC

Peer comment(s):
agree Nikki Scott-Despaigne : Avoids the falling skies image, clouds are out of the picture adn says what it means - why not indeed!
2 hrs
(blush) As always, your concurrence counts for a lot!
Something went wrong...
1 day 15 hrs

My last word - I can hear you breathing a sigh of relief!

Lucien – you’re right about Chicken Little. I’m 39 so it was a long time ago. I checked out Chicken Licken – didn’t even know I knew it ! Thanks !

Dawn – English is my mother tongue and whilst I can safely claim not to be devoid of all sense of humour, albeit a British one, the sky is always there. I see what you’re getting at though but just don’t think it works here. Can we agree to disagree ?

Heather – I vote for your mugginess as it avoids any idea of skies falling from the heavens, heavens opening or clouds doing anything at all.


PS - I am a bit of a cloud freak and translate a fair number of translation of meteorological texts.
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