French: avoir la piqûreEnglish translation: only have eyes for 
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| GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW) | | French term or phrase: | avoir la piqûre | | English translation: | only have eyes for | | Entered by: | LAB2005 |
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French to English translations [PRO]
Bus/Financial - Idioms / Maxims / Sayings / sales | | French term or phrase: avoir la piqûre | Statement made by a salesman selling one particular make of tractors, who considers that the make he is selling sometimes has more to offer than ABC.
Après, quand les gens bloquent un peu sur l’image de ABC, quand ils ont ce que l’on appelle la « piqûre », il est important de leur mettre en face que ce n’est pas ABC qui vient leur réparer leur tracteur, mais le concessionnaire.
I know it can mean something along the lines of 'bitten by the bug' in a figurative sense. Any suggestions here anyone? Many thanks.
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| | Clarification request(s) and responsexxxCMJ_Trans: 10:09am Nov 9, 2007: Don't know the expression but in French one says: je suis vacciné, meaning - been there, done that, thank you very much never again. La piqûre makes me think of vaccinations and it sounds indeed as though they're saying : they've been put off for life
xxxCMJ_Trans: 10:38am Nov 9, 2007: as I read it, people have hang ups about ABC - they've had bad experiences (piqûre) (they've been stung) so you must tell them that it is not ABC that does the repairs and they should blame the person who does
Ingeborg Gowans: 11:56am Nov 9, 2007: @ CMJ_Trans: I agree w/ you; it has a slightly negative connotation here(who likes to get a needle?) so why don't you put an answer in?
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| | Selected response from:
 Alain Pommet
France
| Note from asker to answererWent for this one in the end as it seemed to fit the context best. I agree with CMJ though, that this phrase can actually mean the complete opposite. Context is everything!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer |
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24 mins confidence:   |
| when they are stuck on ABC
Explanation:
They're stuck on that brand.... They can't get off the dime. The salesman points out that it's the dealer who's going to fix that tractor when it breaks down, not the folks at ABC, and that gets them thinking maybe ABC isn't the be-all and end-all after all.
| rufinus
France
Native speaker of:  English
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16 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +2 |
| to have a thing about/bitten by the ABC bug/
Explanation:
They are so taken up by ABC that they can't even think beyond that brand. They are blind to anything else. They have eyes only for ABC. ABC can do no wrong.
Hence my suggestion above, and a very slight variation on yours.
One other translation wd be to "have you under my skin" - shame it doesn't fit the context!
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Note added at 31 mins (2007-11-09 10:22:51 GMT)
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CMJ has given me food for thought, although Rufinus seems be reading things the same way as I do. How do people interpret Bloquer sur here - this wd give contextual back up. I read it as "stuck on".
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The translation workplace 
