ce qui fut dit fut fait

English translation: And so it was; And thus it was...

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

French term or phrase:	ce qui fut dit fut fait
English translation:	And so it was; And thus it was...
Entered by:	Carol Gullidge

20:43 Mar 31, 2008

French to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Idioms / Maxims / Sayings

French term or phrase: ce qui fut dit fut fait

This is the beginning of a chapter in a children's book. The main character is returning home after an unpleasant experience. I think this must be a set phrase but I can't find it anywhere.

"Ce qui fut dit fut fait... Carla descendit du fourgon, exténuée par la nuit qu'elle venait de passer."

Rachel Ward KudoZ activity Questions: 454 (none open) (8 closed without grading) Answers: 72 United Kingdom
Local time: 22:22

And so it was...

Explanation:
As it's the beginning of a chapter, presumably following on from something in the previous one... this seems to fit the context - providing a feeling of literary continuity.

A couple of examples of new "chapters" beginning in the same way:

Bolton Data for Inclusion
And so it was in September 1986 that I entered my first Special School. An old bus came to pick me up on my first day. My day started at 7.45a.m. We had to ...
www.inclusion-boltondata.org.uk/FrontPage/data16.htm - 15k - Cached - Similar pages

Star of the Sea.
And so it was. God made the vault and it divided the waters above the vault from ... And so it was. God called the dry land "earth" and the mass of waters ...
www.catholicchurchmull.co.uk/StainedGlass.html - 19k

Selected response from:

Carol Gullidge
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:22

Grading comment

I like the simplicity of this option. Thanks everyone for all your suggestions.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

4 +10

And so it was...

Carol Gullidge

5 +3

no sooner said than done

Nina Iordache

[I] did what I said I would do...

Clayton Causey

4 +1

Said and done.

Katarina Peters

4 +1

As it was said, so was it done

MatthewLaSon

She (the Duchess) was as good as her word

Bourth (X)

It was promised, and it was done.

Andreas THEODOROU

as said was done

cjohnstone

The deed had been done as foretold

B D Finch

When all was said and done

Sarah Llewellyn

what was said was what was done

Sylvia Valls

Discussion entries: 3

Answers

2 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +3

no sooner said than done

Explanation:
IMO

Nina Iordache
Romania
Local time: 00:22
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

Romanian

7 mins confidence:

It was promised, and it was done.

Explanation:
another possibility

Out of curiosity, what age group is this book targeted at?

Andreas THEODOROU
Spain
Local time: 23:22
Works in field
Native speaker of: English

19 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +10

And so it was...

Carol Gullidge
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:22
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 47

Grading comment

I like the simplicity of this option. Thanks everyone for all your suggestions.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

Victoria Porter-Burns: Definitely sounds most natural and suitable in this case I'd say

14 mins

-> many thanks Victoria :)

agree

Jim Tucker (X): Yes, in this context I think this has the magical element you want in a children's story. Would not insist on the flat "no sooner said than done" here, which anyway emphasizes speed rather than the "lo!" element.

16 mins

-> thanks Jim! Nicely explained :)

agree

Bourth (X): "And so it came to pass" (not that I'm sure fairy stories are written in that sort of language these days - when I read [reed] stories I read [red] as child, in a book my mother had as a girl in 1933, it seems almost Victorian ...

43 mins

-> thanks Bourth! Of course we don't know how modern this needs to be, but "...came to pass" sounds a bit like something out of "What Moses did"!

agree

Joan Berglund: or so it went? sounds kinda Vonnegutian (or Joelish)

3 hrs

-> thanks Joan! That sounds good too.

agree

Sarah Llewellyn: Very nice.

3 hrs

-> thanks Sarah!

agree

Melissa McMahon: "... came to pass" ocurred to me too, but you may be right about the biblical-ness...

10 hrs

-> thanks Melissa - it all depends on the register of the text at the time

agree

swanda

10 hrs

-> thanks swanda!

agree

Sandra Petch: This is really nice!

11 hrs

-> many thanks Sandra :)

agree

cjohnstone: oui better than my suggestion, although...?

11 hrs

-> many thanks Catherine :)

agree

Colin Rowe: Stayying in the biblical vein: this solution "finds favour in my eyes"!

11 hrs

-> many thanks Colin :)

53 mins confidence:

[I] did what I said I would do...

Explanation:
Another option.

Clayton Causey
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English

1 hr confidence:

as said was done

Explanation:
to avoid as Bourth apltly noted any chronology pb.. here we leave out on the deadline and the "as soon as" which might not be right

cjohnstone
France
Local time: 23:22
Native speaker of:

French,

English
PRO pts in category: 3

2 hrs confidence:

The deed had been done as foretold

Explanation:
Thinking that it might refer to the something unpleasant that the heroine had experienced and which had been previously announced or predicted???

B D Finch
France
Local time: 23:22
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 28

3 hrs confidence:

When all was said and done

Explanation:
Another way of putting it, although I like Carol's suggestion a lot.

Sarah Llewellyn
Local time: 14:22
Native speaker of:

English

3 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

Said and done.

Explanation:
simply.

Katarina Peters
Canada
Local time: 17:22
Native speaker of:

Hungarian,

English

3 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

As it was said, so was it done

Explanation:
Hello,

This is how I'd say it. Sounds really literary-like...

I hope this helps.

Reference: http://sunnyjhanna.blogspot.com/2008/02/hayden-christensen-i...

MatthewLaSon
Local time: 17:22
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 30

18 hrs confidence:

what was said was what was done

Explanation:
Why not stick with exactly what was said... and it alliterates, rather... keeping in mind the flow of the text... but for the best choice the translator would have to experiment with the whole passage... Some of the translation suggestions I have seen do not hit the mark or are not faithful to the original...

Sylvia Valls
Local time: 15:22
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English,

Spanish

18 hrs confidence:

She (the Duchess) was as good as her word

Explanation:
Or her word was her bond.

Again, we're a little thin on context.

Suggesting this, I'm assuming the plan to send someone was pre-arranged:

I stood waiting where the kindly coachman had set me down, wondering if the Duchess had remembered that I was coming home today. Had she really not sent someone to meet me, as she had promised? Looking at the glowering stormclouds sweeping in from the dales, I was about to seat myself on one of my larger hatboxes and weep when I heard Pollyann calling out, and in a moment she was there beside me, busying herself with my bags. Of course I should never have doubted, and known that the Duchess was as good as her word!

and that it was not a matter of:

"Oh, sapristi, the coach will be here any minute!" Exclaimed the Duchess. "I expect Mistress Dumble will have been to Harrod's as usual and will never be able to make it up the hill with all her fine new clothes before the storm breaks! Pollyann! Pollyann! Where IS the girl? Never around when she's wanted! Oh, there you are you foolish child. Now, listen carefully ..." In her precipitation, the Duchess slipped back into the manner of speech of her youth, before she fell to the charms of the young Duke years before, while she minded sheep in the dales ... "I want you to go down t' bus depot, right away now, 'ear, and meet Mistress Dumble off t' 10.40 from Upper Thiddlewick and 'elp 'er up 'ere to t' Manor with t' baggage. Now, 'op to!"
No sooner said than done, and Pollyann turned up muddied and breathless at the bus station to take Mistress Dumble's hat boxes ...

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Note added at 1 day1 hr (2008-04-01 22:28:50 GMT)
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I hope you don't say that to all the boys, Rachel!

Bourth (X)
Local time: 23:22
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 76

Notes to answerer

Asker: I like your pastiches! :)

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English translation: And so it was; And thus it was...

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