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L'opulence est son credo, le minimalisme sa hantise

English translation: Opulence is his creed, minimalism his (obsessive) fear

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:L'opulence est son credo, le minimalisme sa hantise
English translation:Opulence is his creed, minimalism his (obsessive) fear
Entered by: Swatchka

18:41 Mar 21, 2007
French to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Journalism
French term or phrase: L'opulence est son credo, le minimalisme sa hantise
The heading for an article about an elaborately-decorated home. Photos of the lounge show it to be stuffed with large, antique furniture, floor-length drapes, floor-standing candlesticks, cushions, photos, mirrors, clocks, statues...

The possessive adjectives refer to the master of the house.

For the moment I'm lost for words!

Thanks in advance!
Sandra Petch
Local time: 19:52
Opulence is his creed, minimalism is (obssessive) fear
Explanation:
:))
Selected response from:

Swatchka
Spain
Local time: 19:52
Grading comment
Thank you everyone for your thoughts on this. In the end I used a combination of Swatchka's answer and "worst nightmare" as suggested by Olga in her peer comment. It was very much a "touchy feely" article so I preferred to avoid references to demons and devils, even though I did like Jim's suggestion too. Thank you again :-)
3 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +4Opulence is his creed, minimalism is (obssessive) fear
Swatchka
4 +4His creed is sumptuousness; his demon, minimalism
Jim Tucker (X)
4He makes a religion of opulence and abhors minimalism
Richard Benham
4(a) veneration of opulence, repudiation of minimalism
ormiston
3 +1By wealth he swears and minimalism he dreads
Mercuri@
3Opulence / Abundance is his creed, minimalism his nemesis / (arch-)enemy
Laurel Clausen
3He believes in opulence and eschews minimalism
Raymonde Gagnier
3he worships sumptuousness and shuns austerity
Najib Aloui


  

Answers


5 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +4
Opulence is his creed, minimalism is (obssessive) fear


Explanation:
:))

Swatchka
Spain
Local time: 19:52
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 3
Grading comment
Thank you everyone for your thoughts on this. In the end I used a combination of Swatchka's answer and "worst nightmare" as suggested by Olga in her peer comment. It was very much a "touchy feely" article so I preferred to avoid references to demons and devils, even though I did like Jim's suggestion too. Thank you again :-)

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  katsy: yes, but 2 typos: minimalism 'his (obsessive)..'
28 mins
  -> Yes, Thank you katsy
agree  Gacela20
1 hr
  -> Gracias Gacela
agree  Richard Benham: "Opulence" is by far the best option for "opulence". Maybe "minimalism (is) his bugbear/nightmare"?
1 hr
  -> I stuck to literal equivalentsthinking of the headline space but nightmare is a good option also. Thanks Richard.Nightmare conveys a bit more the idea of ahunting in hantise.
neutral  ormiston: (as a neutral comment) would it work as a title though ?
16 hrs
  ->  A heading
agree  jean-jacques alexandre
1 day 14 hrs
  -> Merci Jean-Jacques :))
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13 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +4
His creed is sumptuousness; his demon, minimalism


Explanation:
poor guy

Jim Tucker (X)
United States
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Olga Cartlidge: or "Sumptuousness is his creed, minimalism is his worst nightmare".
26 mins
  -> Thanks - this works too, but then you lose the idea of a religion with its own devil
agree  Patrice: I really like Olga's variation
41 mins
  -> thanks!
agree  Swatchka: Thank you Olga. Should have put on my glasses :))
47 mins
neutral  Richard Benham: The syntax is clumsy, and "opulence" is much better than "sumptuousness" (please!).
1 hr
  -> "sumptuousness" is more decadent than "opulence"; this place sounds more like Liberace's kitsch palace
agree  Ingeborg Gowans (X): w/ Richard; lol - however I do not see another suggestion, so for now it stands
1 hr
  -> Richard's right that something is awkward, but I think it's the punct.., not the syntax. Ok so fix the sibilance and lose the chiasmus: "Sumptuosity is his creed, minimalism his demon" CMANNNN, dass gööd
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27 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
Opulence / Abundance is his creed, minimalism his nemesis / (arch-)enemy


Explanation:
a slight variation

Laurel Clausen
United States
Local time: 12:52
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
He makes a religion of opulence and abhors minimalism


Explanation:
Just for something a little different.

Richard Benham
France
Local time: 19:52
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
He believes in opulence and eschews minimalism


Explanation:
Those questions are so much fun, I just had to put in my two bits... :-)

Raymonde Gagnier
Canada
Local time: 13:52
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
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13 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
he worships sumptuousness and shuns austerity


Explanation:
or , for rime and rythm, sumptuousness he worships, austerity he shuns

Najib Aloui
Local time: 18:52
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
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17 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
(a) veneration of opulence, repudiation of minimalism


Explanation:
he is apparently going against current trends but as a title it might be better to avoid using 'he'. I don't think he actually dreads the alternative style

ormiston
Local time: 19:52
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 10
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27 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
By wealth he swears and minimalism he dreads


Explanation:
Trying to be a little creative...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 23 hrs (2007-03-22 17:42:22 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Or even more concise:

Wealth his creed, minimalism his dread.

Mercuri@
Belgium
Local time: 19:52
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in DutchDutch

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Olga Cartlidge
8 mins
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