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  2. French to English

Le visage derrière le bac et le sac

English translation: The guy who hauls your scrap and trash

16:57 Dec 19, 2001
French to English translations [Non-PRO]
Marketing
French term or phrase: Le visage derrière le bac et le sac
This is a slogan from a refuse collecting company. I have to respect the rhyme BAC and SAC (perhaps container and bag).
Any suggestion on how to word this in english with a touch of rhyme...
Thank
LB
Lise Boismenu, B.Sc.
Canada
Local time: 18:05
English translation:The guy who hauls your scrap and trash
Explanation:
Alliteration, rather than "masculine rhyme"--English isn't as fussy as French that way. Also, for a US/Canada context, "face" doesn't work for me. We want our occupations gender-marked (drat it!).

I get 48 hits for "scrap and trash":

http://www.google.com/search?q="scrap and trash"

"trash for cash" is widely used ( 581 hits at http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q="trash for cash"&btnG=G... but it looks to me like it would go beyond your context.
Selected response from:

Yolanda Broad
United States
Local time: 18:05
Grading comment
Thank you all for your help.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +2the face behind the bins and tins
Parrot
5The guy who hauls your scrap and trash
Yolanda Broad
4who is behind the container and bin liner?
DPolice
4The Face behind the bag and the rag
Guereau


  

Answers


1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
who is behind the container and bin liner?


Explanation:
at least, it rhymes!

DPolice
Local time: 00:05
PRO pts in pair: 454

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  French2English: errr.... what rhymes? Did I miss something?! :) Doesn't sound like any colloquial English I have ever heard....
4056 days
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
The Face behind the bag and the rag


Explanation:
Well, you have a rhyme at least.
And from a Frenchman, at that.
Just a suggestion.
HTH

Guereau
France
Local time: 00:05
Native speaker of: French
PRO pts in pair: 330
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
the face behind the bins and tins


Explanation:
or (3-step alliteration, always good for Anglo-Saxon) "the buddy behind the bins and bags".

Parrot
Spain
Local time: 00:05
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in pair: 1861

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Pierre POUSSIN: Very British! I like it!
39 mins
agree  Yolanda Broad: I like the "buddy" version best...
1 hr
  -> So do I - not exactly Beowulf, but...
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
The guy who hauls your scrap and trash


Explanation:
Alliteration, rather than "masculine rhyme"--English isn't as fussy as French that way. Also, for a US/Canada context, "face" doesn't work for me. We want our occupations gender-marked (drat it!).

I get 48 hits for "scrap and trash":

http://www.google.com/search?q="scrap and trash"

"trash for cash" is widely used ( 581 hits at http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q="trash for cash"&btnG=G... but it looks to me like it would go beyond your context.


    Le Robert & Collins Super Senior (thesaurus)
    WordPerfect's thesaurus
Yolanda Broad
United States
Local time: 18:05
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in pair: 1551
Grading comment
Thank you all for your help.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  French2English: Don't get the relevance gender-marked' comment at all...don't guys have faces? :) !!!!
4056 days
  -> I was proposing something that would work for the US market. This was 11 years ago. Gender-marking is definitely on its way out over here, too, nowadays.
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