mettre en quenouille

English translation: fray

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

French term or phrase:	mettre en quenouille
English translation:	fray
Entered by:	Albert Golub

21:21 Feb 23, 2001

French to English translations [PRO]

French term or phrase: mettre en quenouille

The sentence, as far as I can translate it means something like: "...building a bridge over the rips which mettent en quenouille the social fabric." I can't find this expression or plausible meanings for 'quenouille' for this sentence anywhere!

Mary McArthur (X) KudoZ activity Questions: 42 (none open) Answers: 3
Local time: 05:29

fray

Explanation:
desintegrate ne correspond pas au tissu social (le mot tissu est utilise dans ce contexte en français)
la traduction serait "reconstruire des liens (passerelles) pour éviter la fracture sociale", que le tissu social ne s'effiloche
"fracture sociale" theme politique assene quotidiennement
en fait c'est assez difficile sans le contexte total

Selected response from:

Albert Golub
Local time: 14:29

Grading comment

Sorry for the delay on my end, but I appreciate how quickly you got back to me (both answers)!
Mary McArthur
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

to fray=effilocher (same meaning)

Albert Golub

weaken, loosen

Barnaby Capel-Dunn

disintegrate

Madeleine van Zanten

Alan Boydell

note

jcv (X)

fray

Albert Golub

quenouille = distaff or stopper rod

Olivier Vera

unravel

Victor Foster

fray OR weaken OR loosen OR desintegrate

Annie Robberecht, C. Tr.

carrying out the textile metaphor,

Heathcliff

Answers

2 hrs

to fray=effilocher (same meaning)

Explanation:
tomber en quenouille means to lose its strength,energy (1913)
originally thee "quenouille" was a stick used to spin wool, the original block of wol was divided into thin threads
it is the same image apllied to social fabric
hope it helps

Albert Golub
Local time: 14:29
Native speaker of: French
PRO pts in pair: 359

2 hrs

weaken, loosen

Explanation:
This is a tough one. I can't find "mettre en quenouille" either!The expression "TOMBER en quenouille" means "fall to pieces" or "die out". In the context, therefore, would "weaken (or loosen) the social fabric" make sense?

Harrap's, Oxford Hachette

Barnaby Capel-Dunn
Local time: 14:29
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in pair: 42

4 hrs

disintegrate

Explanation:
Since this is a social context, maybe disintegrate could be used?

Madeleine van Zanten
Switzerland
Local time: 14:29
Native speaker of:

French
PRO pts in pair: 65

5 hrs

?

Explanation:
The most plausible meaning of the expression with 'mettre' would be 'laisser tomber (en quenouille)', meaning allowing to fall into ruins, oblivion - but also turning your back on, declining, turning down a birthright, hereditary privilege, etc.

The expression 'tomber en quenouille' originally meant for land or estate to fall (usually through inheritence) into the hands of a woman, with all the negative connotations that would have carried a few hundred years ago. It then went on o refer to a man dominated by his wife and nowady mainly carries the meaning given above.

Petit Robert + distant memories of literature class at Lyc�e

Alan Boydell
France
Local time: 14:29
Native speaker of:

English,

French
PRO pts in pair: 20

5 hrs

note

Explanation:
tomber en quenouille = se dit d'un héritage, d'une succession tombant entre les mains d'une femme!
Ne validez pas ma réponse!

jcv (X)
Local time: 14:29
PRO pts in pair: 3

5 hrs

fray

Albert Golub
Local time: 14:29
Native speaker of: French
PRO pts in pair: 359

Grading comment

Sorry for the delay on my end, but I appreciate how quickly you got back to me (both answers)!
Mary McArthur

6 hrs

quenouille = distaff or stopper rod

Explanation:
"Quenouille" is a rod on which fabric winds

Eurodicautom (eurodic.ip.lu)

Olivier Vera
Local time: 14:29
Native speaker of:

French

12 hrs

unravel

Explanation:
perhaps fray is closer to themeaning you want but if the fabric is figuratively wound around something, it could follow that something could ause it to unravel, not a positive result

Victor Foster
United States
Local time: 07:29
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in pair: 209

15 hrs

fray OR weaken OR loosen OR desintegrate

Explanation:
All the above apply. Everybody is right.

"mettre en quenouille" est une variante ou une expression plus ou moins corrompue de "tomber en quenouille".

Voir le sens de "quenouille"
Loc. (XVIe). Vx ou littér. TOMBER EN QUENOUILLE, se disait d'une maison dont une femme devenait l'héritière. (- Succession). - (D'un homme). Tomber sous la domination d'une femme. - Par ext. PERDRE SA FORCE, SA VALEUR. Coutume qui tombe en quenouille. Tomber dans l'oubli, échouer. (Grand Robert électronique).

Citation:
C'est terrible, un homme qui tombe en quenouille. Antoine est fini.
A. MAUROIS, Bernard Quesnay, XXXII.

Le Grand Robert

Annie Robberecht, C. Tr.
Local time: 14:29
Native speaker of:

French
PRO pts in pair: 187

1 day 20 hrs

carrying out the textile metaphor,

Explanation:
may I suggest (rather than "building a bridge," which introduces a different metaphor) simply "...mending the frayed fabric of society..." or "...mending the tears that threaten to unravel the fabric of society..."? -- You get the idea.

Cheers,
HC

Heathcliff
United States
Local time: 05:29
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in pair: 953

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