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sans que cela vous coûte la peau des fesses

English translation: without it costing an arm and a leg

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:sans que cela vous coûte la peau des fesses
English translation:without it costing an arm and a leg
Entered by: PB Trans

14:03 Mar 29, 2007
French to English translations [Non-PRO]
Marketing - Cosmetics, Beauty / laser hair removal - poster
French term or phrase: sans que cela vous coûte la peau des fesses
I'm looking for a nice way to say this... please help me (and don't say you can't be arsed! Ha ha). I've heard of "coûter les yeux de la tête" but not this. Is it a play on words? This is a Quebec text and the target audience is English Canada. This is all the context I have.

Vos soins laser donnés par votre esthéticienne-électrolyste?

Oui, c’est rassurant! Elle connaît votre peau et ses réactions.

Vous voulez une peau douce en toute sécurité,
sans que cela vous coûte la peau des fesses?
XXX est la spécialiste de l’épilation au laser.

Les soins sont donnés uniquement par des esthéticiennes-électrolystes diplômées.

XXX utilise le meilleur de la technologie pour que vous ayez des résultats.

Plus d’efficacité et moins de traitements, c’est la promesse XXX!

Enfin disponible ici!

XXX solution laser (logo)
PB Trans
Local time: 23:47
without costing an arm and a leg
Explanation:
This is a typical saying :-)
Selected response from:

Claire Chapman
Local time: 18:47
Grading comment
Thank you all for your input! :-)
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +13without costing an arm and a leg
Claire Chapman
3 +3without costing an arm and a leg
Jerome Elhaik
3 +3without getting skinned (of your money)
katsy
3Most defo NFG - re: skin off my nose
Charlie Bavington


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


2 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +13
without costing an arm and a leg


Explanation:
This is a typical saying :-)

Claire Chapman
Local time: 18:47
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 12
Grading comment
Thank you all for your input! :-)

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Jacqui Audouy: It's just a common expression, chosen here for its play on words value
3 mins
  -> Thanks! :-)
agree  Jerome Elhaik: agree. sorry claire I was writing my answer when I saw yours
3 mins
  -> Not a problem :-) I've done it, too. Thanks! :-)
agree  Katherine Mérignac: was going to say the same thing...!
8 mins
  -> Great minds think alike Thanks :-)
agree  Robert Mouris: "Coûter la peau des fesses" is vulgar and was used here by the author who plays on the word "peau". Referring to arms and legs renders also this pun. Edit: me too, didn't see the previous posts
9 mins
  -> I agree with you. Thanks :-)
agree  Frank Foley: strictly speaking, without IT costing an arm and a leg ;-)
10 mins
  -> True. Thanks :-)
agree  katsy
28 mins
  -> Thank you :-)
agree  Ingeborg Gowans (X): my first thought exactly; to carry on the play of words with "peau des fesses" would be too forced and not understood generally
33 mins
  -> See my note to Katherine. Thank you :-)
agree  Jean-Claude Gouin: I agree. Note to Robert: "coûter la peau des fesses" is not vulgar in my humble opinion.
39 mins
  -> Thanks :-)
agree  suezen
1 hr
  -> Thanks :-)
agree  kironne: yup
1 hr
  -> Thanks :-)
agree  Kelly Symons
1 hr
  -> Thanks :-)
agree  Gacela20
8 hrs
  -> Thanks :-)
agree  sktrans
10 hrs
  -> Thanks :-)
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5 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +3
without costing an arm and a leg


Explanation:
this is a difficult one, because this is impossible to both translate accurately and render the pun as it is in French. The translation of this is "to cost an arm and a leg" (r.wiktionary.org/wiki/coûter_la_peau_des_fesses), but of course it doesn't use the word skin... I guess it still mentions parts of the body, so it's not too bad. I hope I am wrong, but unless you're someone turns out to be super creative, you won't be able a correct translation containing the word skin.

Jerome Elhaik
Local time: 00:47
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Katherine Mérignac
5 mins
agree  katsy
25 mins
agree  Jean-Claude Gouin
36 mins
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37 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +3
without getting skinned (of your money)


Explanation:
I agree totally with what is above, and honestly think it is better than this, but... a quick look in my dictionary gives this usage as equivalent to 'to be fleeced' , i.e. swindled out of your money.
Suggested this only because Jérôme threw down the gauntlet there..... I just hope there aren't any other meanings to this expression that I'm unaware of!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2007-03-29 15:11:11 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Pina shouldn't choose this, though (just in case there are any literal-minded people out there) - I certainly wouldn't go to a beauty salon that promised (not) to skin me.......

katsy
Local time: 00:47
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Jerome Elhaik: that's what I meant when I said creative ! I think it sounds all right, and by the way thanks for teaching me a new expression (to throw down the gauntlet) !
8 mins
  -> Thanks Jérôme! I can't resist a challenge to translate a pun - but with varying degrees of success
agree  Charlie Bavington: prefer "w/out getting skinned alive"; or possibly "skinned alive, financially" (or put financially first, whatever). I know it's not a set expression like the skin off your buttocks is (!), I just think it sounds better for this context//See NFG answer
11 mins
  -> Yes, Charlie, that's better in my opinion! (where I come from it's 'skin off your nose' - am I more 'refained', or is it just that I'm missing something?
agree  Claire Chapman: This is a good idea. What about scalped?//What about the hair removal? It's not the same thing but...
28 mins
  -> I love it! but given the comment I just posted, perhaps better for a hairdresser's blurb?!:-D// Hadn't thought of that - perhaps not what Pina was hoping for, all this, but I'm enjoying it!
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
Most defo NFG - re: skin off my nose


Explanation:
No room in the peer bit to discuss :-)

I have always understood the expression "no skin off my nose" to mean that your actions have no impact on me whatsoever, with an implied "I don't care what you do", slightly petulant tone. Sometimes perhaps it's slightly "actually I do care, but I'm not gonna tell you that".
Other than when the subject under discussion IS actually financial, I've never heard it as an idiom to imply a financial impact, unlike arms & legs.

Charlie Bavington
Local time: 23:47
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  katsy: OK, so, is skin off your buttocks a synonym of skin off your nose (which is what I thought you were implying, and I agree with your comments here) or sth different ?(well I'll go and look it up....)
16 mins
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