tirer son épingle du jeu
English translation: to get out of a tight spot
| GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| 14:41 Jan 20, 2002 |
| French to English translations [Non-PRO] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| ||||||
|  Selected response from: USER0034 (X) | ||||||
Grading comment
| |||||||
| Discussion entries: 3 | |
|---|---|
Answers
12 mins confidence: 
peer agreement (net): +1
peer agreement (net): +1to ride the storm Explanation: could be used in the figurative (the storm being the crisis) |
| |
| Login to enter a peer comment (or grade) | ||
19 mins confidence:
pull the chestnuts out of the fire Explanation: English idiom for escaping with profit from a difficult situation. |
| |
| Login to enter a peer comment (or grade) | ||
24 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +1
peer agreement (net): +1to get out of a tight spot Explanation: ...managed to get itself out of a tight spot |
| |
| Login to enter a peer comment (or grade) | ||
38 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +1
peer agreement (net): +1played a bad hand well Explanation: But came out on top fits quite well also. Reference: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22played+a+bad+hand%22 |
| |
| Login to enter a peer comment (or grade) | ||
1 hr confidence:
get out while the going's good Explanation: or withdraw HTH |
| |
| Login to enter a peer comment (or grade) | ||
2 hrs confidence:
has managed to pull through, has come out of it pretty well Explanation: Couple of colloquial suggestions off the top of my head. -------------------------------------------------- Note added at 2002-01-20 18:18:19 (GMT) -------------------------------------------------- I think playing on the use of the present perfect is a useful tool here, as it links the past with the present, emphasising continuity. |
| |
| Login to enter a peer comment (or grade) | ||
2 hrs confidence: peer agreement (net): +1
peer agreement (net): +1managed to survive Explanation: I would use something that starts with "managed to" since extricate implies "the use of care and ingenuity in freeing from a difficult position or situation" (Webster) and "tirer son épingle du jeu" = Se tirer habilement d'une affaire difficile" (Marie-Éva de Villers, MULTI DICTIONNAIRE DE LA LANGUE FRANÇAISE, Éditions Québec Amérique) I was tempted to propose "managed to keep afloat/to keep its head above water" but this text doesn't seem to call for a play on words -------------------------------------------------- Note added at 2002-01-20 17:23:12 (GMT) -------------------------------------------------- it is also common to see the expression \"survive a crisis\" or \"live through a crisis\" but i prefer \"survive\" , \"live through\" implies no action, \"survive\" is stronger |
| |
Grading comment
| ||
| Login to enter a peer comment (or grade) | ||
3 hrs confidence:
come through smelling like roses Explanation: "Tirer son épingle du jeu" not only implies getting out of a delicate/difficult situation profitably, it also implies doing it with style. I'd say this is reinforced by the use of "savoir" in the text (*a su* tirer...), implying the use of smarts. To wit: Larousse defines "tirer..." as "se tirer *adroitement* d'une situation délicate". So, not only did the company weather the storm but they came through it smelling like roses. |
| |
| Login to enter a peer comment (or grade) | ||
Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.
You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.
KudoZ™ translation help
The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.
See also:
Search millions of term translations