...trouaient l'obscurité au-dessus chez lipp...

English translation: pierced the darkness over the Brasserie Lipp

20:06 May 22, 2005

French to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature

French term or phrase: ...trouaient l'obscurité au-dessus chez lipp...

A literary translation question --

(The title of the work is "Manuscrit trouvé à Saint-Germain-des-Près")

(in context)

"On pouvait laisser les clés sur le contact de sa Ferrari sans danger. La nuit, seuls les projecteurs des hélicos de surveillance trouaient l'obscurité au-dessus de chez lipp."

Brasserie Lipp? Above this place? Darkness? What gives?

Thanks!

jfthomas

English translation:pierced the darkness over the Brasserie Lipp

Explanation:
certainly looks like a reference to this famous brasserie which is indeed in Saint-Germain des Prés

it's worth checking out the web page just to get an idea of the place - fascinating

Selected response from:

Josephine79
Local time: 02:27

Grading comment

Thank you -- I was suffering with this one -- strange how sometimes the most simple can be the most infuriating. :)
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

4 +6

pierced the darkness over the Brasserie Lipp

Josephine79

What gives?

Bourth (X)

Answers

20 mins confidence:

...trouaient l'obscurité au-dessus chez lipp... What gives?

Explanation:
Only what it says!

They could leave the keys in the ignition of the Ferrari and not worry [about theft]. At night, only the spotlights of the surveillance helicopters burned through the darkness [or "the night sky"] above Lipp's place [yes, the brasserie, presumably, given the location, and yes, darkness, given that it's night].

Sounds like some allegorical political treatise about socialism and totalitarianism ...

Bourth (X)
Local time: 02:27
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 110

21 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +6

...trouaient l'obscurité au-dessus chez lipp...

pierced the darkness over the Brasserie Lipp

Josephine79
Local time: 02:27
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 8

Grading comment

Thank you -- I was suffering with this one -- strange how sometimes the most simple can be the most infuriating. :)

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