Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

faire des vagues

English translation:

rock the boat

Added to glossary by dholmes (X)
Oct 14, 2008 11:20
15 yrs ago
2 viewers *
French term

faire des vagues

Non-PRO French to English Other Idioms / Maxims / Sayings social audit
Previous management's "..consigne de ne pas faire des vagues".... Apparently the plant Trade Unions hold a powerful position and previous management had no intention of disturbing them.
Change log

Oct 14, 2008 11:41: Colin Rowe changed "Level" from "PRO" to "Non-PRO"

Oct 14, 2008 19:50: Stéphanie Soudais changed "Field" from "Bus/Financial" to "Other" , "Field (specific)" from "Human Resources" to "Idioms / Maxims / Sayings"

Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

Non-PRO (3): writeaway, Julie Barber, Colin Rowe

When entering new questions, KudoZ askers are given an opportunity* to classify the difficulty of their questions as 'easy' or 'pro'. If you feel a question marked 'easy' should actually be marked 'pro', and if you have earned more than 20 KudoZ points, you can click the "Vote PRO" button to recommend that change.

How to tell the difference between "easy" and "pro" questions:

An easy question is one that any bilingual person would be able to answer correctly. (Or in the case of monolingual questions, an easy question is one that any native speaker of the language would be able to answer correctly.)

A pro question is anything else... in other words, any question that requires knowledge or skills that are specialized (even slightly).

Another way to think of the difficulty levels is this: an easy question is one that deals with everyday conversation. A pro question is anything else.

When deciding between easy and pro, err on the side of pro. Most questions will be pro.

* Note: non-member askers are not given the option of entering 'pro' questions; the only way for their questions to be classified as 'pro' is for a ProZ.com member or members to re-classify it.

Proposed translations

+4
13 mins
Selected

rock the boat

si l'on veut rester dans le maritime :)
Peer comment(s):

agree Emma Paulay : We even put the same comment!
5 mins
thanks
agree French Foodie : this works well too
7 mins
thanks
agree Susan Gastaldi
1 hr
thanks
agree Frederique Taylor
2 hrs
merci
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "I liked this one, thank you"
4 mins

(do not) look for trouble

You might find a better way to word this, but it's the idea
Something went wrong...
6 mins

rustle (any) feathers

Another option - don't rustle any feathers.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 8 mins (2008-10-14 11:29:44 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

http://www.augustine.co.za/product_view.php?prod_id=9726

This is a book that will rustle feathers at a time when feathers need rustling in a church that has allowed our grasp of God's truth to slip away from its scriptural and christological moorings. Written with clarity and helpful argumentative sweep and summary, McGlasson raises challenges that must be faced by all pastors, seminarians, and theologians."--Ephraim Radner, author of Hope among the Fragments


http://www.voiceyourself.com/site/simple_organic_living/arti...

I’m not saying all this to discourage or blame, rather to rustle feathers and let it be known how empowered we are. We mean more to our country, to this planet, than signing off on one of two shades of grey a couple times a decade. We must, as Thoreau puts it, “Cast [our] whole vote, not a strip of paper merely, but [our] whole influence.”


Peer comment(s):

neutral Emma Paulay : ruffle?
3 mins
Thanks Emma. I was torn between the two. Oddly, though, I found loads of refs for 'rustle' used in this context.
Something went wrong...
+10
12 mins

make waves

Actually, I think the same expression in English works well here.

As per the freedictionary:

make waves
to change an existing situation in a way which causes problems or upsets people.
eg Some workers felt it was not the time to make waves by organizing a union. Our culture encourages us to fit the norm and not to make waves.
Peer comment(s):

agree Jonathan MacKerron : here, less is more
1 min
thanks Jonathon
agree Emma Paulay : snap!
2 mins
thanks Emma
agree writeaway : for once a literal translation does the trick.
6 mins
thanks writeaway
agree Colin Rowe
7 mins
thanks Colin
agree Simon Mountifield
41 mins
thanks Simon
agree Rachel Ward
53 mins
thanks Rachel
agree Tony M
1 hr
thanks Tony.
agree helena barham
1 hr
thanks helena
agree Jean-Claude Gouin
4 hrs
thanks 1045
agree Diane de Cicco : why make waves, this is fine.
5 hrs
thanks Diane
Something went wrong...
+5
13 mins

make waves/rock the boat

Literal can work here if you want to keep a nautical theme!
Peer comment(s):

agree Julie Barber : I like both of these....
3 mins
agree French Foodie : but of course I agree ;-)
7 mins
agree Rachel Ward
52 mins
agree David Goward : Two for the price of one!
4 hrs
Never could resist a bargain ;-)
agree Jennie Knapp
5 hrs
Something went wrong...
-2
14 mins

don't make tricky issues

it is used in a negative sense how in your phrase
ne pas faire des vagues that means don't make tricky issues
Peer comment(s):

disagree writeaway : not idiomatic English and basically the wrong translation in any case
5 mins
neutral Sandra Petch : "Not to make issues" would work but maybe isn't the best solution in this particular case :-)
20 mins
disagree Tony M : Really not idiomatic English, and not exactly the same meaning.
1 hr
Something went wrong...
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search