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laissez-faire affair

English translation: uncoordinated affair

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:laissez-faire affair
Selected answer:uncoordinated affair
Entered by: Charles Davis

15:12 Nov 7, 2016
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Marketing - IT (Information Technology)
English term or phrase: laissez-faire affair
CONTEXT:
Over the years, JEE application development has progressed from a code-intensive, “laissez-faire” affair to a more controlled, well-defined design-focused exercise. Common problems and recurring application needs have been addressed using well-documented “patterns” or through frameworks that do “the right thing.”

These frameworks have resolved many early issues that organizations had to deal with like coding the routine technology backbone, managing database connections, etc. However, organizations still face several challenges during their application development initiatives.

==============================

I'm editing this sales proposal and want to avoid using foreign phrases in the copy, as I'm following a style guide. Also, the phrase is even used incorrectly here, I think, or at least its meaning applies very vaguely to the context.

Plus, I don't care for the rhyme either...

What would be a good substitution? I'm drawing a blank. Perhaps "permissive"? "Free-flowing"? (The latter is far-fetched, I know.)

Thanks!
María Teresa Taylor Oliver
Panama
Local time: 14:36
uncoordinated affair
Explanation:
I agree with Phil about not changing more than you have to, but something's got to go, and changing "affair" is just as much of an intervention as changing "laissez-faire", so that's not really an argument. I would do what you're proposing and make it "laissez-faire". So you could leave "affair", which will do.

IIf you don't want foreign words and phrases, that's an argument for changing it (though it's well assimilated in English). And I agree with you that "laissez-faire" is not as clear as it might be.

Anyway, given that the basic idea of "laissez-faire" is lack of intervention, a "hands-off" approach, I think it means here that this is a piece of software that has grown bit by bit, ad hoc, "bolting" new modules on to an original core and ending up with something that was not planned as a whole. That's why it's code-intensive; programs that develop this way always are. If you start again from scratch, as they now have, and write a program designed to do the whole job, it always uses much less code. So it was "laissez-faire" in the sense that is was just allowed to grow, meeting immediate needs but not reworking what was already there to coordinate the whole thing. That's why I think "uncoordinated" would be better and clearer. It contrasts with what they now have: a project with a unified design.
Selected response from:

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 21:36
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +2laissez-faire process
philgoddard
4 +2uncoordinated affair
Charles Davis
4non-restrictive / non-interventionist / permissive
acetran
3freestyle expression/process
Rita Vaicekonyte
4 -1deregulated process
Margarida Martins Costelha
4 -1an unbridled affair / uncontrolled affair / undisciplined affair
Daryo


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


7 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
laissez-faire process


Explanation:
I agree that the repetition of "fair" is clumsy and should be avoided. But there is nothing wrong with "laissez-faire" - all educated English native speakers know what it means, and you should respect the writer's choice of words.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 9 mins (2016-11-07 15:21:54 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

There are also too many unnecessary quote marks.

philgoddard
United States
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 20
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks, Phil. I do know what the phrase means, but according to the style guide I'm following, I have to change it. I'm afraid the target audience will not all be "educated English native speakers" but rather this is for a global audience, which may include speakers of English as a second language.

Asker: I do certainly agree with you on the "too many quote marks" front! :)


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tina Vonhof (X)
1 hr
agree  Yvonne Gallagher: personally, I think the English should not be "dumbed down"
7 hrs
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17 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
freestyle expression/process


Explanation:
As laissez-faire in this case means drifting/free-flowing/uncontrolled process or expression, I'd suggest using "freestyle expressio"n, as it can then later be contrasted with more defined processes/exercises.

Rita Vaicekonyte
Lithuania
Native speaker of: Native in LithuanianLithuanian, Native in EnglishEnglish
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18 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
deregulated process


Explanation:
suggestion

Margarida Martins Costelha
Portugal
Local time: 20:36
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in PortuguesePortuguese

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Daryo: not here // this ST is not about macroeconomics! Nor politics, nor law-making ... Would be really curious to know how do you "deregulate" a team of software developers?
2 hrs
  -> .
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28 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
uncoordinated affair


Explanation:
I agree with Phil about not changing more than you have to, but something's got to go, and changing "affair" is just as much of an intervention as changing "laissez-faire", so that's not really an argument. I would do what you're proposing and make it "laissez-faire". So you could leave "affair", which will do.

IIf you don't want foreign words and phrases, that's an argument for changing it (though it's well assimilated in English). And I agree with you that "laissez-faire" is not as clear as it might be.

Anyway, given that the basic idea of "laissez-faire" is lack of intervention, a "hands-off" approach, I think it means here that this is a piece of software that has grown bit by bit, ad hoc, "bolting" new modules on to an original core and ending up with something that was not planned as a whole. That's why it's code-intensive; programs that develop this way always are. If you start again from scratch, as they now have, and write a program designed to do the whole job, it always uses much less code. So it was "laissez-faire" in the sense that is was just allowed to grow, meeting immediate needs but not reworking what was already there to coordinate the whole thing. That's why I think "uncoordinated" would be better and clearer. It contrasts with what they now have: a project with a unified design.

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 21:36
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 20
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks for the comprehensive explanation, Charles! I like "hands-off," too.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Yvonne Gallagher: yes, if it really must be changed
7 hrs
  -> Thanks :)
agree  Björn Vrooman: Hmm, I'm tempted to put an "and" between "well-defined" + "design-focused." The thing that's irritating me the most is the lack of even-handedness on both sides of "to" (in terms of style, you got intensive+laissez-faire <-> controlled+defined+focused.)
9 hrs
  -> Thanks, Björn! Interesting and thought-provoking comments, as usual. I agree about the "and". As for the imbalance, I suppose that's deliberate, to make the new state of affairs sound more important and active. But it's not great drafting, I grant you.
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29 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
non-restrictive / non-interventionist / permissive


Explanation:
These are some suggested options.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 30 mins (2016-11-07 15:42:32 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"Free-enterprise" is another option.

acetran
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in HindiHindi, Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Daryo: not here // this ST is not about macroeconomics! Whatever the moaner-in-chief tries to salvage ...
1 hr
agree  philgoddard: Don't worry about Proz's disagreer-in-chief. These are perfectly good answers, except for "free enterprise".
2 hrs
  -> :) Thanks.
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
a "laissez-faire" affair
an unbridled affair / uncontrolled affair / undisciplined affair


Explanation:
Over the years, JEE application development has progressed from a code-intensive, “laissez-faire” affair to a more controlled, well-defined design-focused exercise.

Over the years, JEE application development has progressed from a code-intensive, unbridled affair to a more controlled, well-defined design-focused exercise.

possibly: uncontrolled affair / undisciplined affair

this being about software development, “laissez-faire” implies a lack of overall control, where coders were let loose to develop the software as they fancy or without worrying about turning it into bloatware.

BTW, there is very good reason for putting "laissez-faire" between quote marks - here "laissez-faire" is not used in its usual meaning, when it's about macroeconomics!



Daryo
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:36
Native speaker of: Native in SerbianSerbian, Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 6
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks, that's why I said the term is not used correctly in this context, or at least not entirely. I understood why it's in quotes. But that's precisely what I want to avoid, as the goal is to put the text in plain English. The tech writers in the company I work for usually like using convoluted sentences when simpler ones would do. (AND not all of them are native English speakers, to boot.)


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Yvonne Gallagher: "an unbridled affair" is incorrect English//The refs (ghits??) you quote are a completely different context and don't mean what you are proposing here. Hence incorrect English, as is "you sound like trying to be". And do keep religion out of it!
5 hrs
  -> you sound like trying to be more Catholic than the Pope // check https://www.google.co.uk/search?q="an unbridled affair" not many seem to share your criteria of "language purity" ...
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