May 7, 2009 07:59
15 yrs ago
French term
Mauritius
Meticulous, hard-working and dedicated
Native in: French (Variant: Standard-France)
Works in: French to English, English to French
système de comptes d’apothicaire
French to English
Other
Games / Video Games / Gaming / Casino
gambling
Le président est revenu sur le rôle de ces deux instances, à l’occasion des 3es rencontres parlementaires sur les Jeux, organisées le mois dernier. Il a rappelé que jusqu’à présent, pour l’attribution de machines à sous, « on était dans un système de comptes d’apothicaire ». La prochaine modification des textes, a-t-il ajouté, va clarifier cette situation.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 3 | the system was bound up in red tape |
polyglot45
|
| 5 | to work things out to the last penny (or) cent |
martial daviaud
|
References
| A few French refs to explore |
Irene McClure
|
Proposed translations
29 mins
polyglot45
Native in French
&
English
Native in: English 
, French
Works in: English to French, French to English, German to French, and 4 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
4
Selected
the system was bound up in red tape
the French phrase means hair splitting or doing something parsimoniously but it also implies going into everything in the most finite detail. Faire des comptes d'apothicaire means to examine every comma, every word, every nuance. It used literally to mean counting everything out with a dropper, measuring to the nearest, most finite amount
It can mean "penny pinching" or even (in some cases) "horse trading" in English but here these won't work
The problem is that the expression conveys the notion of complexity but also that of meanness - maybe very few licences are granted.
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Note added at 47 mins (2009-05-07 08:47:10 GMT)
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THE SYSTEM WAS A MAZE OF PETTIFOGGING DETAIL
It can mean "penny pinching" or even (in some cases) "horse trading" in English but here these won't work
The problem is that the expression conveys the notion of complexity but also that of meanness - maybe very few licences are granted.
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Note added at 47 mins (2009-05-07 08:47:10 GMT)
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THE SYSTEM WAS A MAZE OF PETTIFOGGING DETAIL
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Merci a tous, cette reponse me convient le mieux ici."
1 hr
martial daviaud
France
France
Native in French
Specializes in field
France
quality in action
Native in: French
Works in: French to English, French to Spanish, French to Russian, and 3 more.
to work things out to the last penny (or) cent
Vu sur ce site :"http://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais-anglais/apothi...
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
polyglot45
: while I agree this is the first meaning of the expression, I doubt if it will work in the particular context where it is more an "image"
15 mins
|
Reference comments
5 mins
Irene McClure
Native in English
Political scientist, former UK Govt
Native in: English 
Works in: French to English, English
Reference:
A few French refs to explore
http://www.mon-expression.info/un-compte-d-apothicaire
http://www.dicoperso.com/term/adb0aea5acabac5b,,xhtml
http://www.linternaute.com/dictionnaire/fr/definition/compte...
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Note added at 11 mins (2009-05-07 08:11:06 GMT)
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From these and other definitions given if you Google "compte d'apothicaire" it appears to mean a highly complicated accounting system which could do with simplification and rationalisation. I can't think of an equivalent term in English, perhaps you could just say that the current system appears to be very complex and a further round of modification of the texts is required to clarify the situation.
http://www.dicoperso.com/term/adb0aea5acabac5b,,xhtml
http://www.linternaute.com/dictionnaire/fr/definition/compte...
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Note added at 11 mins (2009-05-07 08:11:06 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
From these and other definitions given if you Google "compte d'apothicaire" it appears to mean a highly complicated accounting system which could do with simplification and rationalisation. I can't think of an equivalent term in English, perhaps you could just say that the current system appears to be very complex and a further round of modification of the texts is required to clarify the situation.
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