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Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

Le roi n\'est pas ton cousin

English translation:

You\'ve got it in the bag

Added to glossary by Anna Fitzgerald
Nov 14, 2015 16:23
8 yrs ago
3 viewers *
French term

Le roi n'est pas ton cousin

French to English Art/Literary Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
This is from a French novel where the narrator has imagined a Nietzsche that plays golf:

Mais oui ! Pourquoi pas ?
Chiche ! Vas-y Friedrich.
Le roi n'est pas ton cousin.
18 trous sous le crachin.

Here's a definition I found for the expression (http://www.expressio.fr/expressions/le-roi-n-est-pas-son-cou... It's basically a compliment meaning that one is as happy as a king.

That aside, I've talked to the author, who explained to me the effect he was after. For him, the expression is dated, evoking something of the 1970s. He was trying for something "populaire, aggressif et vieillot".

I've thought of expressions with luck: you lucky devil/son-of-gun, but those seem a little off because the Nietzsche-golfer is being encouraged, not congratulated for a stroke of luck. I also thought of, "You look like a million bucks".

Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Proposed translations (English)
3 You've got it in the bag
4 +1 Don't have everyone waiting as if you were from the royal family.
4 I wouldn’t call the King (Queen) your cousin
3 +1 Go ahead, just give it a shot! (You can do it!)
4 No great brilliance is required to figure out
3 +1 Go on! Show us your Midas touch!
4 Prove you're the 'king of the swingers'!
3 Be a real man!
3 give it a bloody swing, man dammit!
3 damn the King and give it a swing!
3 Give it some welly! (EN-UK)
References
Origin and meaning
Expressio
Change log

Nov 15, 2015 04:03: Yolanda Broad changed "Term asked" from "Le roi n\\\'est pas ton cousin" to "Le roi n\'est pas ton cousin"

Discussion

Elizabeth Tamblin Nov 16, 2015:
"You're sure to strike gold"
"You're sitting pretty"
"You'll have the luck of the devil"
Graeme Jones Nov 15, 2015:
"Come on sunbeam, get going!"
There's a slightly pejorative sense to "sunbeam" here. It's a bit dated too. And a "sunbeam" is a happy soul who might be just a touch over-confident.
Anna Fitzgerald (asker) Nov 15, 2015:
Based on my conversation with the writer, this is a way of saying "you're golden", "tout vous réussit". Nietzsche is being dared to do this, and told that of course he's so incredibly wonderful he can play golf. I keep coming back to the words the writer used in our conversation: "agressif, vieillot et populaire". He could well be meaning more than the standard definition. In any case, I'm going to try to translate his intent, even if it takes me away from the standard definition.
Tony M Nov 15, 2015:
@ Asker I really can't get my head around the idea the writer intended here; this "happy as a sandboy" notion doesn't seem to fit at all into the context of the rest of the 'dialogue'; did the writer just get it wrong? Or is the suggestion more along the lines of "Go on, you're happy, you know you're going to enjoy this / looking forward to this"?
Nikki Scott-Despaigne Nov 15, 2015:
For "this could be your lucky day" For a dated source which for ahyone 50 or over will recall this series of ads. If they're British that is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAQcguJzSGo
Nikki Scott-Despaigne Nov 15, 2015:
Any number of expressions which are optimistic, which encourage, which suggest luck, happiness, being carefree.

"This could be your lucky day"!
Anna Fitzgerald (asker) Nov 14, 2015:
"You've got it in the bag" is nice and idiomatic. And "bee's knees" has a dated feel, that's good. And a lot of meanings, like you say. Thanks for those suggestions.
Elizabeth Tamblin Nov 14, 2015:
How about "You've got it in the bag".
Graeme Jones Nov 14, 2015:
"You're the absolute bee's knees!" (more 1920s I guess, but there could be a fair amount of hidden meaning in there)
Anna Fitzgerald (asker) Nov 14, 2015:
I keep focusing on the idea of an over-the-top compliment as encouragement, something that's a little ridiculous and thus aggressive. You're looking like a million, you're looking dynamite. Nothing particularly 1970s in those, I guess, but that's the kind of expression I'm thinking of.
Graeme Jones Nov 14, 2015:
The concept of the 1970s being "dated" is difficult (maybe I'm just too close to the era - haha! Or was he wearing flares?)
If you are able to entertain mild vulgarity, you could try: "go on (move it), you old bugger"
or if not "go on, move it, you big lump"
Anna Fitzgerald (asker) Nov 14, 2015:
Something like "go on, old boy" does come closer, I think. Now, I need to get the slight aggressiveness, and maybe a dated expression.
Anna Fitzgerald (asker) Nov 14, 2015:
Thanks for that suggestion. That's very fitting for Nietzsche, and that was the direction I was initially working in--looking for 19th century dated. That's why I was surprised when the author said that "Le roi n'est pas ton cousin" is dated in a 1970s kind of way. That kind of dated. And then aggressive and popular. So you see I'm really trying to work with what the author told me...
Graeme Jones Nov 14, 2015:
If it's definitely for encouragement instead, then how about: "go on, old boy, you can do it!"
Elizabeth Tamblin Nov 14, 2015:
Just an initial thought: "You have surpassed yourself, sir" - a compliment, with a slightly dated, ironic twist?
Anna Fitzgerald (asker) Nov 14, 2015:
I think the author is using the expression in a special way. That's why I'm focusing on what he told me he meant, rather than what I can find in reference sources for the expression. He made it sound like someone was egging Nietzsche on, complimenting him aggressively, and the slightly humorous element is a dated expression, clearly not from Nietzsche's era. So, you're right to ask. This is probably a special case of the use of this expression.
Graeme Jones Nov 14, 2015:
Really struggling to understand how this image works! There is an indication further down of "excessive pride" and at least one bilingual dictionary talks of it meaning "to be the cat's whiskers" for example (in the positive). Are you sure of the intended meaning?
Elizabeth Tamblin Nov 14, 2015:
Yes, that works. Still struggling to think of a suggestion, though :)
Anna Fitzgerald (asker) Nov 14, 2015:
http://www.expressio.fr/expressions/le-roi-n-est-pas-son-cou...

Hope that works
Elizabeth Tamblin Nov 14, 2015:
Anna, the link you posted isn't working for me - any chance of posting again?

Proposed translations

4 days
Selected

You've got it in the bag

Another suggestion
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks, Elizabeth. This is the translation the author liked best, in part for its rhythm, which is important to him. In other contexts, some of the other suggestions might be better."
1 hr
French term (edited): Le roi n\\\'est pas ton cousin

I wouldn’t call the King (Queen) your cousin

originally "I wouldn’t call the King (or Queen) my cousin"
e.g.
http://inconversationwithgod.com/i-wouldnt-call-the-king-my-...
***
It was the moment when they had passed successfully their first examination and left the seamanship Examiner with the little precious slip of blue paper in their hands. ‘That day I wouldn't have called the Queen my cousin,’ declared our new acquaintance enthusiastically. (J. Conrad, ‘Chance’, part I, ch. 1)
Something went wrong...
+1
1 hr
French term (edited): Le roi n\'est pas ton cousin

Go ahead, just give it a shot! (You can do it!)

Suggestion.
Peer comment(s):
agree Nikki Scott-Despaigne : Give it a shot! Give it your best shot!
18 hrs
Something went wrong...
3 hrs

No great brilliance is required to figure out

I think «It is not that difficult» seems to be the meaning of this expression.
Like in French we say : ne pas avoir inventé l'eau tiède (chaude) / le fil à couper le beurre.
Something went wrong...
+1
17 hrs

Don't have everyone waiting as if you were from the royal family.

obviously, the other golf players are waiting their turn.
Peer comment(s):
agree writeaway : imo the meaning is in this direction, unless the dicos I saw are all wrong.
3 hrs
Something went wrong...
23 hrs

Be a real man!

"If you want to be proud of yourself" / "Show us what your made of" / Don't be a whimp!" get out there in the rain and play.
Maybe one of those fits the tone?

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 23 heures (2015-11-15 15:33:48 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Superman!
Something went wrong...
23 hrs

give it a bloody swing, man dammit!

a bit of golfing aggression + a swear word here and there
Something went wrong...
23 hrs

damn the King and give it a swing!

the notion that you are not a member of the royal family and your happiness is at least as importance as the King's
Peer comment(s):
neutral Tony M : I suspect the inadvertent association here would be with Elvis 'The King'...
4 mins
Something went wrong...
1 day 2 hrs

Give it some welly! (EN-UK)

Peer comment(s):
neutral Tony M : Nice, but isn't that a bit too modern for the period suggested? I can remember when I first heard this expression in the UK, thought it came from a TV series. / Oh great, that's OK then :-)
54 mins
According to my ref, it's a 1970s expression, but I think it's a bit older.
Something went wrong...
+1
1 day 5 hrs

Go on! Show us your Midas touch!

or

Let's see your Midas touch
Give it your Midas touch
Prove you've got that Midas touch

Obviously a Midas figure can do it all and should be blissfully happy and also reference to king...

inspired by your "he's golden"

Or you might even want to keep to that image and use

Go on you super-duper golden boy! Hit us with your best shot!

(Drawing a blank on 70s things to fit all the criteria here:-))
Peer comment(s):
agree Carol Gullidge : Something along these lines seems the best fit the Discussion entries
2 days 18 hrs
Thanks Carol:-) I thought you might have come up with something apt yourself!
Something went wrong...
3 days 1 hr

Prove you're the 'king of the swingers'!

The Jungle Book (1967) - king Louis
Golfing pun on 'swingers'
Vague parallel (OK it's a stretch!) with famous French kings (Louis)
Something went wrong...

Reference comments

20 hrs
Reference:

Origin and meaning

http://www.linternaute.com/expression/langue-francaise/12559...


Le roi n'est pas son cousin"



Signification


Son bonheur est supérieur à celui d’un roi.



Origine


Popularisée en 1690, cette expression renvoie à l’image que représente la plénitude du bonheur. En effet, s’il est de notoriété publique qu’un roi est forcément au summum du bonheur, alors ne pas être son cousin renvoie au fait que l’on est tellement heureux que le roi lui-même n’est pas digne d’être l’un de nos parents proches.


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Peer comments on this reference comment:
neutral writeaway : I've seen sources that say it's about being stuck up, full of oneself
37 mins
agree Charles Davis : Not sure which sources writeaway's been looking at, but Académie 1835, no less, says "Je m'estimerais plus heureux que le roi" for this: "Si telle chose m'arrivait, le roi ne serait pas mon cousin". Not much doubt this is the base meaning, I'd say.
3 hrs
agree Tony M : The Expressio site originally quoted by Asker explains the part Writeaway is talking about [after the main explanation]: « Mais elle contient aussi parfois une notion de fierté excessive, proche de la prétention. »
6 hrs
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1 day 3 hrs
Reference:

Expressio

Here is the link Asker originally posted, which unfortunately got truncated in the posting:

http://www.expressio.fr/expressions/le-roi-n-est-pas-son-cou...
Something went wrong...
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