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99 months ago

Kate (a guest user) asked this question:

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99 months ago

   wrote:

what a nice dodge / what a nice way of dodging it.

My comment:

Cf the phrase "s'en tirer par une pirouette" = to doge the question.

Comments by other colleagues on this answer:

99 months ago

martynback   wrote:

Yes - though I'd say "dodging the issue" rather than "dodging it" - more idiomatic IMHO

99 months ago

martynback   wrote:

Dodging, side-stepping - same thing. We agree on the meaning.

99 months ago

martynback   wrote:

So, taking into account Martynback's remark, we could translate as follows: "nice way of dodging the issue, isnt'it".

99 months ago

   wrote:

What a lovely movement

99 months ago

Marie-Claire   wrote:

with a bit of a stretch!

My comment:

It's very hard to translate literally. It's in the sense that it could mean anything with a bit of a stretch. So you could say "with a bit of a stretch" it would keep the pun:)

My references:

My imagination.

99 months ago

Marie-Claire   wrote:

oh, what a lovely about-face

My references:

Larousse Advanced French/English Dictionary

Comments by other colleagues on this answer:

99 months ago

martynback   wrote:

But the sentence doesn't comprise an about-face: it's just a clever turn of phrase. That's what "pirouette" means here: an ingeniously worded aphorism.

99 months ago

martynback   wrote:

Or a clever way of side-stepping the issue, depending on context

99 months ago

martynback   wrote:

Things or circumstances CAN do an entire about-face; eg., "there was an entire about-face, when it comes to what happened". I don't think it has a bit of a thing to do with side-stepping, not all all.

99 months ago

martynback   wrote:

Barbara, where is the about-face in the sentence "les choses n’ont jamais que le sens qu’on veut bien leur donner"?

99 months ago

martynback   wrote:

Il s'en est sorti par une pirouette = he side-stepped the issue.

99 months ago

martynback   wrote:

Sorry, but I don't agree with you. And I'm starting to feel like you have been harassing me, starting more than a few months ago, exactly what you called Tony Marsden out on the carpet for a few months ago, who is well-known for that kind of behavior on proz.com.

99 months ago

martynback   wrote:

Things only ever mean what we want them to mean (a pretty enough conceit)

My comment:

Here, a "pirouette" is a clever or ingenious turn of phrase, and it has a slightly pejorative meaning. The word "conceit" gets quite close to this meaning.

Comments by other colleagues on this answer:

99 months ago

martynback   wrote:

If you Google "pretty enough conceit" you'll find comparable examples.

99 months ago

martynback   wrote:

Could also be "a clever way of side-stepping the issue", but I'd need more context to test this translation. 'Une pirouette' is often a clever turn of phrase that allows someone to side-step an issue.

99 months ago

martynback   wrote:

Yes, I think that's it: for example the artist is asked what his work means, and he answers "things mean what you want them to mean", which is just a way of side-stepping the issue (i.e. the fact that his work is pretty meaningless).

99 months ago

martynback   wrote:

I agree with your interpretation of the meaning. Is has nothing to do with volte-face (about-face) or a gym figure. Why not "what a nice side-step"?

99 months ago

martynback   wrote:

Thanks Serge. I myself would say something like "a neat way of side-stepping the issue" rather than "what a nice side-step", but that's just me.

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