Feb 2, 2011 09:28
13 yrs ago
1 viewer *
English term

of all things

English to French Other General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters conversation
Comment rendriez-vous cette expression dans le contexte suivant ? :
"I don't know why this has gotten under my skin like this. I mean, of all things."
= "Je ne sais pas/comprends pas pourquoi je prends cela autant à coeur" ou "pourquoi ça m'affecte à ce point-là. I mean, of all things"
La personne qui s'exprime parle d'une aventure d'un soir qu'il a eu avec une fille dont il vient d'apprendre qu'elle avait été admise en hôpital psychiatrique. Cela le perturbe énormément sans qu'il comprenne pourquoi. Le langage est parlé, naturel. Merci pour votre aide.
Change log

Feb 2, 2011 12:03: Stéphanie Soudais changed "Term asked" from "...of all things" to "of all things"

Discussion

soperilleux (asker) Feb 2, 2011:
c'est ambigu en effet, d'où ma difficulté à le rendre en français, restant assez vague tout en restituant le contenu... Je pense qu'il fait référence à la situation en général. Il s'étonne que ça le remue autant alors qu'il ne devrait pas être aussi affecté car finalement cette fille , il avait juste passé la nuit avec, il la connaissait à peine.
Tony M Feb 2, 2011:
Depends what he means! It's ambiguous, because we don't know what he's actually referring to; he might be talking about the overall situation, but that seems odd, since "of all things" seems to suggest one specific 'thing' — "He came to the funeral wearing a yellow hat, of all things!"

So it's unclear if "of all things" refers to 'this', which is presumably 'the situation' as a whole; or if there is some other 'thing' that has got under his skin — it's as if he's saying that it's not important enough for him to be so upset about; but does he mean the girl, or the fact that she's been hospitalised (and was it his fault...?), or simply the casual relationship...

Proposed translations

6 hrs
Selected

ça me dépasse / j'aurais jamais cru ça possible

Ici, comme il a déjà été dit, "of all things" exprime la surprise, et plus encore l'incrédulité: elle renforce donc le début de la phrase "I don't know why...".
(On pourrait paraphraser ainsi sans doute: "of all things I could have imagined, this is the last I expected").

D'où ma suggestion: "Je ne comprends pas pourquoi ça m'affecte à ce point-là. Ça me dépasse." où "J'aurais jamais cru ça possible".
Ça fonctionne bien ici, je trouve.
Note from asker:
Oui ça fonctionne même très bien. Merci !
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "merci !"
+1
3 mins

contre toute attente

Telle que je comprends l'expression. L'idée est celle de la surprise.
Peer comment(s):

agree Isabelle Barth-O'Neill : d'accord
34 mins
Merci Isabelle :)
neutral cc in nyc : IMO, this misses the mark because we have no indication of what his expectations were
5 hrs
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+1
4 mins
English term (edited): ...of all things

avec tout ce qui s'est passé

voilà comment je le comprends
Peer comment(s):

agree Sylvain Lourme
0 min
neutral Tony M : I don't think that's the real meaning in this context; it's more the idea of surprise that Alain has suggested...
6 mins
neutral cc in nyc : ditto to Tony M's comment; it's about lack of comprehension
5 hrs
neutral Lara Barnett : The idea is of all things that "could possibly happen" ie. could have got under his skin, not "s'est passe". It is not referring to the past in its referral to "all things".
12 hrs
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+5
1 hr
English term (edited): ...of all things

pourquoi ça?

Another possibility - My interpretation: what he is saying is why should this particular event bother him so much.
Peer comment(s):

agree FX Fraipont (X) : The way I see it too : "why this particular element"
38 mins
Thank you.
agree kashew
3 hrs
Thank you.
agree Lara Barnett
11 hrs
Thank you.
agree Anne R
20 hrs
Thank you.
agree Sheila Wilson
21 hrs
Thank you.
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1 hr
English term (edited): ...of all things

particulierement / en particulier...

a suggestion
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