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immobilité respiratoire
déphasé deux à deux
Nov 3, 2019 23:30
4 yrs ago
French term

cellule grizz [grise]

French to English Art/Literary Poetry & Literature Scifi
A criminal has been caught and sent to jail. There's a new crime, and when an investigator asks after the bad guy, he's told, "Il est enfermé dans la cellule grizz." And later on, "Vous savez: il est dans la cellule griz...troisième travée, derrière le couloir d'enceinte." When the investigator races to the prison cell to see if the criminal is actually still there, the cell is locked and empty, as the criminal has escaped. No more mention of the term.
Is this simply a "gray cell" and is that something specific or a special kind of prison cell (as opposed to brain cells as we see in Hercule Poirot?) Any suggestions?

NB: This is YA (older children's) book from France; it has a lot of word play and humor, but there's no more context for this term...

Thanks in advance!
Proposed translations (English)
3 +1 holding cell
3 +1 sobering-up cell
3 cooling-off cell

Discussion

Wolf Draeger Nov 7, 2019:
I feel robbed Of the opportunity to at least post an answer, being first to suggest the gaming pun with references. It's only points, I know, but still...
athena22 (asker) Nov 7, 2019:
Computer game/ Escape game reference/pun Thanks, Ben and Wolf! Computing/gaming pun is the perfect solution. The character absolutely never drinks nor needs to sober up. Holding cell can't work as this is long-term imprisonment, not temporary. BUT now that I've gotten through the story, I can see that the character does escape (and gets hauled back). So a sly pun like this fits the authorial sense of humor very nicely.
Ben Gaia Nov 5, 2019:
Cellule grise In the context of gaming, there is a French escape game called "Cellule Grise" where you have to escape from a cell.
Wolf Draeger Nov 4, 2019:
Computing/gaming pun? Seems cellule grise is one FR translation of the escape game genre, which could fit here. Also, if the story is aimed at today's youth, perhaps the computing sense of a greyed-out cell is also being punned on?

https://cellulegrise.fr/
https://www.escapegame.fr/mulhouse/la-loge-du-temps/cellule-...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escape_the_room
https://fr.glosbe.com/fr/fr/cellule grise

Proposed translations

+1
2 days 20 hrs
Selected

holding cell

A less specific term, more applicable to intergalactic penitentiaries perhaps.
Peer comment(s):
agree GILLES MEUNIER
9 days
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "The gaming reference is spot on, thank you, and I'm giving you the points here for that without adding "holding cell" to the glossary. Thanks again!"
+1
7 mins

sobering-up cell

The 'cellule de dégrisement' is the name give to the special holding cell where they put drunks to sober up before they can be interrogated etc.

Of course, 'cellules grises' is also used for your 'little grey cells' — so there might be an intentional play on words soemwhere along the line there.

I'm not personally aware of this shortening of 'cellule de dégrisement' in this way, but it's not uncommon for words to be telescoped almost beyond recogntiion.

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Note added at 32 mins (2019-11-04 00:03:15 GMT)
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I suppose even for a long-term inmate, they might simply put them into the 'drunk tank' as you call it for some other reason like isolation or temporary holding... Although if this is actually a prison, rather than a police station, I wonder if they'd have one of those anyway...?
Note from asker:
Thanks! Although one would think it might refer to the drunk tank, it can't given this criminal's sentence of decades. I'm leaning more towards the Poirot-like pun at the moment... ;).
Interesting thoughts... (That's the U.S. term for an overnight holding cell for sleeping off being drunk in jail.) It's a high security interstellar prison, from what I can tell, so I think you're right about that last comment. They do have solitary (referred to elsewhere), so it's not that... Thanks for cogitating!
Peer comment(s):
agree Timothy Rake
1 hr
Thanks, Timothy!
neutral Elisabeth Richard : I would agree with "drunk tank" except it doesn't seem to make sense with the context. If there is no other information on this cell, or why the inmate is there, then I would indeed go with Tony's proposition.
8 hrs
Thanks, Elisabeth! It seems, as ever, that lack of context os the biggest problem here.
neutral B D Finch : This seems likely, but (especially as this is a children's book) inadequate information to know whether you're right. On the other hand, he might have been so drunk that he got out by evaporating with the alcohol.
17 hrs
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18 hrs

cooling-off cell

This might be a good one in the science-fiction context, where "drunk" may be a bit specific. Goodness knows what those aliens may be getting up to!

It's actually in KudoZ, in its body cells usage but with reference to prison cells: https://fra.proz.com/kudoz/french-to-english/cosmetics-beaut...
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