Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
retourner comme un gant
English translation:
turn on their/its head
Added to glossary by
Clare Hogg
Jan 30, 2011 17:28
13 yrs ago
1 viewer *
French term
Spain
My passion is your project
Native in: English 
Works in: French to English, Spanish to English, English
retourner comme un gant
French to English
Art/Literary
Cinema, Film, TV, Drama
Mexican cinema
I am translating a text about the history of Mexican cinema. This phrase appears in a paragraph about Luis Buñuel. I can't think of a meaningful English translation ("turn inside out like a glove" doesn't fit the bill in my opinion!). Thanks very much for any help you can give me!:
"Et un jour, dans cet univers aussi harmonieux qu’une comédie ranchera, Luis Buñuel est venu planter sa petite graine subversive. Il ne l’a pas fait à la manière des surréalistes, mais en jouant avec les conventions et les codes du cinéma de papa, **qu’il est parvenu à retourner comme un gant**."
"Et un jour, dans cet univers aussi harmonieux qu’une comédie ranchera, Luis Buñuel est venu planter sa petite graine subversive. Il ne l’a pas fait à la manière des surréalistes, mais en jouant avec les conventions et les codes du cinéma de papa, **qu’il est parvenu à retourner comme un gant**."
Proposed translations
+9
6 mins
Selected
turn on their/its head
Not quite sure if the 'que' refers back to 'codes and conventions' or 'cinema'
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "PERFECT! Just what I was looking for!"
+1
10 mins
that he adapted to his way of thinking/twisted to suit his own purposes
The expression means to "change someones mind for them" (cf Collins-Robert)
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Geraldine Bestel
: The expression 'retourner comme un gant' is generally used when referring to someone. In this case, I think it may be 'papa'.
1 hr
|
13 mins
that he managed to bring about a complete turnaround (in the industry)
Hello,
Just a guess...
I hope this helps.
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Note added at 24 mins (2011-01-30 17:52:18 GMT)
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He brought the industry to bloom, when it was struggling/or just in an infancy stage.
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Note added at 27 mins (2011-01-30 17:55:51 GMT)
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"A complete turnaround" doesn't necessarily imply that the industry was doing poorly. It could just mean that this man brought it from infancy to full-scale.
The idea is "transformation" here, I would imagine.
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Note added at 40 mins (2011-01-30 18:08:59 GMT)
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The French doesn't give a pronoun "la" (quite normal at times), but it's the "industrie" which I would say is what's being "a été retournée comme un gant"
Just a guess...
I hope this helps.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 24 mins (2011-01-30 17:52:18 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
He brought the industry to bloom, when it was struggling/or just in an infancy stage.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 27 mins (2011-01-30 17:55:51 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
"A complete turnaround" doesn't necessarily imply that the industry was doing poorly. It could just mean that this man brought it from infancy to full-scale.
The idea is "transformation" here, I would imagine.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 40 mins (2011-01-30 18:08:59 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
The French doesn't give a pronoun "la" (quite normal at times), but it's the "industrie" which I would say is what's being "a été retournée comme un gant"
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Tony M
: That sounds to me more as if the industry was in decline, and he managed to make it boom; I don't think that's really what the text is talking about here, is it? 'turnaround' implies reversing something, usually from bad to good
5 mins
|
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He made it bloom because it was in the "infancy" stage, even if wasn't doing poorly. I don't know what else it would mean. Asker should let us know, as she knows the context much better than we do. LOL. Not necessarily, Tony. Seul le contexte le dira.
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+4
5 hrs
Jennifer Levey
Chile
Chile
Native in English
Specializes in field
Chile
Human-scale Globalization
Native in: English (Variant: British)
Works in: Spanish to English, French to English, English to Spanish, and 2 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
46
turn it inside out and upside down
He took the conventional wisdom of the day and turned it inside out and upside down.
That implies he didn't reject it, rather that he adapted it to suit his own wisdom while showing respect for what had gone before.
turn inside out - Idioms - by the Free Dictionary, Thesaurus and ... - [ Traducir esta página ]to change something completely turn something upside down It's as if everything I thought I knew about my family has been turned inside out. ...
idioms.thefreedictionary.com/turn+inside+out - En memoria caché - SimilarUPSIDE DOWN & INSIDE OUT - GOD STREET WINE (letra) Don't go out in public! Don't pick up the phone! You an d me sweetheart need a world of our own, oh. TURNING IT UPSIDE DOWN, AND INSIDE OUT ...
letras.terra.com/.../1092526/ - Estados Unidos - En memoria cachéLife Turned Inside Out and Upside Down « Sermons & Meditations - [ Traducir esta página ]7 Dec 2008 ... For Jesus does indeed turn our customary patterns and understandings inside out and upside down. The Sermon on the Mount, the largest single ...
wptest.zgraphicsdev.com/archive/132 - En memoria caché - Similar
That implies he didn't reject it, rather that he adapted it to suit his own wisdom while showing respect for what had gone before.
turn inside out - Idioms - by the Free Dictionary, Thesaurus and ... - [ Traducir esta página ]to change something completely turn something upside down It's as if everything I thought I knew about my family has been turned inside out. ...
idioms.thefreedictionary.com/turn+inside+out - En memoria caché - SimilarUPSIDE DOWN & INSIDE OUT - GOD STREET WINE (letra) Don't go out in public! Don't pick up the phone! You an d me sweetheart need a world of our own, oh. TURNING IT UPSIDE DOWN, AND INSIDE OUT ...
letras.terra.com/.../1092526/ - Estados Unidos - En memoria cachéLife Turned Inside Out and Upside Down « Sermons & Meditations - [ Traducir esta página ]7 Dec 2008 ... For Jesus does indeed turn our customary patterns and understandings inside out and upside down. The Sermon on the Mount, the largest single ...
wptest.zgraphicsdev.com/archive/132 - En memoria caché - Similar
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Helen Shiner
: but just with 'turned it inside out' on its own
51 mins
|
| agree |
Tony M
: Yes, I like the two together!
9 hrs
|
| agree |
Evans (X)
: this is nice too
9 hrs
|
| agree |
Yvonne Gallagher
: yes, both
13 hrs
|
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