Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
"brutes épaisses" and "balaise"
English translation:
"whizz kids" and "a real crackerjack"
Added to glossary by
Anna Quail
Feb 3, 2006 19:59
18 yrs ago
1 viewer *
French term
United States
linguaphile
Native in: English 
Works in: Spanish to English, French to English, Italian to English, and 1 more.
"brutes épaisses" and "balaise"
French to English
Tech/Engineering
Computers (general)
slang
Context: computer experts
Donc j’ai deux-trois personnes que je connais qui sont des brutes épaisses en MS ou en Outlook ou dans un domaine précis MS…
Interviewer :
Donc vous avez un réseau de spécialistes, « lui il est super balaise en Outlook »…
Donc j’ai deux-trois personnes que je connais qui sont des brutes épaisses en MS ou en Outlook ou dans un domaine précis MS…
Interviewer :
Donc vous avez un réseau de spécialistes, « lui il est super balaise en Outlook »…
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +1 | whizz kids / a real crackerjack |
Anna Quail
|
| 4 | "He's a stud" |
seth_toronto
|
| 4 | Wow! How the language has changed! |
Bourth (X)
|
Proposed translations
+1
17 mins
Anna Quail
France
France
Native in English
France
Once a translator...
Native in: English (Variants: British, Irish, UK)
Works in: French to English, English
Related KudoZ points
:
4
French term (edited):
brutes �paisses / super balaise
Selected
whizz kids / a real crackerjack
There are loads of possibilities. These are two that suit the context IMO.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 19 mins (2006-02-03 20:18:25 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
"Ha oui, en passant, ne prevoit pas de faire carriere dans ce domaine, car apres 3 ans dans la vie active, seul un ou deux de mes amis travaillent encore dans ce domaine (et c'etait vraiment des brutes épaisses en prog), les autres sont soit chomeurs, soit développeurs d'applications de gestion..."
http://archives.jeuxonline.info/fils/142500.html
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 19 mins (2006-02-03 20:18:25 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
"Ha oui, en passant, ne prevoit pas de faire carriere dans ce domaine, car apres 3 ans dans la vie active, seul un ou deux de mes amis travaillent encore dans ce domaine (et c'etait vraiment des brutes épaisses en prog), les autres sont soit chomeurs, soit développeurs d'applications de gestion..."
http://archives.jeuxonline.info/fils/142500.html
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
sarahl (X)
19 mins
|
|
Merci sarahl :-)
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks, this is just what I'm looking for.
And thanks to the other aces who answered."
18 mins
French term (edited):
balaise
"He's a stud"
another suggestion would be "he's an ace"
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 34 mins (2006-02-03 20:33:58 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
I think you can probably interchange both "they 're studs when it comes to..."
"He's a stud/ace..."
I mean ultimately they both mean the people you are talking about are experts.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 55 mins (2006-02-03 20:54:13 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
If the first group includes a woman and to be PC you could use "they're stars"
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 34 mins (2006-02-03 20:33:58 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
I think you can probably interchange both "they 're studs when it comes to..."
"He's a stud/ace..."
I mean ultimately they both mean the people you are talking about are experts.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 55 mins (2006-02-03 20:54:13 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
If the first group includes a woman and to be PC you could use "they're stars"
1 day 4 hrs
French term (edited):
brute �paisse
Wow! How the language has changed!
Wow! Until seeing these examples, I would never in my wildest dreams have imagined that "brute épaisse" could ever mean anything but "real thicko", "thick as two short bits of wood", with overtones of physical violence.
I wonder if the people using the term as in the question - and others like them - actually understand what the words mean ...
On second thoughts, maybe it's the equivalent of "geek", meaning a sort of social no-hoper (Clark Kent without the bum-hugging leotard), therefore negative, who happens to be really hot shit in some very specific usually technical field, so therefore becomes a positive thing.
I wonder if the people using the term as in the question - and others like them - actually understand what the words mean ...
On second thoughts, maybe it's the equivalent of "geek", meaning a sort of social no-hoper (Clark Kent without the bum-hugging leotard), therefore negative, who happens to be really hot shit in some very specific usually technical field, so therefore becomes a positive thing.
Discussion