Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
coupes sombres
English translation:
sweeping cuts
French term
coupes sombres
"Costa se donna des pouvoirs illimités et put ainsi effectuer des purges politiques, des *coupes sombres dans l'économie * et imposer la censure.
More than anything I'm having a hard time grasping the meaning of "sombre."
Many thanks for your translations ideas!
| 2 +2 | swingeing cuts |
Peter Shortall
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| 5 +1 | explantion |
Richard Benham
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| 3 +1 | sombre manoeuvres / dark manoeuvres |
Marion Sadoux
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Non-PRO (1): Richard Nice
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Proposed translations
United Kingdom
Legal / Business / Government
Native in: English
Works in: Romanian to English, Russian to English, French to English
swingeing cuts
| Thanks Peter, this clears it up for me. Never had I come across this expression before. So in the sense of sweeping or massive cuts. Thanks! |
| agree |
Richard Nice
: absolutely, and it's in the Petit Robert
9 mins
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Thanks
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| agree |
Richard Benham
: "Swingeing" is much better than "sweeping"!
42 mins
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Thanks - it's a favourite of mine!
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| neutral |
Ben Gaia
: never heard of swingeing, sweeping cuts would be better.
1 day 4 hrs
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sombre manoeuvres / dark manoeuvres
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Note added at 19 mins (2006-09-08 13:03:17 GMT)
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Merci Sandra, mias je crois que le terme est ici employé dans un sens plus vaste (le contexte étant simplement celui du secteur économique). On pourrait peut-être dire "sombre economic policies" tout simplement?
| Thanks Marion. I must have some kind of Friday-afternoon word blindess as I don't see how "coupe" can be anything but some kind of cut or cutback (Petit Robert - "On a fait une coupe sombre dans le personnel" = on a licencié bcp d'employés. |
| agree |
Richard Benham
: Bonjour Marion. I have just checked my old Hanse: "Dictionnaire des difficultés...", which confirms my memory. "Coupe sombre" was originally an initial, light felling (leaving the forest still dark), but somehow the sense has evolved to a major cut....
47 mins
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Hello Richard... what an irony, so a "coupe sombre" makes the forest lighter!!! Thanks for that
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France
When quality counts
Native in: English 
Works in: German to English, French to English, English
explantion
Une coupe sombre, au sens figuré – des coupures, des suppressions importantes pratiqueées dans un écrit, ou une élimination énergique d’une partie d’un personnel. Ce sens est entré dans l’usage. Il es curieux cependant de remarquer qu’au sens propre, une coupe sombre, appelée aussi coupe d’ensemencement, est, d’après Littré, une coupe au premier degré (de manière à laisser la forêt sombre) ; elle peut être suivie d’une coupe claire, d’une coupe définitive et enfin d’une coupe de nettoiement. Le Dictionnaire général dit cependant : « Coupe sombre : où l’on abat tous les arbres » ; et cela montre bien l’évolution du sens, au propre comme au figuré.
This explains why the usage is criticized: it is actually a misunderstanding of the original sense of the term.
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Note added at 1 hr (2006-09-08 14:05:57 GMT) Post-grading
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De rien. I hope everything is clearcut and nobody is left in the dark, unable to see the wood for the trees.
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Note added at 23 hrs (2006-09-09 12:29:26 GMT) Post-grading
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Sorry: "explanation".
| Thank you Richard, dare I say that is enlightening! ;-) |
| agree |
Bourth (X)
: Was about to say the same about the forestry term, though in context here it makes sense to be "sweeping".
1 hr
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I got the wood on you there then. Of course "sweeping" makes sense, but "swingeing" is more colourful!
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Discussion