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Dundee cake

French translation: [être dispersé] de façon aléatoire mais de manière à couvrir tout le terrain

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:Dundee cake
French translation:[être dispersé] de façon aléatoire mais de manière à couvrir tout le terrain

12:29 Apr 27, 2017
    The asker opted for community grading. The question was closed on 2017-05-01 12:54:07 based on peer agreement (or, if there were too few peer comments, asker preference.)


English to French translations [PRO]
Food & Drink / expression
English term or phrase: Dundee cake
Bonjour,

je cherche une expression française qui pourrait se rapprocher de cette phrase, le "Dundee cake" étant peu connu en France :

"Machine-gun posts were to be scattered like cherries in a Dundee cake."

Merci
Fanette Pocentek-Leroy
France
Local time: 14:47
[être dispersé] de façon aléatoire mais de manière à couvrir tout le terrain
Explanation:
Machine-gun posts were to be scattered like cherries in a Dundee cake
=
les nids de mitrailleuse devaient être dispersés de façon aléatoire mais de manière à couvrir tout le terrain

"scattered": the key point is to make the positions of machine-gun posts less predictable => "être dispersés de façon aléatoire"

If I understand well the recipe for a Dundee cake cherries have to be well distributed throughout the cake - you should have a chance of finding some in any slice. => "... de manière à couvrir tout le terrain"

I would forget about "equivalent culinary recipes", maybe only add a note reminding of the original text (en anglais: "like cherries in a Dundee cake")
Selected response from:

Daryo
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:47
Grading comment
Merci !
Je pense garder l'idée de "parsemer" pour "scattered", peut-être en ajoutant "aléatoirement"

"Les nids de mitrailleuse devaient être parsemés aléatoirement sur tout le terrain" ou quelque chose de ce genre
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +1bien distribué
B D Finch
5gâteau écossais aux fruits
Geraldine Njonkou
3 +2[être dispersé] de façon aléatoire mais de manière à couvrir tout le terrain
Daryo
4 -2en secteurs
HERBET Abel


  

Answers


14 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -2
dundee cake
en secteurs


Explanation:
Si l'image à donner est celle du dessus du "dundee cake" avec les amandes bien rangées on peut dire "en secteurs" ou "réparties à distances égales"
Par contre on ne peut pas parler de l'intérieur du gâteau qui est alors un "cake" chez nous avec une répartition aléatoire


https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=dundee cake&qpvt=dundee...




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Note added at 15 mins (2017-04-27 12:45:32 GMT)
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Mais le texte est bizarre car il parle bien des cerises "dans" le gâteau, ce serait donc une critique de la chose militaire

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 16 mins (2017-04-27 12:46:19 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Alors si c'est le cas on peut dire par ex. "au hasard"

HERBET Abel
Local time: 14:47
Native speaker of: French
PRO pts in category: 8
Notes to answerer
Asker: Merci !


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  writeaway: c-à-d: ils sont un peu partout et n'importe où, imo
23 mins
  -> le texte est bizarre avec son "in"
disagree  B D Finch: You never decorate the top of a Dundee cake with cherries!//I did and the cake metaphor is about the distribution of cherries within the cake. In fact, before putting the almonds on top, you gently poke down any cherries that are on the surface.
46 mins
  -> you should read me first instead of sending your permanent criticisms
disagree  Tony M: The metaphor here is about the image of cherries IN the cake, not the almonds on the top! In any case, it just means 'distributed throughout a certain area'
2 hrs
  -> no its about the guns
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
dundee cake
bien distribué


Explanation:
The cherries in a Dundee cake should be well distributed throughout the cake, rather than sunk to the bottom or in clumps so that some of the slices end up with only raisins, peel and currants, while others have a surfeit of cherries.

B D Finch
France
Local time: 14:47
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 8
Notes to answerer
Asker: Merci !


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tony M: I'm not sure about 'distribuer', but the sense is certainly correct.
1 hr
  -> Thanks Tony. Dundee cake was one of my mother's specialities.
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
dundee cake
gâteau écossais aux fruits


Explanation:
suggestion : "comme des cerises dans un clafoutis" .

A mon avis, clafoutis passe mieux que Dundee cake ou gâteau écossais pour exprimer l'idée.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2017-04-27 14:03:08 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

A mon avis, il s'agit d'une répartition aléatoire que l'auteur a voulu imager, et ce serait dommage d'enlever cette image de gâteau dans la traduction.

Geraldine Njonkou
Cameroon
Native speaker of: French
Notes to answerer
Asker: Merci !


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  writeaway: clafoutis came to my mind as well!/like cherries in a clafoutis
12 mins
  -> Merci !
disagree  Tony M: A 'clafoutis' is specifically a cherry batter pudding, there should be LOTS of them, unlike in a Dundee cake, where they are just distributed here and there among the other fruit, which is in the majority. The idea is 'dotted with'.
1 hr
neutral  B D Finch: As clafoutis is thinner than Dundee cake, the distribution of the cherries is only a 2D, not a 3D problem.
5 hrs
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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
like cherries in a Dundee cake
[être dispersé] de façon aléatoire mais de manière à couvrir tout le terrain


Explanation:
Machine-gun posts were to be scattered like cherries in a Dundee cake
=
les nids de mitrailleuse devaient être dispersés de façon aléatoire mais de manière à couvrir tout le terrain

"scattered": the key point is to make the positions of machine-gun posts less predictable => "être dispersés de façon aléatoire"

If I understand well the recipe for a Dundee cake cherries have to be well distributed throughout the cake - you should have a chance of finding some in any slice. => "... de manière à couvrir tout le terrain"

I would forget about "equivalent culinary recipes", maybe only add a note reminding of the original text (en anglais: "like cherries in a Dundee cake")


Daryo
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:47
Native speaker of: Native in SerbianSerbian, Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 12
Grading comment
Merci !
Je pense garder l'idée de "parsemer" pour "scattered", peut-être en ajoutant "aléatoirement"

"Les nids de mitrailleuse devaient être parsemés aléatoirement sur tout le terrain" ou quelque chose de ce genre

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  B D Finch: Wordy, but that demonstrates the power of the cake metaphor.
1 hr
  -> with the help of a good explanation, you can eventually get there... Thanks!
agree  Tony M: Exactly the right nuance!
3 hrs
  -> Thanks!
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