mettre l’épaule à la roue

English translation: To put one's shoulder to the wheel

15:06 Sep 22, 2015
French to English translations [PRO]
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings / Furniture
French term or phrase: mettre l’épaule à la roue
mettre l’épaule à la roue

Notre société est fière de mettre l’épaule à la roue dans le but de préserver toutes les beautés que la terre a à nous offrir et ce, depuis 1989.
Jonathan Cohen
Canada
Local time: 18:54
English translation:To put one's shoulder to the wheel
Explanation:
I guess this is the French equivalent for the idea of really putting an effort into an enterprise.
Selected response from:

Charles Ferguson
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:54
Grading comment
1 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +11To put one's shoulder to the wheel
Charles Ferguson
4 +2To put your back into it
Bonnie Zaleski
3 +1keep/put their nose to the grindstone
writeaway
4to harness itself
Sandra & Kenneth Grossman
4to keep both hands on the wheel
Lisa Jane
3taking on the challenge
Rachel Fell
2to join the crusade
Wendy Streitparth
Summary of reference entries provided
Canadian
writeaway
A calque of the English expression
B D Finch

Discussion entries: 3





  

Answers


3 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +11
To put one's shoulder to the wheel


Explanation:
I guess this is the French equivalent for the idea of really putting an effort into an enterprise.

Charles Ferguson
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:54
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 1

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  katsy: it does exist as a saying in English - perhaps less well known than w/a's suggestion//indeed:-)
20 mins
  -> more elegant than "nose to the grindstone", I think

agree  Terry Richards: Yes, it's a nautical expression - the wheel in question is a ship's wheel.
24 mins
  -> And thanks for the discussion input.

agree  kashew
1 hr
  -> Thank you.

agree  Yvonne Gallagher: I think Wendy is right about source (see Disc)
8 hrs
  -> Thank you.

agree  philgoddard
10 hrs
  -> Thank you.

agree  Daryo
13 hrs
  -> Thank you.

agree  EJP
17 hrs
  -> Thank you.

agree  B D Finch: It's a French calque of the English expression and seems not to be nautical, more about cartwheels stuck in mud.
19 hrs
  -> Thank you. The Canadian details are interestsing.

agree  KMPrice
21 hrs
  -> Thank you.

agree  Ronnie J Rigdon
22 hrs
  -> Thank you.

agree  patrickfor: pretty obvious it's a "french calque" (cf Barbara). Canadian french
1 day 3 hrs
  -> Thank you.Yes, the Canadian angle is interesting.
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6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
keep/put their nose to the grindstone


Explanation:
Sounds painful but it's the expression that comes to mind as some sort of English equivalent. axe to the grindstone sounds less painful.

writeaway
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  katsy
18 mins

neutral  Terry Richards: To me, this is more about keeping on with a dull and/or repetitive task. Putting your shoulder to the wheel is more about making a big effort. There's a lot of overlap obviously but I think the literal translation is better here.
24 mins
  -> it's just a suggestion. no big deal

neutral  Lisa Jane: agree with Terry
19 hrs
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5
to join the crusade


Explanation:
-

Wendy Streitparth
Germany
Local time: 23:54
Native speaker of: English
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
To put your back into it


Explanation:
This phrase might literally come from putting your shoulder to the wheel of a carriage stuck in the mud, but I think the expresssion "putting your back into it" is a more common phrase.

However, in the example sentence given, I would translate it as the hardwork or steadfast work that the society/group has put in [...]

Bonnie Zaleski
United States
Local time: 18:54
Native speaker of: English

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Daryo
1 hr

agree  Wendy Streitparth: Yes, this is definitely more common.
12 hrs

neutral  Lisa Jane: yes but we lose the wheel reference
15 hrs
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9 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
taking on the challenge


Explanation:
taking on the challenge of preserving....

www.oxfam.org.uk/trailtrekker7 Aug 2015 - Trailtrekker took place this weekend. It was a huge success with more than 130 teams taking on the challenge of a lifetime by walking 100km

Rachel Fell
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:54
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
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15 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
to harness itself


Explanation:
or
to harness its efforts

Sandra & Kenneth Grossman
Israel
Local time: 00:54
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in RomanianRomanian
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19 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
to keep both hands on the wheel


Explanation:
another alternative ...with wheel.

A more modern version of the shoulder to cart as it refers to driving a vehicle properly in order to stay in control. It means to stay firmly focused on the task-to make a concentrated effort.
A similar, and older, idiom (maritime) is 'to keep all hands on deck'

Lisa Jane
Italy
Local time: 23:54
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in ItalianItalian

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  B D Finch: Very different meaning!//Paying attention, not being distracted, vs "shoulder to the wheel" which is about making a major effort to get things moving, often in the context of a joint effort.
10 mins
  -> really? In what way? Ok- maybe all hands on deck as suggested is more suitable in your view?

neutral  Yvonne Gallagher: agree with BDF. This expression is not a synonym for the one asked, nor is "all hands on deck".
1 day 1 hr
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Reference comments


3 mins peer agreement (net): +1
Reference: Canadian

Reference information:
mettre l’épaule à la roue mɛtʁ le.pol a la ru (se conjugue, voir la conjugaison de mettre)

(Canada) Travailler soi-même à quelque chose, s’engager dans une action concrète.
https://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/mettre_l’épaule_à_la_roue

writeaway
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this reference comment (and responses from the reference poster)
agree  kashew
1 hr
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19 hrs peer agreement (net): +2
Reference: A calque of the English expression

Reference information:
This could explain why the expression "mettre l’épaule à la roue" seems to be used more by Canadian than by French sources and shows it's officially frowned upon even in Canada.

"On emploie parfois l’expression mettre l’épaule à la roue pour signifier « aider quelqu’un, collaborer avec quelqu’un ». Cette expression est un calque de la locution anglaise to put one’s shoulder to the wheel, dont le sens est « se mettre sérieusement au travail ». On évitera d’employer ce calque en français.

De nombreuses expressions bien françaises peuvent remplacer mettre l’épaule à la roue. Certaines contiennent même épaule ou roue : donner un coup d’épaule, épauler et pousser à la roue ont toutes trois le sens d’« aider ». D’autres expressions plus courantes peuvent aussi remplacer avantageusement mettre l’épaule à la roue, dont aider, contribuer, donner un coup de main, fournir son aide, mettre la main à la pâte et prêter main-forte. Pour traduire plus fidèlement le sens original de l’expression anglaise, on peut employer les expressions s’atteler à la tâche, se mettre à l’œuvre et faire un effort."

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Note added at 19 hrs (2015-09-23 10:47:51 GMT)
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And the English expression might be taken from Aesop according to http://badgerdown.blogspot.fr/2010/07/history-of-song-july-p...


    Reference: http://bdl.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/bdl/gabarit_bdl.asp?id=4405
B D Finch
France
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 28

Peer comments on this reference comment (and responses from the reference poster)
agree  Mpoma: yes, the real surprise is that this question got asked, and even more that it got answered... :)
8 hrs
  -> Thanks. Quite!
agree  Yvonne Gallagher: Lots of calques in Canadian French. This is how I've always understood the expression. Surprised at how many answerers have misunderstood it.
1 day 1 hr
  -> Thanks Gallagy. Me too.
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