Le roi n'est pas ton cousin

English translation: You\'ve got it in the bag

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:Le roi n\'est pas ton cousin
English translation:You\'ve got it in the bag
Entered by: Anna Fitzgerald

16:23 Nov 14, 2015
French to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
French term or phrase: Le roi n'est pas ton cousin
This is from a French novel where the narrator has imagined a Nietzsche that plays golf:

Mais oui ! Pourquoi pas ?
Chiche ! Vas-y Friedrich.
Le roi n'est pas ton cousin.
18 trous sous le crachin.

Here's a definition I found for the expression (http://www.expressio.fr/expressions/le-roi-n-est-pas-son-cou... It's basically a compliment meaning that one is as happy as a king.

That aside, I've talked to the author, who explained to me the effect he was after. For him, the expression is dated, evoking something of the 1970s. He was trying for something "populaire, aggressif et vieillot".

I've thought of expressions with luck: you lucky devil/son-of-gun, but those seem a little off because the Nietzsche-golfer is being encouraged, not congratulated for a stroke of luck. I also thought of, "You look like a million bucks".

Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Anna Fitzgerald
France
Local time: 23:22
You've got it in the bag
Explanation:
Another suggestion
Selected response from:

Elizabeth Tamblin
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:22
Grading comment
Thanks, Elizabeth. This is the translation the author liked best, in part for its rhythm, which is important to him. In other contexts, some of the other suggestions might be better.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +1Don't have everyone waiting as if you were from the royal family.
Frenchy1974
4I wouldn’t call the King (Queen) your cousin
Marie_D
3 +1Go ahead, just give it a shot! (You can do it!)
Ana Vozone
4No great brilliance is required to figure out
Alain Rondeau
3 +1Go on! Show us your Midas touch!
Yvonne Gallagher
4Prove you're the 'king of the swingers'!
Graeme Jones
3Be a real man!
kashew
3give it a bloody swing, man dammit!
AllegroTrans
3damn the King and give it a swing!
AllegroTrans
3Give it some welly! (EN-UK)
B D Finch
3You've got it in the bag
Elizabeth Tamblin
Summary of reference entries provided
Origin and meaning
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Expressio
Tony M

Discussion entries: 20





  

Answers


1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Le roi n\\\'est pas ton cousin
I wouldn’t call the King (Queen) your cousin


Explanation:
originally "I wouldn’t call the King (or Queen) my cousin"
e.g.
http://inconversationwithgod.com/i-wouldnt-call-the-king-my-...
***
It was the moment when they had passed successfully their first examination and left the seamanship Examiner with the little precious slip of blue paper in their hands. ‘That day I wouldn't have called the Queen my cousin,’ declared our new acquaintance enthusiastically. (J. Conrad, ‘Chance’, part I, ch. 1)

Marie_D
Russian Federation
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Le roi n\'est pas ton cousin
Go ahead, just give it a shot! (You can do it!)


Explanation:
Suggestion.

Ana Vozone
Local time: 22:22
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Nikki Scott-Despaigne: Give it a shot! Give it your best shot!
18 hrs
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
No great brilliance is required to figure out


Explanation:
I think «It is not that difficult» seems to be the meaning of this expression.
Like in French we say : ne pas avoir inventé l'eau tiède (chaude) / le fil à couper le beurre.

Alain Rondeau
Canada
Local time: 18:22
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
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17 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Don't have everyone waiting as if you were from the royal family.


Explanation:
obviously, the other golf players are waiting their turn.

Frenchy1974
France
Local time: 23:22
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in FrenchFrench

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  writeaway: imo the meaning is in this direction, unless the dicos I saw are all wrong.
3 hrs
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23 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
Be a real man!


Explanation:
"If you want to be proud of yourself" / "Show us what your made of" / Don't be a whimp!" get out there in the rain and play.
Maybe one of those fits the tone?

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 23 heures (2015-11-15 15:33:48 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Superman!

kashew
France
Local time: 23:22
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 40
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23 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
give it a bloody swing, man dammit!


Explanation:
a bit of golfing aggression + a swear word here and there

AllegroTrans
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:22
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8
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23 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
damn the King and give it a swing!


Explanation:
the notion that you are not a member of the royal family and your happiness is at least as importance as the King's

AllegroTrans
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:22
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Tony M: I suspect the inadvertent association here would be with Elvis 'The King'...
4 mins
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1 day 2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
Give it some welly! (EN-UK)


Explanation:
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-giv2.htm

B D Finch
France
Local time: 23:22
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 28

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Tony M: Nice, but isn't that a bit too modern for the period suggested? I can remember when I first heard this expression in the UK, thought it came from a TV series. / Oh great, that's OK then :-)
54 mins
  -> According to my ref, it's a 1970s expression, but I think it's a bit older.
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1 day 5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Go on! Show us your Midas touch!


Explanation:
or

Let's see your Midas touch
Give it your Midas touch
Prove you've got that Midas touch

Obviously a Midas figure can do it all and should be blissfully happy and also reference to king...

inspired by your "he's golden"

Or you might even want to keep to that image and use

Go on you super-duper golden boy! Hit us with your best shot!

(Drawing a blank on 70s things to fit all the criteria here:-))

Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Local time: 22:22
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 7

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Carol Gullidge: Something along these lines seems the best fit the Discussion entries
2 days 18 hrs
  -> Thanks Carol:-) I thought you might have come up with something apt yourself!
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3 days 1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Prove you're the 'king of the swingers'!


Explanation:
The Jungle Book (1967) - king Louis
Golfing pun on 'swingers'
Vague parallel (OK it's a stretch!) with famous French kings (Louis)

Graeme Jones
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:22
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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4 days   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
You've got it in the bag


Explanation:
Another suggestion

Elizabeth Tamblin
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:22
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
Thanks, Elizabeth. This is the translation the author liked best, in part for its rhythm, which is important to him. In other contexts, some of the other suggestions might be better.
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Reference comments


20 hrs peer agreement (net): +2
Reference: Origin and meaning

Reference information:
http://www.linternaute.com/expression/langue-francaise/12559...


Le roi n'est pas son cousin"



Signification


Son bonheur est supérieur à celui d’un roi.



Origine


Popularisée en 1690, cette expression renvoie à l’image que représente la plénitude du bonheur. En effet, s’il est de notoriété publique qu’un roi est forcément au summum du bonheur, alors ne pas être son cousin renvoie au fait que l’on est tellement heureux que le roi lui-même n’est pas digne d’être l’un de nos parents proches.


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Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this reference comment (and responses from the reference poster)
neutral  writeaway: I've seen sources that say it's about being stuck up, full of oneself
37 mins
agree  Charles Davis: Not sure which sources writeaway's been looking at, but Académie 1835, no less, says "Je m'estimerais plus heureux que le roi" for this: "Si telle chose m'arrivait, le roi ne serait pas mon cousin". Not much doubt this is the base meaning, I'd say.
3 hrs
agree  Tony M: The Expressio site originally quoted by Asker explains the part Writeaway is talking about [after the main explanation]: « Mais elle contient aussi parfois une notion de fierté excessive, proche de la prétention. »
6 hrs
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1 day 3 hrs
Reference: Expressio

Reference information:
Here is the link Asker originally posted, which unfortunately got truncated in the posting:

http://www.expressio.fr/expressions/le-roi-n-est-pas-son-cou...

Tony M
France
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 36
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