père de Josette / paire de chaussettes

English translation: Even more silly names

22:53 Mar 21, 2017
French to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Idioms / Maxims / Sayings / puns/humour
French term or phrase: père de Josette / paire de chaussettes
French film - am doing the English subtitles.


This is a really difficult one. When translating the screenplay, I reflected on this for weeks, and came up with precisely nothing, so left it in French in the end. Now I'm doing the subtitles for the film, so I absolutely have to come up with an English joke/pun …


A couple are talking about having children.
The man makes a silly pun about babies' names.
The man says
"Si c'est une fille, on l'appellera Josette - j'ai toujours rêvé d'être le père de Josette." (paire de chaussettes)

I need to adapt this into English. As it's for subtitles, the more concise the better.

If anyone feels like having a shot at this, all suggestions very welcome.

Thank you.

Caroline.
Caroline
English translation:Even more silly names
Explanation:
If it's a girl, we'll call her Feld; I've always wanted to be feldspar.
If it's a girl, we'll call her Lolly; I've always wanted to be a lollipop.
If it's a girl, we'll call her Uhm; I've always wanted to be an oom pah pah.
If it's a girl, we'll call her Sugar; I've always wanted to be a sugar daddy.
If it's a girl, we'll call her Dissy; I've always wanted to be a dissipater.

Or, on a slightly different note:
If it's a girl, we'll call her Carrie; I've always wanted to have charisma.

If it's a girl, we'll call her Minnie; I've always wanted to be a minimum.
If it's a boy, we'll call him Max; I've always wanted to be a maximum.
Selected response from:

B D Finch
France
Local time: 16:35
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +6Even more silly names
B D Finch
2 +3a couple of (silly) suggestions
Charles Davis
3 +2Trinny dad / Trinidad
Rachel Fell
3SueAnn father/ shoo-in father
Pierre Castegnier
1 +1Ginger's pop (ginger pop)
Wendy Streitparth
2more silly suggestions
ormiston


Discussion entries: 4





  

Answers


5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
SueAnn father/ shoo-in father


Explanation:
If it’s a girl, we’ll call her SueAnne – I’ve always dreamt of being a Shoo-in father.
(for what it's worth)

Pierre Castegnier
Local time: 10:35
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
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7 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 1/5Answerer confidence 1/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Ginger's pop (ginger pop)


Explanation:
Perhaps its too early in the morning! Really difficult when you're not up to par.

Wendy Streitparth
Germany
Local time: 16:35
Native speaker of: English

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  BrigitteHilgner: My natice language is neither French nor English, but I understand the pun.
40 mins
  -> Thanks Brigitte - didn't expect any agrees :-)
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10 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): +3
a couple of (silly) suggestions


Explanation:
"We'll call her Leamington. I've always dreamed of being Leamington's pa (Leamington Spa)."
British people would get this but Americans probably wouldn't. But perhaps there's another familiar spa town I haven't thought of.

"We'll call her Field. I've always dreamed of being father of Field (farther afield)."

Obviously nobody would call their daughter Leamington, and Field is pretty rare, though it exists. They're just excuses for a pun.

I've been trying to do something with Pa to F.... / part of ....., but without success.


Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 16:35
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Jennifer White: Yes, if certain people can call their child Brooklyn, why not Leamington??!!
3 hrs
  -> Stranger things have happened! Thanks, Jennifer :)

agree  katsy: I've been chuckling over Leamington for the past hour. As I come to post, I find Jennifer gives one of the examples I was going to quote - the other being Satchel (W.Allen's child)
3 hrs
  -> Thanks, Katsy! Hardly anything is out of bounds when it comes to naming children these days. Sixties' rock stars showed the way (Frank Zappa called his children Dweezil and Moon Unit). So why not Leamington, indeed?

agree  Caroline64: I really liked father of Field - this set me off on a whole lot of other searches using further or farther. Thanks
6 days
  -> Thanks, Caroline. I'd forgotten about this! It's fun trying to think of them, isn't it?
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12 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
Trinny dad / Trinidad


Explanation:
as in the name Trinny - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinny_and_Susannah

Rachel Fell
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:35
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Jennifer White: good one!
7 hrs
  -> Thank you Jennifer :-))

agree  Caroline64
6 days
  -> Thank you Caroline :-)
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12 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5
more silly suggestions


Explanation:
What about calling her Dot - I've always wanted a 'dotter'...!!

ormiston
Local time: 16:35
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 8
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13 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +6
Even more silly names


Explanation:
If it's a girl, we'll call her Feld; I've always wanted to be feldspar.
If it's a girl, we'll call her Lolly; I've always wanted to be a lollipop.
If it's a girl, we'll call her Uhm; I've always wanted to be an oom pah pah.
If it's a girl, we'll call her Sugar; I've always wanted to be a sugar daddy.
If it's a girl, we'll call her Dissy; I've always wanted to be a dissipater.

Or, on a slightly different note:
If it's a girl, we'll call her Carrie; I've always wanted to have charisma.

If it's a girl, we'll call her Minnie; I've always wanted to be a minimum.
If it's a boy, we'll call him Max; I've always wanted to be a maximum.

B D Finch
France
Local time: 16:35
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 28
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Sandra & Kenneth Grossman: Like!
43 mins
  -> Thanks!

agree  Yvonne Gallagher: silly but inventive and easy to "get". I found it hard to come up with anything decent so refrained:-)
3 hrs
  -> Thanks Gallagy. You agree that they're silly?

agree  Yolanda Broad
14 hrs
  -> Thanks Yolanda

agree  Paolo Dagonnier
23 hrs
  -> Thanks Paolo

agree  Victoria Britten: Wonderfully silly. That having been said, my vote would go to Sugar, possibly the least silly of the 'father' ones, because it seems to me to most closely fit the different parameters of the original.
1 day 8 hrs
  -> Thanks Victoria

agree  Caroline64: I like Sugar Daddy
6 days
  -> Thanks Caroline
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