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Feb 9, 2021 10:45
3 yrs ago
70 viewers *
French term

pas si fantastiques

French to English Other General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
From an article about plastic recycling:

Depuis votre poubelle jaune jusqu'aux technologies des usines de recyclage, voici tout ce que vous devez savoir sur le cycle de vie des déchets en plastique, pas si fantastiques.

The agreement is with déchets, but it feels as though it ought to refer to the concept as a whole i.e. this isn't just science fiction, it's something quite mundane. But I may be completely off the mark... hence the question!
Proposed translations (English)
3 +6 Suggestion for the whole phrase
3 +3 not very/that pleasant
4 +2 not all that good, it's not all it's cracked up to be
3 +2 not that mysterious
4 +1 Life in plastic, it's not so fantastic [from I'm a Barbie Girl]
4 not so great
References
Song

Discussion

Emmanuella Feb 9, 2021:
https://www.huffingtonpost.fr/entry/elmer-food-beat-plastiqu...
Wendy Cummings (asker) Feb 9, 2021:
@Allegrotrans Agree completely, very happy to go with lateral thinking, but my mind feels very boxed in today!
AllegroTrans Feb 9, 2021:
It's a play on words "plastic isn't so fantastic"
And as it isn't a formal document I think you have a certain degree of licence in translating this. Think laterally!
Saeed Najmi Feb 9, 2021:
Except for the "s" at the end of the word "fantastiques", the use of the comma just before suggests it is a comment by the writer.
Karen Marston Feb 9, 2021:
Check with client In this case I would check with my client because if there is a typo and it should in fact refer to 'cycle de vie' you need to know that. But I have just seen the previous discussion entry which may be your answer!
Emmanuella Feb 9, 2021:
https://www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/plastic-not-so-fantas...

Proposed translations

+6
31 mins
Selected

Suggestion for the whole phrase

From your yellow wastebin to recycling plant tech, here's everything you need to know about the not-so-fantastic plastic waste lifecycle.

I think it's about déchets (pas) fantastiques

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 14 mins (2021-02-10 11:00:02 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

It's the waste that isn't fantastic but that rhymes with plastic
Peer comment(s):
agree Carol Gullidge : agree, although not posting the phrase in the Answer box does pose problems when it comes to Glossary entries!
36 mins
thanks, but this isn't one for the glossary, not being a translation "term"
agree Mpoma : yup
40 mins
thanks!
agree Shelley Upton : Yes, a nice way to get the play on words in there.
1 hr
thanks!
agree Yvonne Gallagher
2 hrs
thanks!
agree Victoria Britten
2 hrs
thanks!
agree philgoddard
5 hrs
thanks!
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
+3
9 mins

not very/that pleasant

It is unpleasant to learn about the lifecycle of waste. It is a disgusting reality.
Peer comment(s):
agree Yvonne Gallagher
2 hrs
Thanks Yvonne
agree Shiam Alshami
4 hrs
Thanks Shiam.
neutral philgoddard : Why ignore the wordplay? It's easy to translate.
6 hrs
Hi Philgoddard. Thanks for your comment. I was actually concerned with the end-meaning more than with the technicalities of translation I ended up overlooking other aspects.
agree Nitya R.
7 days
Thanks Nitya
Something went wrong...
+2
31 mins

not all that good, it's not all it's cracked up to be

not all that good: normal level of language
"it's not all it's cracked up to be" is rather colloquial but still quite correct. Definitely a much stronger repudiation that the former.
Peer comment(s):
agree Yvonne Gallagher : "really not so great" if plastic/fantastic rhyme not wanted
2 hrs
agree Nitya R. : Yes, "really not so great" or "really not all that great" could work too
7 days
Something went wrong...
+2
1 hr

not that mysterious

My departure point is the meaning of "fantastique(s)" that relates to fantasy or the fantastical (as in something strange, weird, "out there" or, as the asker mentioned, sci-fi). To me, it seems this is simply a campaign to explain and therefore demystify the recycling process - thereby rendering it less mysterious to the public.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Saeed Najmi : Right. people take waste, including plastic, for granted. Many are not aware of what it takes to recycle it, hence the comment at the end of the text.
2 hrs
Thanks.
agree marlene dolitsky : maybe this suggestion is not totally sci-fi, but "it's not rocket science."
2 hrs
Thanks!
agree Jessica Noyes
5 hrs
Thanks!
Something went wrong...
1 day 1 hr

not so great

There is talk of how plastic waste is managed, which is not an exceptional process.
Something went wrong...
+1
8 days

Life in plastic, it's not so fantastic [from I'm a Barbie Girl]

Victoria's reference is excellent, but the first thing that came to my mind was the I'm a Barbie Girl song by Acqua. If pas si fantastiques is indeed a rhyming play on the French 90s track, then maybe you can retain the wordplay by alluding to a song many English speakers will have heard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyhrYis509A
♪I'm a Barbie girl in a Barbie world
Life in plastic, it's fantastic♪
Example sentence:

Life in plastic, it's not so fantastic, so here's all you need to know about the life cycle of plastic waste from the recycling bin to the recycling plant.

Life in plastic, it's not so fantastic—so here's the lowdown on the life cycle of plastic waste from bin to plant.

Reference:

http://www.metrolyrics.com/barbie-girl-lyrics-aqua.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbie_Girl

Peer comment(s):
agree BdiL
8 hrs
Something went wrong...

Reference comments

2 hrs
Reference:

Song

This refers to a 1991 song by Elmer Food Beat: Le plastic c'est fantastique. That fact doesn't actually (I think) need to make any difference where the translation itself is concerned, but you never know when it might come up in a quiz !
Reference:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNm-3j98dSg

Peer comments on this reference comment:
agree Daryo : I think that it certainly does make a difference - if nothing else makes it clear that it's the plastic that's not so great, not its lifecycle.
4 hrs
agree philgoddard : The English term "plastic fantastic" has often been used for credit cards, possibly earlier than this.
6 hrs
agree Wolf Draeger : Although the song is about condoms (AIDS epidemic, I guess), but great research.
7 days
agree BdiL : Great research
8 days
Something went wrong...
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