# tant bien que mal [dans divers contextes]



## Tresley

Hello,

Does anyone know a good English translation for 'tant bien que mal'.  I can't find the expression in any of my dictionaries and on WR it gives the expression "continuer tant bien que mal" meaning "to stumble on". I don't really unterstand the English translation because to me "to stumble on" means "to find something unexpectedly". HELP!!

So, how would 'tant bien que mal' be translated in this sentence:

"Il assume tant bien que mal sa fonction, tiraillé entre les intérêts d'une population locale et ceux des soldats français."

My attempt:

"He took up his duty for better or worse, torn between the interests of the local population and the interests of the French soldiers".

Does "tant bien que mal" mean "for better or worse"?  If not, what is a good translation?

I would appreciate your help.

Thanks.


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## FRENFR

tant bien que mal = as best one can...


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## Tresley

FRENFR said:
			
		

> tant bien que mal = as best one can...


 
Thank you FRENFR. That seems to fit both examples I quoted. 

"Carry on as best one can"

"He took up his duty as best he could"

GREAT!! TY TY TY

Did you find that translation in a dictionary?


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## FRENFR

Being an interpreter helps a little  

Oh, and in the expression "to stumble on", you can now see that "continuer tant bien que mal" literally means "to continue as best one can".... commonly called "stumbling on".  Clever eh!


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## francophoneauxeu

Bonjour~

Voici ma premiere demande addressee a ce forum. J'ai deja cherche dans le dictionnaire et j'ai des problemes a trouver une definition qui convient. S'il vous plait, je voudrais savoir la meilleure traduction en anglais de l'extrait suivant:

"...General Motors tente tant bien que mal de suivre cette tendance..."

Voici mon premier essai:

"...General Motors is trying harder than ever to keep up with this trend..."

Qu'en pensez-vous?

Merci de votre aide.

NJD


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## lenightowl

"GM is endeavouring to follow the trend."


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## david314

Both are correct, in my opinion. That of lenightowl is indeed finer language, (but please note, Ma'am, that both of us are _midwestern Americans, _as this matters). Best wishes


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## francophoneauxeu

Merci a vous deux, et Bonne Annee!

NJD


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## Gil

> Tant bien que mal. Médiocrement, avec un résultat aléatoire. Je me suis aperçu à temps de mon tort, et je suis revenu tant bien que mal (CONSTANT, Journaux, 1804, p. 152).





> Tant bien que mal ou, vieilli, que bien* que mal. Ni bien ni mal. Vous autres, vous chanterez le refrain avec moi, tant bien que mal, comme vous pourrez (GUILBERT DE PIXÉR., Coelina, 1801, II, 4, p. 31).


 Source : TLFi
My try:
"...General Motors is trying, with mitigated results, to keep up with this trend..."
 Joyeuses Fëtes à tous.


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## Tresley

francophoneauxeu said:


> "...General Motors tente tant bien que mal de suivre cette tendance..."


 
"General Motors is doing the best that it can to keep up with this trend"


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## Cath.S.

How about _GM is struggling to_ etc?


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## Football Taxis

> How about _GM is struggling to_ etc?




_struggling to_ is, to me, saying that GM is doing poorly at keeping up with the trend. That's not exactly the imression I get.


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## Cath.S.

Football Taxis said:


> _struggling to_ is, to me, saying that GM is doing poorly at keeping up with the trend. That's not exactly the imression I get.


_Tant bien que mal_ is less than flattering and does imply it is not doing well.


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## Football Taxis

> _Tant bien que mal_ is less than flattering and does imply it is not doing well.


 
i see. then I would prefer your "struggling" or "stumbling" to "endeavouring" or "doing the best it can," both of which [the latter two] are more positive.


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## geostan

General Motors is making a half-hearted attempt to keep up with this trend.


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## issey1

Bonjour a tout le monde,

Je veux traduire an anglais l'expression _'tant bien que mal'. _Je connais 'en tant que' se traduit comme  'as' et 'bien que' comme 'although' mais celle-ci je ne sais pas!! quelqu'un peut m'aider?


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## edwingill

Could you kindly give some context. It generally has a connotation of struggling


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## issey1

je crois que l'article fait reference a la chute des cinephiles. Voici un peu de contexte:

*'Les salles gardent, tant bien que mal, la tete hors de l'eau'*

De plus, est-ce que les salles veulent dire les petits cinemas independants? je suis un peu confondu! merci a tous!


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## Floor

Pour moi, _les salles _désigne _l'ensemble des cinémas_.
Pour _tant bien que mal_, que pensez-vous de: *somehow or other  ?*


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## cropje_jnr

Il s'agit là d'une phrase que j'entend très souvent en français. Quant à la traduction, j'aimerais proposer:

_one way or another_

"Somehow or other" me semble marcher très bien aussi


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## edwingill

With great difficulty


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## maraki35605

Bonjour à tous!
Comment vous diriez cette phrase en anglais?
Je vous cite encore un example.
_"Le monde ouvrier avait dû très vite et tant bien que mal accepter la pause sociale"_
Merci à tous!


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## Conchita57

"Tant bien que mal" peut se traduire ici par :

_as best it/they could._


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## Padraig

_for better or for worse_


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## david314

I favor Padraig's suggestion. I also sometimes translate this as: _one way or another. _


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## Jean-Michel Carrère

accept willy-nilly


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## chickenlicken

I'm not sure how to translate 'tant bien que mal'. 

The full phrase is "Les rues raccordaient tant bien que mal les murets bricolés, les palissades et les grillages, séparant les devants de porte étriqués."

I've looked at the other threads and I know people often suggest 'as best they can' or 'after a fashion', 'some way or another', but the first wouldn't be applicable to inanimate objects, and the other two are fairly clumsy and long-winded for the literary context.

My suggestion is "         Streets muddledly joined the roughly made walls, fences and wire barricades etc...", or even "A muddle / a confusion of streets etc...", but I'm afraid this might add too much personal interpretation: assuming that if the streets are doing something 'tant bien que mal' they must be muddled. 'Muddledly' is a little clumsy as well.

Could anyone help please?!


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## Kiwipro

haphazardly? or haphazard streets?


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## clairet

I definitely wouldn't use "muddledly" - much less elegant than "after a fashion", which you dismiss as too clumsy though it seems fine to me.  "Haphazardly" suggests the connection is just chance when presumably it's more than that: you'd need to say "seemingly haphazardly", which is a bit of a mouthful.  I'd vote for "The streets connect the roughly made walls..etc...after a fashion, separating...".


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## frenchlady

tant bien que mal = plus ou moins bien


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## sneaky13

more or less


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