# à deux doigts de



## valentine

vous êtes passé à deux doigts de la fortune

Please translate the above sentence to English

*Moderator note: several threads on the same topic were merged. *


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## Benjy

valentine said:
			
		

> vous êtes passé à deux doigts de la fortune
> 
> Please translate the above sentence to English



im assuming à deux doigts is like à un poil prés of other expressions de ce genre sooo it merans liek you just missed out on a fortune? fortune != luck?


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## Nico5992

Benjy said:
			
		

> im assuming à deux doigts is like à un poil prés of other expressions de ce genre sooo it merans liek you just missed out on a fortune? fortune != luck?


 
In this case "fortune" doesn't mean "luck" but a great amount of money.
And you're assuming right in regard to the phrase "à deux doigts".


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## Lounes

Hello,

Comment traduire en anglais:

"A deux doigts de..."

Merci.


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## Moune

Bonjour, 
Je dirais* a hair's breadth of*


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## Monsieur Hoole

petite correction:

a hair's breadth away (from)

M.H.


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## Loic

_By_ a hair's breadth ????????


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## On Retrouve a Paris

What does a hair's breadth mean?

Thanks.


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## Smash

A small space, distance, or margin: _       won by a hairsbreadth _


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## On Retrouve a Paris

Smash said:


> A small space, distance, or margin: _won by a hairsbreadth _


 
Merci! On a tournure en Chine qui ressemble à cela


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## ramshackle

hello, please may someone suggest a translation for 'etre a deux doigts de la mort' is it like being minutes from death? thanks


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## Broff

To be within inches from death.


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## floise

Hi ramshackle,

_To be at death's door_?

Floise


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## Lil_Dave

the meaning is "to be very close to death" but there might be more idiomatic expressions.


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## ramshackle

merci a tous


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## Teafrog

To be a hair's breadth from death


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## Broff

To look at death straight in the eyes, is also a possibility.


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## Franglais1969

floise said:


> Hi ramshackle,
> 
> _To be at death's door_?
> 
> Floise



I like this translation.


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## la grive solitaire

To feel the wings of death / the breath of death


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## david314

Broff said:


> To be within inches from/of death.


  I would opt for the above suggestion -especially given the fact that _the inch_ has it's origin in _the breadth of a man's thumb_.


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## Laura91360

Hello

I try to translate this phrase : "Je suis à deux doigts de laisser tomber"
but I don't know how.  Could someone help me ? 

Thanks


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## laudace

Bounjour.

Pourriez-vous me donner une petite explication en fr., (soit de contexte), s.v.p.?

Amicalement.


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## Captain Ishido

_I am about to..._


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## Laura91360

Voici le contexte : 
Deux personnes viennent d'entamer une nouvelle relation. Mais l'une d'elle en a un sentiment assez mitigé. Elle pense interrompre cette relation : elle est à deux doigts de laisser tomber.


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## weefoot

She "almost wants to split up" ?


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## weefoot

Je pense à l'expression "on the verge".
Would "on the verge of a break-up" work ?


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## laudace

Yes, weefoot.  To be on the verge of doing something is to be ready to do it at any moment.  Être bien prêt(e) de faire qqch.  Est-ce cette expression existe en français?

Also, one might say:
I'm sitting on my hands to keep from doing something.  (Similar, but not the same in this case, I think)
Meilleurs.


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## calembourde

Yes, I think that something like 'on the verge of breaking up with...' would work.

The expression that immediately comes to mind when I see 'à deux doigts de' is 'to be _this close_ to doing something' but you can only use that while speaking, because you have to show with your fingers how close you are to doing it.

Edit: In fact I can imagine somebody saying 'I was this close...' over the phone or something, when they can not show how close with the fingers. It's a bit like the expression, 'I've had it up to here'... logically it makes no sense without the accompanying gesture, but people are so used to saying it that they say it anyway. Still, it would look silly if you wrote it.


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## weefoot

C'est "être à deux doigts de" ou "être sur le point de", voire "au bord de" (la rupture) en français


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## Sandrita-Héléna

Hey there! first post....
How will you translate the french expression: "*à deux doigts de faire quelque chose*?"
Thanks a lot!


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## jierbe31

Sandrita-Héléna said:


> Hey there! first post....
> How will you translate the french expression: "*à deux doigts de faire quelque chose*?"
> Thanks a lot!



=> very close to doing sthg / within an inch of doing sthg


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## SwissPete

To come within a hairbreadth (or hairsbreadth) of doing something.

Source.


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## bh7

In Canada we still spell it "hair's breadth", "within a hair's breadth".

Sorry, almost forgot what I really wanted to say.  The turn of phrase reminded me of the comedy show "Get Smart" [recently resurrected] and Smart's saying "I came *that* close" accompanied by a two-finger gesture.


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## Sandrita-Héléna

Thanks for your answers!
Will "just about to..." work?


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## SwissPete

> Will "just about to..." work?


It might.

« Je suis à deux doigts de te flanquer un coup de pied au derrière ».
"I am just about to kick your butt".

Do they have the same meaning?


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## Sandrita-Héléna

Yeah, i think so.
Anyways, thanks for your help, all of you.
I'm actually trying to do the subtitles of a Gad Elmaleh's show (just for fun), and it's a bit harder than i thought!
Thanks again...


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## massirifani

_*To be close to doing something*_
je sais que cela veut dire etre pres de faire qlque chose, 
mais c'est mon essai!!!!
Thank you in advance!


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## SwissPete

Yes, or *to be on the brink of doing something.*


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## auntie-mae

or:  to be on the verge of doing sth. (more literary and rarer than "on the brink of doing sth.")

or more simply:  to be about to do sth.


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## Biglake

"I'm an inch away from kicking your butt" would sound more colloquial.


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## steviesouris

bh7 said:


> In Canada we still spell it "hair's breadth", "within a hair's breadth".
> 
> Sorry, almost forgot what I really wanted to say.  The turn of phrase reminded me of the comedy show "Get Smart" [recently resurrected] and Smart's saying "I came *that* close" accompanied by a two-finger gesture.



Actually Maxwell Smart said: "Missed it by _that_ much."


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## Queen Rogue

Bonjour!!!

Je dirais:

I am _this close_ to do something!! 

en insistant bien sur _this close_ et même en rajoutant un petit geste avec le pouce et l'index?


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