# sur les bords



## mathieu&C

I'm having trouble understanding this sentence:

Il est un peu chochotte sur les bords..

Ma tentative: He's kinda effiminate when you get to know him.

Is " sur les bords " an expression ?

Merci

Moderator's note: several threads have been merged to create this one.


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## lilouxrs

yes, "sur les bords" is an expression and it means "slightly" in an informal way.

cheers


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## AFrenchGuy

Here is a French joke :

"- Quand ils sont à la piscine, pourquoi les belges/français/anglais (whatever you want) restent au milieu du bassin ?
- Parce qu'ils sont un peu cons sur les bords."


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## mathieu&C

ahah nice joke. I'll be sure to tell it next time I'm chillin at the pool


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## Vyriz

Hi,
We were talking with a friend of mine and he asked me if I knew an idiom to translate "sur les bords".
Like for example when you say "Elle est un peu maniaque sur les bords"
Thanks !


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## Quintis

Hello,

I don't know if it is truly an idiom but the character of approaching the fringes remains:

_Her mannerisms sometimes border on obsession.
_
I realize the structure of the sentence has to be drastically modified to fit the verb and hence it might not be the most natural translation that comes to mind.

Hope it helps!


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## Omelette

'un peu... sur les bords'
'ever so slightly'....?


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## Kelly B

_Around the edges_ is pretty similar, but you can't use it with very many adjectives; I cannot decide whether I think it's appropriate with _crazy_. _Rough around the edges_ is the most common, and means a little bit uncultured or uncivilized. Aside from that I don't have any better ideas than Omelette's.

I think_ border on_ is a little different - closer to _limite + adjective._


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## pointvirgule

Wouldn't _She's borderline + adj._ do?
(As for _maniaque_, it can mean different things, depending on context.)

Welcome to WR, Vyriz.


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## Omelette

I think ‘borderline’ is more usually followed by a noun – as in ‘borderline personality disorder’ -rather than an adjective.   
Also that – correct me if I’m wrong – ‘sur les bords’ (especially following ‘un peu’ ) is very often used informally and quite lightly, whereas ‘borderline’ sounds to me more like a clinical assessment.


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## pointvirgule

Omelette said:


> Also that – correct me if I’m wrong – ‘sur les bords’ (especially following ‘un peu’ ) is very often used informally and quite lightly, whereas ‘borderline’ sounds to me more like a clinical assessment.


It looks to me like _borderline _is now used in popular speak, witness occurrences of such phrases as _This is borderline nuts, he's borderline obsessed, she's borderline devious_, etc., seen on the Web. (I'm not saying these are textbook examples, but they show that there is a colloquial usage of _borderline _out there that matches the register of _sur les bords_.) 

But I don't want to insist, it was just a suggestion. One can always say, _She's a bit of a maniac_, and be done with it.


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## Omelette

Clearly, there is a usage of 'borderline' which I wasn't aware of.


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## Kelly B

I think _borderline _can be ok in a casual context, but again, isn't it a lot stronger than _sur les bords_? (it means approximately the same thing as bordering on.)


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## pointvirgule

Kelly B said:


> I think _borderline _can be ok in a casual context, but again, isn't it a lot stronger than _sur les bords_? (it means approximately the same thing as bordering on.)


Hm, you have a point. On a scale of 1 (not at all) to 10 (completely), _sur les bords_ is maybe a 3, and _borderline_, an 8+?
Proposition retirée.


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## Vyriz

Hi everyone,
Thanks for all of your suggestions, and I'm going to keep "border on" by Quintis !

Thank you pointvirgule


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## Kelly B

[~sigh~ Si j'insiste, suis-je limite soit bordering on ennuyeuse, ou juste ennuyeuse sur les bords soit just a little ?]


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## Nicomon

Hello,

J'ai une question.

Dans le même ordre d'idée que "_a bit of a maniac_", comme pv a suggéré... pourrait-on dire "_she's kind of a + noun" _ou _"she's kind of + adjective_"? 

_She's kind of a maniac / she's kind of obsessed? 

_Perso, si je dis _« un peu maniaque sur les bords »_ ... c'est une litote. En réalité, je trouve que la personne est hyper maniaque. 
J'imagine que dans ce cas, _borderline_ pourrait marcher.


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## wildan1

Hello vyriz, and welcome to the WR Forums!

I think it's hard to judge which of the many possibilities discussed is right for you, as you have given no context--can you please tell us more what situation you are describing? Otherwise, it becomes a big guessing-game...


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## ganieda

Hi, 
there is an expression in french "sur les bords" it's another way to say a little, for example you could say of someone that he or she is "un peu timbré sur les bords" do you have something similar in english?
thanks!


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## CarlosRapido

'A bit XXXX around the edges' is often heard in AE/CE.  Let's hear from Euro anglos...


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## Enquiring Mind

Yep, "(a)round the edges" is good in BE too.


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## PaulQ

BE: 'A bit XXXX around the edges'


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## ganieda

ok great  I wasn't sure something as literal would be used or not
thank you


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## temple09

Hi,

I was wondering about the necessity of the word "peu" in the quoted sentence. Because "sur les bords" means "un peu" doesn't it?
I thought one could easily just say "elle est maniaque sur les bords", non? By adding "un peu" does this make it even less of a strong accusation? (Like saying "she's a little bit crazy", where "little" reduces the "bit" even further?
I hope that makes sense


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## Nicomon

Hello temple09

_Un peu + adjective +  sur les bords_  is a common expression. 

 The *Collins dictionary*  translates it as    _*A little... around the edges*. 

_So yes, I think you can say that  - same as_  a little -  _the adding of _« un peu »  _makes it less trong.

But then just as I replied last year, in my personal vocabulary, it is a litote  (saying less to mean more).


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## Itisi

Nicomon said:


> _Un peu + adjective +  sur les bords_  is a common expression. The *Collins dictionary*  translates it as    _*A little... around the edges*_.


In English, you would say that if you meant it litterally, ie 'The tablecloth is a little frayed around the edges.'

Ironically, I would say 'Not half'.  'She isn't half fussy/obsessive (not 'a maniac', which sounds like a psychiatric case).  Or if someone says 'She's a bit of a fusspot'.  You might answer 'Not half!'


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## janpol

Nicomon a été plus rapide que moi. Je vois là, moi aussi, un euphémisme : il est un peu parano sur les bords = il est complétement parano.


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## Itisi

'Un peu... sur les bords' is most definitely 100% a euphemism/understatement. (Unless you are talking about my tablecloth, for example.)


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## Nicomon

Itisi said:


> In English, you would say that if you meant it litterally, ie 'The tablecloth is a little frayed around the edges.'!'


  Merci, Itisi.   J'aurais dû penser que le sens était littéral dans le Collins.


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