# mettre toutes les chances de son côté (de mon/ton/notre/votre/leur côté)



## savi

Bonjour
je connais la version negative : don't take chances; mais est-ce qu'il y a un équivalent de l'expression française plus positive : mettre toutes les chances de son coté?
Merci, thanks
S

*Moderator note: *multiple threads merged to create this one. There are several different examples here showing how _mettre toutes les chances de son côté_ may be used in French, with suggested translations that are appropriate for each context.


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## anangelaway

Bonjour!

Perhaps:

_''Put the odds in your favour.''_ *?*


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## geve

Salut 

Le Robert&Collins dit aussi *to take no chances* pour "mettre toutes les chances de son côté", mais je préfère une tournure positive: 


anangelaway said:


> Perhaps:
> 
> _''Put the odds in your favour.''_


Peut-on dire _To put all the odds in your favour_? _Every chance to_...?


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## In Search Of

I'm not completely sure, but I don't think you can put _all_ the odds in your favor, as a matter of definition. (Au contraire des chances, je pense.)Don't think I've heard it said either. 
I haven't heard the French sentence before, but it very much sounds like you are putting luck on your side by yourself, kind of?

I feel there should be another expression as well, but I can't think of anything right now...

I'm putting the odds on my side... 

Je suis un peu perdue...


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## geve

In Search Of said:


> I haven't heard the French sentence before, but it very much sounds like you are putting luck on your side by yourself, kind of?


Yes, it means that you're doing everything possible to make sure you succeed.

So you would just say "put the odds in your favour"?


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## In Search Of

geve said:


> So you would just say "put the odds in your favour"?



Yeah, or "on my side". It might be a confusion with the expression "having luck on my side" though. It might also sound very American,( which would explain why I prefer it) whereas favour sounds, perhaps, more British. 

Also it doesn't seem to me to be all that colloquial or much used, but then I don't know if that is also the case with the French expression..


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## geve

In Search Of said:


> Also it doesn't seem to me to be all that colloquial or much used, but then I don't know if that is also the case with the French expression..


_Mettre toutes les chances de son côté_ isn't particularly colloquial either - but quite commonly used.

So _to put the odds on my side_ is another option then. Thanks!


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## In Search Of

geve said:


> _
> 
> So to put the odds on my side is another option then. Thanks!_


_


Yup!

I think it would be the most common to use the "negative version" that was mentioned - I'm not gonna take any chances._


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## julienRZ

Bonjour a tous,
Je n'ai pas trouvé la traduction en anglais de l'expression 'mettre toutes les chances de mon côté', c'est pour un lettre à un professeur. Merci si quelqu'un peut m'aider.
Amicalement

Julien R


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## david314

Welcome to the forum, julienRZ!  I wonder if this might be: _ to stack the odds in my favor._

-Let's wait for confirmation.


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## Albert 50

When I  first saw the phrase,   my first reaction was: "to get the odds on my side".    But then I saw David's  translation,  which is much,  much better: "to stack the odds in my favor".

I'm not sure how you could use such a phrase in talking to a professor though....   but that's  a different question!

Albert


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## swampyjocks

yeah i would agree, 'to stack the odds in my favour' is a good translation.

but depending on the context you could also say;

'to give myself the best chance'

or maybe even better

'to maximise my chances'

There are many similar phrases but i cant think of them right now....


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## Antphi

Bonjour,

Comment traduire en bon Anglais l'expression française "mettre toutes les chances de son côté"? To put all the chances on his sides???

Contexte: "Je n'ai pas modifié mon offre afin de mettre toutes les chances de notre côté de pouvoir poursuivre la relation que nous avons commencée à bâtir ensemble". 

Merci/Cheers.


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## david314

I would like to propose: _*to stack the deck in his favor*_ */* _*to stack*_/_*put the odds in his favor*_


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## SwissPete

http://www.cbc.ca/cestlavie/words/words_c.html (an interesting site in itself) suggests _to take no chances_


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## cropje_jnr

I would perhaps say: _*to give oneself every chance* (to...)_

"To put all the chances on one's side" semble assez logique, mais cela ne se dit pas.


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## Poupou

Bonjour! Je ne sais pas comment traduire: "je veux mettre toutes les chances de mon côté pour réussir mon avenir".
"I want to keep all lucks aside in order to succed in my life?"
si quelqu'un peut m'aider...
Merci!


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## cropje_jnr

Bonjour et bienvenue sur le forum. 

[...]

"To keep all lucks aside" ne se dit pas. J'ai moi-même proposé "to give oneself every chance" (donc ici : "I want to give myself every chance to succeed in life") dans l'un des fils.


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## wonderful

Bonjour, 

Comment traduirez-vous cette expression en anglais? Existe t il une expression similaire?

Je vous remercie par avance pour votre aide


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## david314

I enjoy the phrase: _*to stack the* *deck/odds* *in one's favor *_


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## bh7

The Collins-Robert dictionary translates this as
_to *take no chances*_,
which would mean "avoid taking any risks", "to wish to *be on the safe side*".
Are they right?

Well, a brief Google excursion would suggest no.  The usual meaning emerging there would appear to be "to *maximimise one's chances*", "to improve one's chances".


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## Gargamelle

Context:  review of the new Dodge Ram pickup.  The author is commenting that Dodge has made great improvements in quality, so that the Ram is the equal of its competitors. 

"Chose certaine: Dodge a cette fois *mis toutes les chances de son coté* pour changer l'ordre établi."

I think it means something like "Dodge gave itself every opportunity to...."

Yes, I know that "chance" is a "faux ami," but I couldn't think of an equivalent English expression using "luck."

Thanks,

Gargamelle


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## thecharray

"chance" does mean "oppotunity" here.


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## camille64

context : rugby preparation
how can i translate, "mettez toutes les chances de votre côté" ? knows that its about a rugby competition, and a way to be prepare to have good chances to win. 
i was thinking of "put all the chances on your side"

thanks


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## Rory Melough

Giving yourself the best possible chance of winning?


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## camille64

thanks !
 but "chances" no ?


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## Keith Bradford

Chances (au pluriel) = opportunités de parier.  Alors, si to jouais 10 foix au loto tu aurais "ten chances of winning".

Mais ici il s'agit de la chance en général, la bonne fortune, et on ne gagne qu'une seule fois, à la finale...


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## sebinet

Hello guy,

How can you translate it : 

Les managager doivent mettre toutes les chances de leurs côtés pour garder leurs employés


Thank you


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## joaopaolo

Maybe "do everything in their power"


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## XhiNs

Éliminer les possibilités de perdre ses employés ?


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## sebinet

Thank you Joapolo because I found on wordreference take no chances as a translation of mettre toutes les chances de son côté


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## SwissPete

Managers must do their best to retain / to avoid losing their employees.


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## toban

Someone told me she wanted to go to a particular school in a big city rather than to a local university, because she wants to "mettre toutes les chances de son côté" to succeed in show business.

I've been mulling over expressions and reading through the threads on it, and I think in this context, it makes more sense to say "*I want to do everything in my power* to succeed."

What do you think?


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## Enquiring Mind

Your version is ok. Other options in this context: I want to give myself the best chance of succeeding", "I want to stack the odds (of succeeding/success) in my favour", "I want to maximise my chances of succeeding/success".


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