# maître de ses moyens



## atcheque

Bonjour,

Comment traduisez-vous _rester/être *maître de ses moyens*_, quand malgré le tumulte, la tension, on arrive à faire correctement les choses, et surtout à ne pas s'énerver  ?
Merci


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## snarkhunter

Bonjour *atcheque*,

Je serais assez tenté de croire qu'on va revenir ici à des "fondamentaux" : to keep one's self-control / to remain self-possessed / etc.


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## Elegant Spirit

Je suis d'accord avec snarkhunter. Dans le même sens que "garde ton sang froid" : Keep your cool.


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## Kelly B

Elegant Spirit said:


> Je suis d'accord avec snarkhunter. Dans le même sens que "garde ton sang froid" : Keep your cool.


You can use that in English, too - summon/maintain/keep/demonstrate/etc. your sang-froid.


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## guillaumedemanzac

The words from "Invictus" jump out at me ???? suitable ??????

I AM THE MASTER OF MY FATE, I AM THE CAPTAIN OF MY SOUL!

Master of my fate = in control of my destiny  - he is the master of his own destiny ?????

As a description of a person :  Mr. Cool  or Mr. Supercool.

Mr. Unflappable.


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## atcheque

Merci à toutes et tous.
I like _master of my fate_ which sounds less pasive as _keep cool_.


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## Dr Ralph

Could "I keep myself together" work?


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## Uncle Bob

How about "remain in full possession of one's xxx" and, if it is more mental than physical, "xxx" would be "faculties"?


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## pointvirgule

guillaumedemanzac said:


> I AM THE MASTER OF MY FATE, I AM THE CAPTAIN OF MY SOUL!


D'abord, pas besoin de crier.  Ensuite, _master of my fate_ signifie : _maître de ma destinée_, ce qui n'a pas à voir avec le fait d'être maître de ses _moyens_, i.e. maître de soi. 

J'appuie la proposition de snark : _keep one's self-control_.


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## moustic

I agree with "keep one's self-control" too.

Or: keep control of one's (emotions ...)

Or maybe (softer version): (he) copes well in (stressful / emotional) situations ...

Or (taking up Dr Ralph's idea): (he) doesn't go to pieces under stress


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## Nicomon

J'arrive un peu en retard à la fête mais... suis-je la seule à penser que « _être/rester maître de ses moyens_ » est une sorte de télescopage de :
« _ne pas perdre ses moyens_ »  et « _être/rester maître de soi_ » ?   Je pose sérieusement la question. 

Dans le premier cas, j'aurais dit :  _not to lose one's cool, composure, self-control / not to go to pieces / not to lose "it"._
Et dans l'autre : _ keep one's self-control_ / _keep control of one's_ _emotions._

C'est peut-être bonnet blanc / blanc bonnet,  mais je sens une nuance entre  _to keep_ et _not to lose_.

Par ailleurs, je verrais bien la "softer version" de moustic dans une offre d'emploi sous "requirements", comme dans :
_- Ability to cope well in stressful situations / under pressure_


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## AmaryllisBunny

Peut-être: Keep one's composure/Not let it bother you/remain unmoved/

Ability to keep calm/one's composure       //     knows how to remain -  calm/unaffected


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## guillaumedemanzac

"unflappable" - person who remains calm and composed even when under pressure.


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## Nicomon

And_ unflappable_ would be in French : _imperturbable_.


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## guillaumedemanzac

Thanks but "imperturbable" is English!!!!  Maybe you borrowed it from us, though I expect someone will prove that we actually borrowed it from the French.

Like most English words "imperturbable" has many synonyms = calm, collected, composed, unruffled and unflappable!!!!!!!! not to "flap" (= panic) is a bit slang, (but very common) whereas many English people would ask you what you meant if you said he was imperturbable.
How do you translate imperturbable into French???     "Pas susceptible à la panique", "calme".

@;  Sorry, not intended to be shouting but an emphatic form of poetic stress -  the quote is actually intended to be declaimed and held as an absolute truth not to be questioned.


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

It also calls to mind a Kipling poem. There's one of those 'triple expressions' as well: "remain calm, cool, and collected" for "_garder son sang-froid_" or "_rester maître de soi_" would be fine (if space/word count permits).


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## Nicomon

@ guillaume - I didn't even know that "imperturbable" could also be said in English. Other than being the suggested synonym translation for "unflappable" in the *WR dictionary* (as I found out after writing it myself) what follows is copied from *that page* of CNRTL (emphasis mine) : 





> *IMPERTURBABLE, adj.*
> Que rien ne peut troubler, inquiéter, ébranler. Synon. _*inébranlable.*
> *Étymol. et Hist. *Ca 1400 [ms. apr. 1447] « que rien ne peut troubler » (Internele consolacion, éd. A. Pereire, p. 210 : paix *imperturbable *et seüre). * Empr. au lat. chrét. **imperturbabilis* « qu'on ne peut troubler, non troublé »._


  I should have thought of _*inébranlable*_ which is closer in register.


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## guillaumedemanzac

Nicomon said:


> @ guillaume - I didn't even know that "imperturbable" could also be said in English. Other than being the suggested synonym for "unflappable" in the *WR dictionary* (as I found out after writing it myself) what follows is copied from *that page* of CNRTL (emphasis mine) :   I should have thought of _*inébranlable*_ which is closer in register.



 Right!    A nice register of slightly slang but well-known words. We are in danger of going round in synonymical circles - spell-check says I made that adjective up. Whatever!! Unshakeable, unmoveable would be good synonyms for inébranlable - "not bending with the wind".

I still like the poetic "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul" and, since Kipling is of the same brand of colonial stoicism, "remain cool, calm and collected" is another good collection of synonyms for "imperturbable" - that anglo-french adjective!!

Also "untroubled" from the French "non troublé"   .


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## Nicomon

In case I wasn't clear... I replied to your suggestion of "unflappable".   I meant to write "suggested translation" (I corrected my post) and I wasn't suggesting that _imperturbable _or _inébranlable _were  synonyms of « _maître de ses moyens_ ». Which as I wrote before sounds to me like a combination of 2 French idioms :
_ (ne pas) perdre ses moyens / rester maître de soi._

Here's a sentence : 





> Incapable de détourner son regard ou de prononcer une parole, Mitch a pour la première fois de sa vie l'impression de* ne plus être maître de ses moyens*


 I certainly wouldn't translate that as "_no longer be the master of his fate_".


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## Monicbb

Depending on the context, this could also be translated as 'to remain in control'.


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## guillaumedemanzac

atcheque said:


> Comment traduisez-vous _rester/être *maître de ses moyens*_, quand malgré le tumulte, la tension, on arrive à faire correctement les choses, et surtout à ne pas s'énerver  ?



"Incapable de détourner son regard ou de prononcer une parole, Mitch a pour la première fois de sa vie l'impression de ne plus être maître de ses moyens.*" - *Nicomon

These two examples are quite different in meaning; Mitch has "lost it", no longer capable of making a decision, stressed out, no longer master of his destiny, no longer in control, dumb-struck. You could compare Mitch to a rabbit caught in the headlights of a car

The original question is about a person who, in spite of the tumult and the tension remains cool, calm and collected, able to make good decisions and to act "correctly" and not to "lose it".

I have to agree that the French phrase "maître de ses moyens" seems to have little reference for the "moyens" = master of his means??? his ability to control his environment and to make the right decisions which will turn out for the better ???


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## Monicbb

Agreed.

Moderator note: off-topic comment deleted


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## pointvirgule

guillaumedemanzac said:


> I have to agree that the French phrase "maître de ses moyens" seems to have little reference for the "moyens" = master of his means??? his ability to control his environment and to make the right decisions which will turn out for the better ???


_Moyens _has this meaning here:


> Facultés naturelles (physiques, morales ou intellectuelles) d'une personne.


It's in the sense of _faculties_, not _means_.


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

@guillaume (#21), On this side of the Pond, we'd say that Mitch was like "a deer caught in the headlights"; we probably wouldn't add "of a car", either.


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## Nicomon

guillaumedemanzac said:


> [...]The original question is about a person who, in spite of the tumult and the tension remains cool, calm and collected, able to make good decisions and to act "correctly" and not to "lose it".


  I understood the question.  I can read French pretty well, and my very first post on this thread goes in that sense. 

There may be better examples than the one I chose, but there aren't that many to chose from that match atcheque's given definition, which I'd normally render as
_« garder _or_ ne pas perdre son sang froid / ne pas perdre les pédales  / rester maître de soi ». _

Nobody has answered my question, so I must be the only one thinking that « _être/rester maître de ses moyens_ » is a combination of two, may be three expressions, namely  _perdre ses moyens / être en possession de ses moyens / être maître de soi._


> _Perdre ses moyens [...]._ Se troubler au point de ne plus pouvoir réagir.


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## guillaumedemanzac

Sangfroid is fine!  Good English word!  "Keep a stiff upper lip at all times! Don't lose your cool!"

And I like "ne pas perdre les pédales" which seems to be "Tour de France" for "unflappable".

I think for "moyens", the English would be "(not) to lose it" where the "it" can mean anything from "your temper" to "control" or "the ability to react calmly and logically whatever the stress in the situation".  Also possibly "to go off the rails" but more in the negative sense : "he lost it completely; he just went completely off the rails when he heard that she had ......"


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## atcheque

Nicomon said:


> suis-je la seule à penser que « _être/rester maître de ses moyens_ » est une sorte de télescopage de :
> « _ne pas perdre ses moyens_ » et « _être/rester maître de soi_ » ? Je pose sérieusement la question.


Ce n'est pas mal vu et cela expliquerait le débat ici


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## snarkhunter

Nicomon said:


> I must be the only one thinking that « _être/rester maître de ses moyens_ » is a combination of two, may be three expressions, namely  _perdre ses moyens / être en possession de ses moyens / être maître de soi._


... C'est vrai qu'on n'est pas loin de "rester maître de son sang froid" !


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## Nicomon

Merci atcheque et snarkunter.  Il me semblait bien, aussi.


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