# C'est pas tout ça, mais...



## Big Roly

Can anyone give me an English equivalent for this turn of phrase? To give you a context, the interlocutor wanted to change the topic of conversation.

Y-a-t-il une autre manière de donner cette tournure de phrase que je n'a pas trouvé dans les dictionnaires? L'interlocutrice a voulu changer de sujet.

Je vous remercie à l'avance.

Big Roly


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## Agnès E.

Bonjour Big Roly,
Bienvenue sur le forum !

En attendant l'avis des experts et/ou anglophones, je proposerais quelque chose du genre :

*Not that I'm getting bored, but...* (I have to go, I must finish my work, etc.).

It's a (not very elegant, to speak frankly) way to close a conversation.


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## JazzByChas

Agnes E. said:
			
		

> Bonjour Big Roly,
> Bienvenue sur le forum !
> 
> En attendant l'avis des experts et/ou anglophones, je proposerais quelque chose du genre :
> 
> *Not that I'm getting bored, but...* (I have to go, I must finish my work, etc.).
> 
> It's a (not very elegant, to speak frankly) way to close a conversation.


 
Alors, Agnes:
Je crois que ça va mieux de dire:


“To change the subject…” ou bien
“Although there is more to discuss on this matter, let’s <talk about sth else, or change the subject> and come back to this later…


Des idées… 


Jazz


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## Amityville

They're nicely diplomatic, JazzbyChaz.The French sounds _quite_ rude to me - so do you actually mean to speak bluntly, Big Roly ?


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## Agnès E.

Hehehe, Amityville, you hit the point!
It is rather unpolite, commonly used by low classes or low educated people. I don't know the English equivalent. Could you help?


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## JazzByChas

Agnes E. said:
			
		

> Hehehe, Amityville, you hit the point!
> It is rather unpolite, commonly used by low classes or low educated people. I don't know the English equivalent. Could you help?


 
I believe the best way to put the (direct, blunt) phrase in English would be:

"You may not be finished, but...<I'm outta here...>"
or 

"That isn't all there is to it, but...<I'm done..>"

Hope this helps

Jazz


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## Amityville

Making strenuous efforts to be low and uneducated though it's not easy,  ,"Nuts to that" springs to mind. You could say "That's nothing to do with it," or just ignore the person's point, say "Well, anyway..." and move on to your own concerns.
Do you think that does the trick, Agnès ? Should I try to be more rude or less ?


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## Aupick

Hey, this sounds like the perfect call for the American English '*Whatever*...' that you hear _all_ the time these days, especially coming from the mouths of anyone under 21.


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## Amityville

Yes, whatever  Aupick,  a hit.


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## Big Roly

Merci à tout le monde. Je pige maintenant!

I brought the terse reply upon myself.

Big Roly


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## anneb

"Whatever"? In the same situation I would say something like "well, this is all very interesting but gotta...!" followed by whatever you have to do.

Anne


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## Jean-Michel Carrère

Would it be all right to translate this phrase by :

*well, that is all very fine, but …*


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## Tabac

As odd as it may seem, I often hear:  "Well, not to change the subject, but...."

Ironic, oxymoron, all that.  But it works.


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## JazzByChas

Tabac said:
			
		

> As odd as it may seem, I often hear: "Well, not to change the subject, but...."
> 
> Ironic, oxymoron, all that. But it works.


 
I must say, Tabac, I think you have come the closest to translating the <intent of the> original french..

Well done, old boy... 

Jazz


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## Cath.S.

Big Roly said:
			
		

> Can anyone give me an English equivalent for this turn of phrase? To give you a context, the interlocutor wanted to change the topic of conversation.
> 
> Y-a-t-il une autre manière de donner cette tournure de phrase que je n'a pas trouvé dans les dictionnaires? L'interlocutrice a voulu changer de sujet.
> 
> Je vous remercie à l'avance.
> 
> Big Roly


En général, cette expression n'est pas employée pour changer de sujet, mais pour clore une conversation et mettre fin à une rencontre ou à une visite.
_Whatever _n'est pas une traduction possible, je le souligne puisque cela n'a pas été clairement affirmé.


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## bryona

egueule said:
			
		

> En général, cette expression n'est pas employée pour changer de sujet, mais pour clore une conversation et mettre fin à une rencontre ou à une visite.
> _Whatever _n'est pas une traduction possible, je le souligne puisque cela n'a pas été clairement affirmé.


 
I'm not sure I understand the real feel of the original French statement, but from the other posts it sounds like the object is to end a conversation in a way that basically expresses a complete lack of interest in what had been said. I think "Whatever" is far more apt than the others. "Well, not to change the subject, but..." seems too polite.

That is, unless I've completely misunderstood...


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## Cath.S.

bryona said:
			
		

> I'm not sure I understand the real feel of the original French statement, but from the other posts it sounds like the object is to end a conversation in a way that basically expresses a complete lack of interest in what had been said. I think "Whatever" is far more apt than the others. "Well, not to change the subject, but..." seems too polite.
> 
> That is, unless I've completely misunderstood...


Bryona, au risque de me répéter, cette expression n'est pas employée pour changer de sujet, mais pour prendre congé, assez brutalement, des gens avec qui l'on se trouve. Lis le poste n°2 d'Agnès E.

Bon, c'est pas tout, ça, mais moi j'ai un forum à modérer.


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## bryona

egueule said:
			
		

> Bryona, au risque de me répéter, cette expression n'est pas employée pour changer de sujet, mais pour prendre congé, assez brutalement, des gens avec qui l'on se trouve. Lis le poste n°2 d'Agnès E.
> 
> Bon, c'est pas tout, ça, mais moi j'ai un forum à modérer.


 
But really, the other translations ("Well, not to change the subject, but..." and "Not that I'm getting bored, but..." for example) aren't particularly abrupt or rude. They are fairly polite, if a bit inept. If one really doesn't care about offending someone, one simply says, "Whatever. I have to go." End of conversation.

So, yeah. Whatever. I have to go.


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## Cath.S.

C'est pas tout ça, mais... is not offensive, just not very subtle.


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## Putrid Toaster

Et elle s'emploie comment, cette expression ? On dit tout simplement "c'est pas tout ça, mais ..." et c'est compris qu'on veut partir, ou est-ce qu'il faut ajouter quelque chose à la fin ? (par exemple, "c'est pas tout ça, mais je dois vraiment partir"


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## Cath.S.

Putrid Toaster said:
			
		

> Et elle s'emploie comment, cette expression ? On dit tout simplement "c'est pas tout ça, mais ..." et c'est compris qu'on veut partir, ou est-ce qu'il faut ajouter quelque chose à la fin ? (par exemple, "c'est pas tout ça, mais je dois vraiment partir"


Bonjour Putrid Toaster.  

Il faut rajouter quelque chose.
C'est pas tout, ça, mais j'ai du boulot / je dois aller chercher les enfants à l'école / faut que j'y aille.


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## LV4-26

I would go even further. You don't *have* to interrupt someone to say it. You might very well add it as a conclusion to what *you *are saying.

Say, you're talking with someone and you may be very interested by the topic and make a long answer yourself. Then, suddenly, while you're talking you realize it's time for you to do something else. So at the end of your answer, you add _c'est pas tout ça mais j'ai du boulot/le devoir m'appelle/.......etc_


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## Nath0811

Putrid Toaster said:
			
		

> Et elle s'emploie comment, cette expression ? On dit tout simplement "c'est pas tout ça, mais ..." et c'est compris qu'on veut partir, ou est-ce qu'il faut ajouter quelque chose à la fin ? (par exemple, "c'est pas tout ça, mais je dois vraiment partir"


 
"C'est pas tout ca, mais il faut que j'y aille". On finit la phrase, je pense quelque part pour justifier le fait qu'on ait envie/ besoin de partir/ quitter la conversation.
Si on est face a un interlocuteur qui n'a pas l'air de comprendre, on essaie moins d'etre poli  et a la limite, en se tapant les mains on peut juste dire "Bon! C'est pas tout ca, mais..." le reste de la phrase etant clairement sous-entendu.
Ou pour reprendre la suggestion d'Agnes, "C'est pas que je m'ennuie, mais je dois rentrer". 

"Whatever" seems far more impolite in my opinion because it kind of brushes off whatever the other person was saying, and doesn't necessarily imply that you're about to leave.


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## Aupick

From all these descriptions of 'c'est pas tout, ça, mais...' (which I appreciate enormously since I wasn't familiar with this expression), I'd say that 'whatever' _could_ be used to translate it in the right situation, but not always. 'Whatever' is a big, catch-all word that American teenagers use all the time, in many different ways. It sounds like 'whatever' is too impolite if your interrrupting someone else, but it is also used to interrupt yourself and bring a conversation to a close, especially if you have the impression your interlocutor isn't really following what you're saying. The self-depracting edge to this use takes the sting out of any impoliteness (since it's aimed towards yourself). Can I deduce from Nath0811 that 'c'est pas tout ça, mais...' can be used in this way?

In any case, I think 'Well, anyway...' is probably a more appropriate translation.


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## JazzByChas

I would have to say, Aupick, being American, that _"..whatever..."_ is almost always impolite. It implies that you are not interested or don't care what the person has to say, and are bringing the conversation to an abrupt end. 

"Well, anyway..." is a bit better because it can be used to indicate something similar to what Agnes and Equeule were saying, i.e. it is a way to end a conversation politely. So "Well, anyway..." or "I don't want to appear rude, but, I must go/need to do something/have other obligations...etc." would probably more accurately express the intent. 

Now, if you are babbling on, and find that you need to interrupt yourself, you could be self-depracating and say, "...whatever..." but that would be a bit odd, actually. One would more likely say something like, "Oh God, let me quit babbling on and on..." or "..I'm sorry...I don't mean to talk on and on...let me let us go on about our business..." or something like that.



			
				Aupick said:
			
		

> From all these descriptions of 'c'est pas tout, ça, mais...' (which I appreciate enormously since I wasn't familiar with this expression), I'd say that 'whatever' _could_ be used to translate it in the right situation, but not always. 'Whatever' is a big, catch-all word that American teenagers use all the time, in many different ways. It sounds like 'whatever' is too impolite if your interrrupting someone else, but it is also used to interrupt yourself and bring a conversation to a close, especially if you have the impression your interlocutor isn't really following what you're saying. The self-depracting edge to this use takes the sting out of any impoliteness (since it's aimed towards yourself). Can I deduce from Nath0811 that 'c'est pas tout ça, mais...' can be used in this way?
> 
> In any case, I think 'Well, anyway...' is probably a more appropriate translation.


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## gliamo

As Jazz said, _anyway_, (or _aaaaanyway)_ is a good translation.


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## Kelly B

A more polite way to say something similar is "well, I'll let you go/I won't keep you any longer...." The speaker clearly wants to leave, while maintaining the polite fiction that the listener is the one being inconvenienced by continuing the conversation.


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## JazzByChas

I believe, Kelly, that this would be spot on.... 





			
				Kelly B said:
			
		

> A more polite way to say something similar is "well, I'll let you go/I won't keep you any longer...." The speaker clearly wants to leave, while maintaining the polite fiction that the listener is the one being inconvenienced by continuing the conversation.


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## Mycall

Well, it all depends where you live, really.

In ABBA land they say "That's all very fine, but..." and then you come up with the new subject. 
In Corrie land they simply say: "Any road..." 
Sir Jimmy Savile was very good at it: "Now then, now then, as it happens Mmm..." 

  "C'est bien beau tout ça" (in my own part of the world we say "C'est pas tout ça") ["mais faut qu' j'y aille"] is used to take brisk leave of someone because you have to indulge in an activity that cannot possibly wait. That expression implies that one is pushed for time therefore it isn't perceived as rude or anything. The rude thing would be to actually leave without further ado. Thus it would translate something like: "Better get a move on" (="Duty calls) or " Time to get on me bike..."


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