# Qui va à la chasse perd sa place



## DearPrudence

Hello

For* "Qui va à la chasse perd sa place"* I've found the translation:
*"He who leaves his place loses it"*
but I didn't get much google hits & it doesn't seem very idiomatic to me.

Is there another way of saying that?
Imagine you sit down somewhere, someone arrives & tells you:
*"Mais c'était ma place !
- Qui va à la chasse perd sa place."*

What would English speakers would naturally say?
(maybe I should say that it may sound a bit childish in French)

Thanks for your help


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## jetman

"You snooze you lose" is the first thing that comes to mind.


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## SwissPete

Qui va à la chasse perd sa place.

He who leaves his place loses it.
Step out of line and you'll lose your place.
He who goes hunting loses his place.

More:
If somebody takes your place it serves you right for leaving it empty.


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## Kelly B

~looking around~ I don't see your name on it.


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## DearPrudence

Thank you very much for your answers 
Sorry to be a drag but do people really use:
*"He who leaves his place loses it"*?
Have you ever heard it? Have you ever said it yourself?

Merci beaucoup


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## Kelly B

Certainly not with _him _at the end instead of _it..._ Additionally, Americans, at least, don't usually use that philosophical/literary sort of "he who...." construction in this kind of context (I'm thinking of a movie theater or a ballpark. Seats at the opera are preassigned, and people don't usually fight for the best pews at church....)


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## ChiMike

DearPrudence said:


> Thank you very much for your answers
> Sorry to be a drag but do people really use:
> *"He who leaves his place loses him"*?Have you ever heard it? Have you ever said it yourself?
> 
> Merci beaucoup


 
I would say "it" if I said it at all....

Here is what I have heard:
http://www.cavalierdaily.com/CVArticle.asp?ID=9084&pid=744

After watching a riveting seesaw battle without leaving our seats, we were both parched and famished. There was, however, a small hurdle to circumnavigate. Because of the first-come, first- serve nature of the seating in Armstrong stadium, you leave it, you lose it.


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## david314

DearPrudence said:


> Thank you very much for your answers
> Sorry to be a drag but do people really use:
> *"He who leaves his place loses him"*?Have you ever heard it? Have you ever said it yourself?
> 
> Merci beaucoup


 Sorry. 

The suggestions of jetman & Kelly B are excellent, in my opinion.


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## DearPrudence

Kelly B said:


> Certainly not with _him _at the end instead of _it..._ Additionally, Americans, at least, don't usually use that philosophical/literary sort of "he who...." construction in this kind of context (I'm thinking of a movie theater or a ballpark. Seats at the opera are preassigned, and people don't usually fight for the best pews at church....)


Actually I'm asking because I've heard the expression in 2 American series, unfortunately I only saw the French version & wondered what the American version could be. And something like "he who ..." sounded strange in Homer Simpson's mouth 
I like your suggestion, Kelly, I find it funny  And Jetman's too

Thank you very much


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## jetman

Is "qui va à la chasse perd sa place" used only when talking about actual seating arrangements or can it be used figuratively?


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## Cherche_et_trouve

Selon un corrigé de mon cours de lexicologie:

Who loves to roam may lose his home.

... si ça peut être utile à quelqu'un.


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## IrishCailín

[...]

Could you please also confirm that 'qui va à la chasse perd sa place' is only used for seating arrangements, and not for found items?

Merci!


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## Nicklondon

I like kelly's suggestion.


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## EdSteves

_On your feet, lose your seat_

...is an expression I use from time to time when in the company of friends, who take it as a joke, but I suppose this could be taken as being somewhat rude if said to a stranger.


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## Cherche_et_trouve

As for me (Canada, Québec), I use "Qui va à la chasse..." for this kind of situation: somebody leaves a seat and someone else grabs it. Not for lost/found objects then.  It may be used differently elsewhere.

[...]

Gotta go back to my studies, I'll come back with it as soon as I remember its  wording.


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## bleuette

DearPrudence said:


> Hello
> 
> For* "Qui va à la chasse perd sa place"* I've found the translation:
> *"He who leaves his place loses it"*
> but I didn't get much google hits & it doesn't seem very idiomatic to me.
> 
> Is there another way of saying that?
> Imagine you sit down somewhere, someone arrives & tells you:
> *"Mais c'était ma place !
> - Qui va à la chasse perd sa place."*
> 
> What would English speakers would naturally say?
> (maybe I should say that it may sound a bit childish in French)
> 
> Thanks for your help




What about that:  Loosers, weepers
                         Takers, winners

I heard this in a Friends episode, and a child was saying it.


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## jetman

We say, "Finders keepers, losers weepers."  I've never heard it said the way bleuette suggested.  This also applies to anything found, not just an empty seat.


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## PaulQ

jetman said:


> Is "qui va à la chasse perd sa place" used only when talking about actual seating arrangements or can it be used figuratively?


An answer to this would be useful.

If figuratively, then "use it of lose it!" seems to fit.


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## Nicklondon

... et son chien le remplace as a last line if you wish to be mean and keep rhyming


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## DearPrudence

jetman said:


> Is "qui va à la chasse perd sa place" used only when talking about actual seating arrangements or can it be used figuratively?


No, it can only be used when talking about actual seating arrangements. (*qui va à la chasse* (= qui est parti) *perd sa place *(= bah, perd sa place )).
Figuratively, I could imagine it to apply to a man stealing someone's girlfriend while the guy was away on business or other (= the new guy took the place of the other) but not to an object you take.



Nicklondon said:


> ... et son chien le remplace as a last line if you wish to be mean and keep rhyming


I don't know this one. Just:
*- Qui va à la chasse, perd sa place.
- Qui va à la pêche, la repêche.*

(I see there are several alternative endings here)


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## bleuette

jetman said:


> We say, "Finders keepers, losers weepers."  I've never heard it said the way bleuette suggested.  This also applies to anything found, not just an empty seat.


You're right!


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## IMANAKBARI

J'ajoute que ce proverbe fait allusion à l'histoire de Jacobe le prophète qui hérita tous les biens de son père pendant que son frère aîné fut parti chasser du gibier pour leur papa Isaac.


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## pointvirgule

Ah tiens, j'ignorais l'origine biblique du proverbe. Merci pour le tuyau, Iman.  
(Il y a des tas de dictons qui tirent leur source de la bible et souvent on ne le soupçonne pas.)

À la lumière de cette histoire, on serait tenté de traduire méchamment par _Hunters losers_, mais ça ne passerait pas auprès des membres de la NRA, entre autres. 
Bien sûr, la formule habituelle en anglais, je crois, est celle donnée par jetman _: Finders keepers_...


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## Kelly B

I appreciated that information, too. 

By the way, the version of EdSteve's suggestion I'm accustomed to is _*Move *your feet, lose your seat._


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## pointvirgule

Kelly B said:


> By the way, the version of EdSteve's suggestion I'm accustomed to is _*Move *your feet, lose your seat._


 Je la retiens, celle-là. Merci Kelly.


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## Nicomon

À mon tour de te remercier pour l'origine, Iman. 

J'aime aussi cette dernière suggestion de Kelly. 

Ça me semble d'ailleurs plus proche du sens donné par DP que "You snooze, you lose", dont j'ai trouvé cette définition : 





> It means that if you let yourself get distracted from your goals, someone is going to beat you to them - this refers to the old story about the Tortoise racing the Hare. When the Hare got cocky and took a nap, the Tortoise passed him and won the race.


 Et que Reverso explique ainsi : 





> when you snooze you lose:
> si on ne saisit pas l'occasion tout de suite, elle ne se représente pas


 À moins que « Qui va à la chasse perd sa place » ait aussi ce sens?

La première idée que Kelly a donnée quand DP a créé le fil : _" ~ looking around ~ I don't see your name on it" _est amusante aussi. 
Je me vois très bien dire dans ce genre de situation : « _Ton nom (n') était pas écrit dessus._ » 

Je pense qu'on peut oublier l'idée de _Hunters loosers_, mais c'est vrai que c'est tentant.


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## temple09

I heard this expression when I was in a bar. I had been sitting in a really comfy seat, and then went to the toilet, and when I came back a friend was sitting in my place. She said "Qui va à la chasse perd sa place". In this context (referring to taking someone's seat) we (in England) say "Ten second rule!!!" (as if it were universally acknowledged that there is a rule which states that once you have left your seat for more than ten seconds then someone is permitted to sit there instead of you). This is used all the time where I work (a fire station, full of childish adults ....... like me)


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## earthmerlin

pointvirgule said:


> Je la retiens, celle-là. Merci Kelly.



Bonjour. I'm just looking for renewed confirmation that this can mean 'move your feet, lose your seat'. I just now am learning this phrase which appears in a children's magazine 'Qui s'en va à la chasse tra-la-la, perd sa place'. The English translation I mentioned seems to fix the context in the magazine & I'm wondering if I can say that to my child (kiddingly) too. Merci.


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## david314

earthmerlin said:


> Bonjour. I'm just looking for renewed confirmation that this can mean
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *'move your feet, lose your seat'*
> 
> 
> 
> . I just now am learning this phrase which appears in a children's magazine 'Qui s'en va à la chasse tra-la-la, perd sa place'. The English translation I mentioned seems to fix the context in the magazine & I'm wondering if I can say that to my child (kiddingly) too. Merci.
Click to expand...

  You bet!


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