our hopes are pinned on the rescuers
= ?..? ?clou‚s? ?..? sauveteurs

we've to <be prepared for ~ take precautions against> the cold
= ?..? froid

the temperature's is just right
= ??

the <barometer # thermometer = temperature> is <falling # rising>
= ??

the temperature drops quickly in the evening
= ?..? le soir

I think we've <taken care of everything / covered all the points> 935
= ?je pense que nous avons <traité de toutes les questions = fait le tour>

done on the basis of expediency, thereby avoiding delay 262
= fait sur les bases de convenance, par lesquelles un retard s'est évité OK?

..but that doesn't <prevent your = stop you from> falling ill! 2663
= ?mais ça ne <t'empêche pas de tomber malade # t'évite pas une maladie> OK?

<Have you / Can you spare the> time to go to the shop?
= ?avez-vous <un moment pour aller / le temps d'aller> au magasin? OK?

what's worse, she can't even add two and two!
= déjà pire, elle ne peut même pas <additionner deux et = ajouter deux à> deux! OK?

what matters most is having the right fuel
= l'essentielle tient dans l'avoir du carburant adapté?? - et si c'est pour le poêle, (charbon / bois), "fuel" = ?..?

we shall act in accordance with your verbal instructions
= ?nous agirions selon vos directives de vive voix OK?

he happened to find on the beach, a board washed up by the ocean 3211
= ?? il en est arrivé de retrouver sur la plage un planche ??lancée?? de l'océan. ??lancée??

j'apprécie autant que quiconque la mise en boîte, mais .. 3574
= I appreciate a ?....? as much as anybody, ?? - mise en boîte = ??

s'ennuyer <aux??des> gens de rencontre
= become annoyed <at ?? by> strangers ??

une déplution nerveuse
= ??

he fixed up his son with a bank job and married off his daughter
= ??

Comment se dit «micro-lite» (petit planeur motorisé)?

<I couldn't find any trace = I found no trace> at all of the <landmark / marker # beacon> 3461
= ?je n'en trouvai point <place / ?trace?> <du jalon # ?..? # de la balise> ??

<If possible = if you can>, have some flowers delivered to the lady of the house
= ?si [cela t'est] possible, fais parvenir des fleurs à la maîtresse de la maison ??

I'm sorry it has taken <so long = as long as it has> 540
= ?je suis <désolé « navré> que cela ait demandé <??si longtemps?? / un temps pareille / tant de temps> ??

I'm sorry it took <so long. » as long as it did.>
= ??

I'm sorry to <make such a nuisance of myself! = be such a nuisance!> 1873
= ?<je regrette # je suis désolé> de ..??

I'm sorry to be so much <bother = trouble> 1873
= ?<je regrette sincèrement = je suis désolé> de te donner une telle peine ??

the factory will <engage = take on # lay off> a range of different workers
l'usine va <engager # congédier> <un ....... d'employés ... # une force ouvrière variée>??

are you <telling = trying to tell> me that that contraption can really float!!
= tu me dis vraiment que cette ?...? put flotter?

the range of options is reduced. only two <now exist = remain>
= ?l'éventail <d'options ~ de choix> s'est réduit. seules en restent deux ??

it's often said that it's still far from being valueless
= ?il se dit souvent que c'est loin encore d'être dénué de valeur - ou «encore loin» ??

I'd be surprised if he could ...!
= ?cela m' étonnerait qu'il puisse ...! OK?

<I'm amazed = it amazes me> that he can [do it]
= ?cela me surprend qu'il peut en faire ??

she spoke to him sympathetically and he calmed down
= ??

Mr and Mrs Jones and their children, Master and Miss Jones
= .... ?? (Je veux dire, est-ce qu'il y a quelque manière de distinguer le petit de son père par titre ou autrement?)

the subsequent <fall = drop> in prices adversely affected ..
la <hause # baisse> des prix a <affecté / a tiré sur> les ..
«a tiré sur» means "altered"?

trains are running, traffic is circulating, # flights are resumed
= les trains circulent, même le trafic routière: what do aircraft do?

did you have a good trip [back]
= ?vous avez fait bon voyage de retour? OK?

outward trip
= ??

camping trip
= ??

you must expect me to be not entirely convinced » you must not expect me to be entirely convinced
= ?il [te?] faut t'attendre que je ne sois pas entièrement persuadé ??

I was at a loss to understand it, but now I'm beginning to see daylight
= ??
(pas au claire, mais je ne suis plus totalement dans la confusion) How do I say, "I'm completely baffled!"?

operation of patching up a wreck[ed boat]
= ?operations de colmatage d'un épave ??

<with [the passage of] time / as time goes by>, so it becomes stronger
= au fil du temps ça devient plus fort -OK?

the building's owner would have wasted no time in letting it 3572
= ?le propriétaire des lieux aurait tôt fait de les louer OK??
assuming this is past tense, what's "would waste no time" (present conditional)?

the bad news has left him <shaken « shattered> 3572
= ?suit à la nouvelle, il a resté <ébranlé « atterré> OK?

I tripped <on a rocking <flagstone # tile> # over a chair>
= ?j'ai trébuché sur une dalle basculante
What's - fall over a chair, fall (base over apex) ?

she was wondering if <my mind was wandering « I'd gone <round the bend « off my head!>>
= ?elle se demandait si <mon esprit ne battait pas la compagne « ?...?>

swamp » marsh » bog
= marécages » ?..?

bogged down in <the entanglements of the law = legal entanglements # the mud>
= ?...? <maquis de la procédure # la boue> ??

lengthways (USAlengthwise) 3802
= ??

sideways
= ??

corner to corner ~ diagonally
= en biais ~ ?...?

c'est le défi de bon sens de crâcher dans le vent
= it's against common sense to spit unto the wind

empties are non-returnable
= ??

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It is considered that people around the world will have similar thoughts, and when called upon to express them, will use those phrases in common use in their own language which come nearest to matching them. As the number of such phrases in any language is limited to only a few million while the range of thoughts is infinite, only an approximation is achieved. In translation and transmission between communities, even those with the same nominal language, further distortion is introduced due to the absence of exactly matching terms and phrases in the target language, and the target audience will again form its own interpretation of any discourse. Public figures, advertisers and others, will change the established meaning of words, and the impact of their standing causes an expression to have a meaning additional to what has been previously established, and not unusually directly opposed to it. Dictionaries and phrasebooks will incorporate the errors of earlier publications from which they are in part derived, and again their authority makes new meanings acceptable.

Such are the causes of misunderstandings among nations and between smaller sections of society. An alternative to the expression of a point of view, the comprehension of anothers viewpoint and the negotiation of an equitable arrangement, has always been the use of destructive force, most often applied against individuals who identify neither with the interests of the opponents nor of the directors of that force.

With a view to promoting effective communication and negotiation, a group of individuals has long been collecting phrases in different languages and forming associations between them by the similarity of the situations and circumstances in which they have been used. Sources have been builders catalogues, car manuals, radio chat shows, packaging, user-instructions, paper-back novels containing current conversational language, and promotional literature, as well as the personal interactions of the members of the group with people of different languages.

There follows a request for assistance. The significance of many expressions have proved difficult to establish. Any help which may be offered via an e-mail to fresiten@yahoo.fr will be gratefully received.