Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
le mieux est l’ennemi du bien!
English translation:
the perfect is the enemy of the good
Added to glossary by
Michele Fauble
Feb 7, 2023 22:55
1 yr ago
61 viewers *
French term
le mieux est l’ennemi du bien!
French to English
Art/Literary
Media / Multimedia
Plubicité
Étymologie
Modifier
Phrase de Voltaire, dans La Bégueule, 1772 :
Modifier
Phrase de Voltaire, dans La Bégueule, 1772 :
Proposed translations
(English)
4 +9 | the perfect is the enemy of the good | Michele Fauble |
4 +4 | leave well alone | Bourth |
3 +4 | If it's not broken, don't fix it | FPC |
Change log
Feb 15, 2023 17:16: Michele Fauble Created KOG entry
Proposed translations
+9
3 mins
Selected
the perfect is the enemy of the good
Usual translation
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Note added at 5 mins (2023-02-07 23:01:07 GMT)
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voltaire — 'Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien. (The perfect is the enemy of the good.)'
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/215866-le-mieux-est-l-ennem...
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Note added at 5 mins (2023-02-07 23:01:07 GMT)
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voltaire — 'Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien. (The perfect is the enemy of the good.)'
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/215866-le-mieux-est-l-ennem...
Peer comment(s):
agree |
writeaway
13 mins
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thanks
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agree |
Conor McAuley
: Wasn't Voltaire the electricity guy?
19 mins
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thanks
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agree |
Mollie Milesi
4 hrs
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thanks
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agree |
Daryo
: Simply
9 hrs
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thanks
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agree |
Samuël Buysschaert
11 hrs
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thanks
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agree |
Nicolas Gambardella
: "Perfect is the enemy of good", no article. There is even a Wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_is_the_enemy_of_good
11 hrs
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thanks - but with the article
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agree |
Gladis Audi, DipTrans
11 hrs
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thanks
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neutral |
Emmanuella
: Le mieux = superlatif , i.e the best
12 hrs
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thanks - I don’t think asker needs help with a literal translation, but wants an English equivalent.
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agree |
Eliza Hall
: Nicolas G. is incorrect about not using articles. This saying has articles in English.
15 hrs
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thanks - yes, that’s right.
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agree |
Carol Gullidge
: On reflection I agree with this interpretation, although I wish it cd sound less clunky, esp. if required for a logo (??)
1 day 13 hrs
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thanks
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agree |
Anastasia Kalantzi
: "Perfect is the enemy of good" https://www.betterup.com/blog/perfect-is-the-enemy-of-good
2 days 18 hrs
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thanks
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disagree |
Kathleen Kownacki
: Quite close to correct, but it is "Perfect is the enemy of good" in native-level quality English. https://hbr.org/tip/2020/02/dont-let-perfect-be-the-enemy-of... https://fairygodboss.com/career-topics/perfect-is-the-enemy-... etc.
25 days
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Merci !"
+4
39 mins
leave well alone
You say 'publicité', so unless the advert is intended to be linked to Voltaire for some reason (and I don't know that many people would make the connection), I see no reason to use a 'translation' when we have an equivalent saying in English: leave well alone.
Of course that doesn't mean 'leave somebody well alone' but leave what is well/good alone (for fear of making it worse).
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Note added at 45 mins (2023-02-07 23:40:19 GMT)
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"leave well alone
to allow something to stay as it is because doing more might make things worse:"
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/leave...
Also said as 'leave well enough alone'
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/leave_well_enough_alone#Engli...
Also 'Let well alone' as I pointed out in 2009: "I've always heard and said "LEAVE well alone", but this may be a "modern" variation on the original which a/c to the Oxford Book of Proverbs can be traced back to 1570 as "LET well alone", in which " Well is normally considered [here] as a noun ('what is well'), rather than an adverb".
The answer chosen in this case was 'leave well alone'.
https://www.proz.com/kudoz/french-to-english/idioms-maxims-s...
Of course that doesn't mean 'leave somebody well alone' but leave what is well/good alone (for fear of making it worse).
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 45 mins (2023-02-07 23:40:19 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
"leave well alone
to allow something to stay as it is because doing more might make things worse:"
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/leave...
Also said as 'leave well enough alone'
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/leave_well_enough_alone#Engli...
Also 'Let well alone' as I pointed out in 2009: "I've always heard and said "LEAVE well alone", but this may be a "modern" variation on the original which a/c to the Oxford Book of Proverbs can be traced back to 1570 as "LET well alone", in which " Well is normally considered [here] as a noun ('what is well'), rather than an adverb".
The answer chosen in this case was 'leave well alone'.
https://www.proz.com/kudoz/french-to-english/idioms-maxims-s...
Peer comment(s):
neutral |
Tony M
: I've never understood 'well' as a noun here — makes sense, but too archaic for modern usage, where people will think of it like "steer well clear" etc. This sounds almost to me like "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!" — but proper context would help!
8 hrs
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I must indeed be archaic. I'd still write Dear Sir or Madam, but it seems that's out these days and one writes Hey Marie-Dominique (or whatever).
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neutral |
Daryo
: Once you know the meaning, is makes perfect sense and couldn't be more concise. Only problem being, how many people would understand it the right way? More than if you simply used the FR version?
8 hrs
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I've known the expression for over 50 years, but then I'm cultured ;-)
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agree |
FPC
10 hrs
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Thanks
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agree |
Carol Gullidge
: I see no problem with this, even after using and understanding it for many decades!
11 hrs
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Ah, someone who shares my values!
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agree |
Emmanuella
11 hrs
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Thanks
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agree |
Anastasia Kalantzi
2 days 19 hrs
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+4
10 hrs
If it's not broken, don't fix it
There's little context to go by, but the headings mention multimedia and publicity. I propose a variation on the theme, with a known standard sentence in the same ballpark, which also means that if something is already working fine there's no need to try and improve it because you may even end up worse off. Others may have better solutions of course (including the literal time-honoured translation)
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Bourth
: If you don't want to sound archaic, try "If it AIN'T BROKE ..." ;-), as Tony says.
15 mins
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agree |
Gladis Audi, DipTrans
: If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Absolutely.
46 mins
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agree |
Carol Gullidge
: Yes, depending on the (as yet unspecified) context
1 hr
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agree |
Anastasia Kalantzi
2 days 9 hrs
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Discussion
Given that the source work is cited, presumably a "classic" translation is required. But who knows?
And may I be so bold as to offer a saying of my own:
"A question well asked..." etc. etc.
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alessandro_Volta