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il se nourrit de tout

English translation: he feeds off everything

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase: il se nourrit de tout
English translation:he feeds off everything
Entered by: Ega

10:47 Aug 28, 2009
French to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Music
French term or phrase: il se nourrit de tout
Taken from a rather poetic press review about a pianist, i'm not quite sure what would be the best way to express it in english. The sentence reads as follows: "Il se nourrit de tout. Il absorbe le geste théâtral, le scrute, le décode et s'y infiltre, nécessaire."
Ega
Local time: 00:03
he feeds off everything
Explanation:
*
Selected response from:

kashew
France
Local time: 00:03
Grading comment
i think yours is the best answer in this context. thanks!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +1He uses everything.
David Vaughn
4He absorbs everything.
Fiorsam
4he feeds off everything
kashew
4Everything feeds into his work
Helen Shiner
3He finds inspiration in all quarters
Sandra Petch


  

Answers


10 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
He finds inspiration in all quarters


Explanation:
He "nurtures" his creativity which I think is more naturally expressed in English by something along these lines.

take inspiration from
draws inspiration from
quarters / sources / fields...

Best of luck!

Sandra Petch
Local time: 00:03
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
Notes to answerer
Asker: thanks sandra, i do like your suggestion and am considering He draws inspiration from all sources as an alternative to he feeds off everything .

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19 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
He uses everything.


Explanation:
Simple and direct, perhaps apt in English.

David Vaughn
Local time: 00:03
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 201

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Jim Tucker (X)
1 day 3 hrs
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
He absorbs everything.


Explanation:
...

Fiorsam
United States
Local time: 18:03
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Italian
PRO pts in category: 4
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
he feeds off everything


Explanation:
*

kashew
France
Local time: 00:03
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 16
Grading comment
i think yours is the best answer in this context. thanks!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  writeaway: not great in the context and a bit pejorative. could be used as an insult as well, without changing a word
1 hr
  -> Creativity is fed - I don't see the problem.
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8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Everything feeds into his work


Explanation:
Since it is his work and not him

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Note added at 9 mins (2009-08-28 10:56:46 GMT)
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or if you need a pejorative meaning:
'he feeds off everything' but I would only use this if it is meant as criticism.

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Note added at 2 hrs (2009-08-28 12:50:01 GMT) Post-grading
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I am a little confused - I gave you the answer you selected at 9 mins!!

Helen Shiner
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:03
Native speaker of: English
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