payroll to meet

French translation: je devais verser de l'argent à 30 personnes

07:41 Feb 23, 2018
English to French translations [PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
English term or phrase: payroll to meet
Bonjour,
je ne suis pas certaine de ne pas faire un contresens sur le passage suivant :

I had payroll of 30 people to meet.

Voici le contexte : il s'agit d'un texte dont le style est relativement familier. Le narrateur évoque une partie de sa vie. Il a été engagé dans une maison de disques et doit donner de l'argent sous le manteau, genre de pot-de-vin au directeur, comme le lui explique son interlocuteur.
Voici les segments précédents :

“One thing,” he said, “you know that guy Josh who was sitting in the room next to the head of the label?”
“Yeah,” I said.
“He’s the #2 guy at the label.
You’re going to have to give him a piece of each deal on the side.”
So I said OK to that.
I had payroll of 30 people to meet.
I had my own mouth to feed.
I had a baby on the way.

Merci
Laetitia
L.Lepetit
France
Local time: 15:51
French translation:je devais verser de l'argent à 30 personnes
Explanation:
"on the side" ...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 49 mins (2018-02-23 08:30:16 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"You’re going to have to give him a piece of each deal on the side.”
Selected response from:

FX Fraipont (X)
Belgium
Local time: 15:51
Grading comment
thx
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +3la paie de 30 personnes dépendait de moi
Anne-Marie Laliberté (X)
3 +3la paie... dépendait de mes contrats
Anne Bohy
4 +1Je devais pourvoir à la paie de 30 personnes
surbeg
4je devais verser de l'argent à 30 personnes
FX Fraipont (X)
5 -1verser des pots-de-vin
Marcombes (X)
Summary of reference entries provided
Quand <i>payroll</i> n'est plus trop légal...
ph-b (X)

Discussion entries: 3





  

Answers


23 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
je devais verser de l'argent à 30 personnes


Explanation:
"on the side" ...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 49 mins (2018-02-23 08:30:16 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"You’re going to have to give him a piece of each deal on the side.”

FX Fraipont (X)
Belgium
Local time: 15:51
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 1529
Grading comment
thx

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Pierre POUSSIN
7 mins

disagree  Daryo: too ambiguous - and the 30 persons are regular employees.
7 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +3
la paie... dépendait de mes contrats


Explanation:
la paie de trente salariés dépendait des contrats que j'allais signer

Anne Bohy
France
Local time: 15:51
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 81

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  AllegroTrans: Are all of these really "salariés"? I somehow doubt it
1 hr

agree  surbeg: Je pense que c'est le sens
1 hr

agree  ph-b (X): Peut-être, mais L.Leptit nous dit que la personne qui parle n'a pas de salariés./Suite commentaire de surbeg ci-dessous, c'est effectivement une possibilité.
2 hrs
  -> J'ai bien compris. Je pense que ce sont les autres employés de l'entreprise. Si le commercial ne signe pas de contrats, les emplois de ses collègues sont menacés.

agree  Daryo: exactly that! This ST is not some silly fantasy fiction, and there are facts of real life that trump any linguistic ambiguity ...
4 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): -1
verser des pots-de-vin


Explanation:
à 30 Personnes

Verser un pot de vin Sens : Verser une somme d'argent illégalement. Origine : Au XVIe siècle, "verser un pot de vin" signifiait simplement "donner un pourboire", une somme permettant de se payer à boire.

Marcombes (X)
France
Local time: 15:51
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 24

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Daryo: to 30 people?
2 hrs
  -> Oui, il existe des listes de diffusion !

neutral  AllegroTrans: That is assuming too much
3 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
I had payroll of 30 people to meet.
Je devais pourvoir à la paie de 30 personnes


Explanation:
Une autre suggestion.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 hrs (2018-02-23 13:22:49 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

ou subvenir à la paie de.

Ça ne veut pas dire les payer soi-même, mais faire en sorte que l'entreprise ait les moyens de les payer. C'est ce qu'on dit dans les stages de motivation de cadres: "La paie de N personnes dépend de vous !" :)


surbeg
France
Local time: 15:51
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  ph-b (X): L.Leptit nous dit que la personne qui parle n'a pas de salariés./Effectivement, c'est une autre possibilité.
42 mins
  -> Oui, mais l'entreprise a du personnel à payer, et le nouvel embauché a des responsabilités à cet égard, commerciales ou autres.

agree  Daryo: the 30 persons this character was either employing himself, or who were depending on him for the company employing them staying afloat. He certainly wasn't some big shot gangster with 30 recipients on his bribing list.
2 hrs

disagree  Germaine: pourvoir (à) ou subvenir à = fournir le fric, payer de sa poche. Ici, il ne fait que préparer la paie.// Et c'est quoi "fournir ce qui est exigé" par une paie?
6 days
  -> Pas du tout. Pourvoir à: faire ou fournir ce qui est exigé par (un besoin, une situation) - CNRTL
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

8 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
la paie de 30 personnes dépendait de moi


Explanation:
.....

Anne-Marie Laliberté (X)
Local time: 10:51
Native speaker of: French
PRO pts in category: 28

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Daryo: another way of saying it.
1 hr

agree  Philippe Barré
2 days 17 hrs

agree  GILOU
3 days 16 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)




Reference comments


5 hrs peer agreement (net): +1
Reference: Quand <i>payroll</i> n'est plus trop légal...

Reference information:
Pas vraiment mon domaine, mais il me semble bien avoir rencontré payroll dans un sens dérivé de « paie », mais bcp moins légal, par ex. to be on someone's payroll = « toucher de l'argent de qqu'un »

Cf. aussi pour info :

payroll (plural payrolls)
(accounting) The calculation of salaries and wages and the deduction of taxes etc.; the department in a company responsible for this.
(euphemistic) Bribes paid to people
1957, Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged:
I know that the deal started with the boys in Santiago, because they’ve been on the d’Anconia pay roll for centuries — well, no, ‘pay roll’ is an honorable word, it would be more exact to say that d’Anconia Copper has been paying them protection money for centuries — isn't that what your gangsters call it?
1972, The Godfather:
We can spread a rumor this cop was dirty. Look, Tom, we have newspaper people on the payroll, don't we?
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/payroll

In an email from John Podesta to Huma Abedin, the pair discuss diverting Clinton campaign funds to various Republicans who were secretly on the Clinton payroll.
https://bwi.forums.rivals.com/threads/i-dont-recall-seeing-t...

We solved that problem (Paoa laughed), we put him (referring to Sarandrea) on the payroll
The Vernon town board launched an investigation of Sarandrea following rumors he was on Vernon Downs' payroll, but dropped the matter after he retired in January.
http://www.oneidadispatch.com/article/OD/20040305/NEWS/30305...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 hrs (2018-02-23 13:32:46 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Ceci dit, la proposition de bohy/surbeg a beaucoup de mérites...

ph-b (X)
France
Native speaker of: French
PRO pts in category: 20

Peer comments on this reference comment (and responses from the reference poster)
neutral  Daryo: yes, "payroll" can mean that also - but not in this ST
1 hr
agree  AllegroTrans
3 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.


See also:
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search