This site uses cookies. Some of these cookies are essential to the operation of the site, while others help to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used. For more information, please see the ProZ.com privacy policy.
Cookie settings
Zwerchfellbuckel
unaufgefordert und rechtzeitig

Glossary entry

German term or phrase:

Parforceleistung

English translation:

tour de force

Added to glossary by Louise Gough
Feb 1, 2011 00:47
13 yrs ago
German term

Parforce

German to English Marketing Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
I know this is an abbreviation standing for "Parallel Formal Computing Environment". However, I don't know enough about this subject to translate the following sentence properly:

"Wie der Zufall es wollte, geschah der Vulkanausbruch auf Island exakt einen Tag nach dem Rebranding, was das IT-Team zu einer Parforce-Leistung zwang."

Any suggestions and/or explanations would be very welcome.
Proposed translations (English)
3 +1 tour de force
3 superhuman effort
3 Herculean acheivement
1 breakneck effort
Change log

Feb 1, 2011 09:25: Ingo Dierkschnieder changed "Field" from "Tech/Engineering" to "Other" , "Field (specific)" from "IT (Information Technology)" to "Idioms / Maxims / Sayings"

Mar 27, 2019 16:40: Steffen Walter changed "Field" from "Other" to "Marketing"

Discussion

Alison MacG Feb 1, 2011:
@ Louise re major dictionaries The Encylcopaedic Muret-Sanders actually lists Parforceleistung - tour de force (as suggested by efreitag). You will find lots of other suggestions along the lines of brilliant feat/achievement/performance, etc. if you do a search for the synonym "Glanzleistung".
Louise Gough (asker) Feb 1, 2011:
Thanks for suggestions so far. My initial instinct was indeed that it was something to do with putting in exceptional effort so I originally had "pull out all the stops" (which I might still use, as this idea has been confirmed). However, I was still unable to find anything to corroborate this usage in German in any of the major dictionaries and reference works, but did come across the reference to the abbreviation - which, since the subject matter is in fact IT, rather confused the matter and made me question my judgement!
784512 (X) Feb 1, 2011:
par force hunting From the not especially reliable free dictionary, but it gives you an idea:
in equestrian sports, a type of riding conducted as a hunt with hounds in pursuit of an animal (deer, boar, wolf, fox, hare) or following an artificially made animal “scent” for a distance of up to 35 km. Modern par force hunting developed in Great Britain at the beginning of the 19th century.
...I knew it wouldn't be nice.
784512 (X) Feb 1, 2011:
par force exists in English It means something to do with hunting, but don't ask me to look it up, as I don't think I will like it...
It comes from the French "par la force", meaning brute force. Brute force, in IT, can be a means of breaking data encryption by repeated attempts. However, I don't think that is what it is referring to, and this has nothing to do with IT.

Proposed translations

+1
6 hrs
German term (edited): Parforce-Leistung
Selected

tour de force

I'm with David and Zareh. This is nothing to do with "Parallel Formal Computing Environment".

The usual collocation in German is "der Parforceritt", for which I have found "tour de force" in English.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tour de force

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 Stunden (2011-02-01 07:42:44 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

1. an exceptional achievement by an artist, author, or the like, that is unlikely to be equaled by that person or anyone else; stroke of genius: Herman Melville's Moby dick was a tour de force.
2. a particularly adroit maneuver or technique in handling a difficult situation: The way the president got his bill through the Senate was a tour de force.
3. a feat requiring unusual strength, skill, or ingenuity.
Peer comment(s):
agree Thayenga : My first thought an "exceptional achievement". :)
22 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks for all suggestions - this does seems to be what the IT people did and it works in this text. Thanks to Alison for finding it in print!"
5 mins

superhuman effort

I would suggest ...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 mins (2011-02-01 00:53:39 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

nothing to do with computing IMO

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 8 mins (2011-02-01 00:55:40 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

or: determined
Something went wrong...
2 hrs

breakneck effort

Something went wrong...
6 hrs

Herculean acheivement

I mean, it really was!
Something went wrong...
Close search
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search