that'll be the day

    • Merci de ma parte aussi!

    I wanted to know the very same thing from "The Searchers". Incredible!
    Thanks!
     
    I could not be more delighted to see that one of my favorite westerns is appreciated in France as well. For me it's Ford's greatest, as well as John Wayne's and Jeffrey Hunter's. It's the one film that even those who dislike Wayne concede he was great there.

    When Wayne says "That'll be the day" it's like nowadays saying: "Yeah, right!" (and "right" gets said slowly for a duration of about four syllables). Or, "I don't think so."

    In any case, "that'll be the day" usually suggests something that will NEVER happen--distrust, bordering on contempt.

    Maybe a bit like "jamais dans la vie?" Except I don't know if it gets used with the same force. (?)
     
    Although it is an almost exact translation, I don't think c'est pas demain la veille fits in this case.
    Generally, c'est pas demain la veille is said with more regret more than contempt.
    I would translate that'll be the day by comptes là-dessus, which is almost always used in contempt.

    Note that the song That'll be the day by Buddy Holly was written just after he saw the searchers because he liked the catchphrase.
     
    Well... not for me :D!
    Basically, I now have what I need, but still, I would like someone to confirm that That will be the day can be translated by C'est pas demain la veille, in my sentence.
    Taken from the video game Quake III, this phrase is said by a warrior of the game as a response, when the following words have been previously uttered by another warrior: "doctor", "doctors", "hospital", "psychiatric", "psychiatrist", "psychologist", "specialist". In short, as soon as anyone uses one of those words, my phrase is pronounced by a fellow warrior and a few other sentences can appear, too:

    'Doctors make my flesh crawl.'
    'I don't need a doctor.'
    'I hate quacks.'
    'Are you gonna pay for this doctor?'
    'I've got your treatment right here.'
    'I think YOU'RE the one who needs a doctor.'
    'A doctor might help.'
    'We're talking medical doctor, right?'

    I would be grateful if any of you could confirm that in such a game, with a global sarcastic tone, "C'est pas demain la veille" fits for That will be the day or if you have any better or more accurate suggestion in mind... thank you very much!
     
    Yes Quake3, in the movie "The Searchers", Wayne is always very sarcastic/ironic/bitter when he answers this expression.

    It looks a bit like French answers "quand les poules auront des dents" or "j'en parlerai à mon cheval".

    Salutations
     
    the expression is used when we witness something unexpected. it does not correspond to ' quand les poules auront les dents' which is a never happening thing; whereas 'that'll be the day' has hopes of seeing something out of the ordinary. is there an equivalent in french pls?
     
    Well, that is what I'm asking for! Several equivalents have be given above, and in all likelihood, Fleetmoon's suggestion is the best here. Thanks again!
     
    Je vois dans plusieurs fils de discussion sur 'ça, c'est le comble !' que c'est traduit plutôt par 'that takes the cake/biscuit' ou 'that's/it's the last straw'.
     
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