Distilled water to?

Question

Alcohol                   80% 
Peppermint oil         1.32% 
Distilled water to     100% 
the text above is the composition of a produce written on its package.What does 'Distilled water to 100%' mean?
Many thanks in advance!
John

JohnParis · Accepted Answer

Hi John

Well, it's not easy to say for certain.

If the product is 80% alcohol and 1.32% peppermint oil, this leaves 18.68% of something left to bring the composition to 100%.

Perhaps "distilled water to 100%" means distilled water makes up the remainder (18.68%) of the composition of the product.

I hope this isn't something you drink!

Regards, John

Anonymous · Answer

Hi John,

Thanks a lot for you help.Could you tell me what the 'to' means in the text?

Well,this is something you can drink(only a few drops each time) but not drink.Its a product of France called alcool de menthe de Ricqlès.I found a picture of it.You can have a look if you like.Here is the link:

JohnParis · Answer

"to" is a mistranslation - or perhaps a "google" translation - of the "à" in "de l'eau distillée à 100%"

Never use google, bablefish or any other online translator.

Anonymous · Answer

The text is not from an online translator.It is the original text written on the package.The product is not sold in France,so on its package it's written in English instead of French.

JohnParis · Answer

Well, google or not, I still stand by my theory of a mistranslation.

Many instructions on medicines and food products are poorly translated.

Just the other day I read, "only to be taken by the mouth road" (a direct translation of "a prendre par la voie orale"). The manufacturer was trying to say "to be taken orally".

Best of luck,

John

CalifJim · Answer

JohnParis"to" is a mistranslation

Could you provide the correct translation please?

CJ

JohnParis · Answer

There isn't a translation to provide. The original product was made in France and it probably was the manufacturer that translated the ingredients notice from French to English (and made a real muck of it), then putting his English label on for export.

The phrase "distilled water to 100%" means nothing, as far as I can tell.

CalifJim, do you have an idea?

I'm just suggesting that the manufacturer's improper English on the bottle was an attempt to convey something to the effect of:

(the rest is) 100% distillled water

or

Remaining ingredient 100% distilled water

CalifJim · Answer

JohnParis"to" is a mistranslation - or perhaps a "google" translation - of the "à" in "de l'eau distillée à 100%"
JohnParisThere isn't a translation to provide.
I'm having difficulty reconciling these two statements. It's hard to see why a given translation would be singled out as wrong when there are no translations that are right. It seems you're saying that any attempt to translate this is doomed to failure - that the French have somehow discovered some concept that only they are capable of expressing! I'll assume I'm misinterpreting something here.

JohnParisI'm just suggesting that the manufacturer's improper English on the bottle was an attempt to convey something to the effect of:
(the rest is) 100% distillled water
or
Remaining ingredient 100% distilled water
Agreed, except that I don't think 100% modifies distilled. I don't think distilled water comes in percentages, as in water that's 40%, 80%, or 99% distilled. I think it's all 100% distilled if it's distilled at all, (Let me know if I'm wrong), so I'd say that it means ... and the rest is distilled water, ... everything else is distilled water, i.e., the percentage of distilled water is whatever percentage is necessary to reach 100%, because there are no more ingredients to list. In other words, your first answer with the mention of 18.68% was exactly right in my opinion.

CJ

JohnParis · Answer

CalifJimI'll assume I'm misinterpreting something here.

Better to assume that I am not properly explaining myself. I'll begin anew.

The product was (and may still be) produced in France. It’s a highly alcoholised mint flavoured liquid that one pours a few drops of (or much more) into a glass of water to create a “refreshing and exquisite” drink. Its original labelling would have been in French. The anonymous poster has provided us with a picture of the product and states that the ingredients notice printed on the label is in English. This, he states, is because “the product is not sold in France, so … its package it's written in English…” In fact, on the picture provided, several terms and marketing phrases remain in French. We cannot, however, see the ingredients label, which he says is in English and contains the famous phrase “distilled water to 100%.” Because the ingredients label is in English, this indicates that the product was destined for export. Regulations have been imposed on manufacturers to conform to European legislation requiring all labels of “medicinal products” (a category that this preparation may have fallen under because one of the little phrases on the front of the bottle indicates that it was, at one point, reimbursed by the French equivalent of Medicare) for export to be in English as well as the original language. Without the benefit of seeing the original French label, I am hypothesising that the label was mistranslated from French to English. The French label may have used a phrase such as ‘de l’eau distilée à 100%’. This phrase, translated word-for-word from French to English would be ‘from water distilled to 100%’. But, as we all know, you can never translate anything word-for-word because it will nearly always come out as gibberish. This is my point. The manufacturer probably translated the label incorrectly using a word-for-word approach, and that’s how we got “distilled water to 100%." If the phrase had been correctly translated it would have read: “from 100% distilled water”. I’m just sayin’.

Geesh – I think I deserve La Légion d’Honneur after that explanation. If they gave it to Jerry Lewis, then they ought to ….

CalifJimIn other words, your first answer with the mention of 18.68% was exactly right in my opinion.

I guess I’m lucky that I am bald as a cueball. Nothing left to tear out!

I'm going to the bar next door.

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you again!

Distilled water to?

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