French on the piste

[jjefferies]

Found a list of common french words/phrases used in english and checked
for those I've heard on the strip. Please add to them:

allez!
"go!", as in "go team!"
arête
a narrow ridge. In French, also fishbone; edge of a polyhedron or graph; bridge of the nose. (as in point d' arete an old fashioned tip)
au contraire
on the contrary.
au fait
being conversant in or with, or instructed in or with.
contre-coup
against the blow
contretemps
an awkward clash; a delay
coup de grâce
the final blow that results in victory (literally "blow of mercy"), historically used in the context of the battlefield to refer to the killing of badly wounded enemy soldiers, now more often used in a figurative context (e.g., business). Frequently pronounced without the final "s" sound by English speakers who believe that any such sound at the end of a French word is supposed to be silent.

coup de maître
stroke of the master, master stroke

d'accord
in accord; agreed; sure; OK; of course

derrière
rear; buttocks; literally "behind"

déshabillé
partially clad or scantily dressed; also a special type of garment.

désolé
sorry

en principe, oui
"in principle, yes" : a diplomatic way of saying 'no'

enfant terrible
a disruptively unconventional person, a "terrible child".
faux
false, ersatz, fake.
je m'en fous
"I don't give a damn / a f*ck".
lamé
a type of fabric woven or knit with metallic yarns

malaise
a general sense of depression or unease

merde
"****"

merde alors
"**** then"

moi
"me"; often used in English as an ironic reply to an accusation; for example, "Pretentious? Moi?"

piste
referring to skiing at a ski area (on piste) versus skiing in the back country (off piste).

tableau
chalkboard. The meaning is broader in French : all type of board (chalkboard, whiteboard, notice board...). Refers also to a painting (see tableau vivant, below) or a table (chart).

touché
acknowledgment of an effective counterpoint; literally "touched" or "hit!" Comes from the fencing vocabulary.

très
very (often ironic in English)

unique
One of a kind. Unique is considered a paradigmatic absolute and therefore something cannot be very unique.

venu/e
invited man/woman for a show, once ("come"); unused in modern French, though it can still be used in a few expressions like bienvenu/e (literally well come : welcome)
or le premier venu (anyone; literally, the first who came).


----------------------
Words/phrases not used as such in French ?

accoutrement
personal military or fighting armaments worn about one's self; has come to mean the accompanying items available to pursue a mission. In French, means a funny or ridiculous clothing; often a weird disguise or a getup, though it can be said also for people with bad taste in clothing.

coup de main (pl. coups de main)
a surprise attack. In French, "[donner] un coup de main" means "[to give] a hand" (to give assistance). Even if the English meaning exists as well, it is old-fashioned.

épée
a fencing weapon descended from the duelling sword. In French, apart from fencing (the sport) the term is more generic : it means sword.

passé
out of fashion. The correct expression in French is "passé de mode". Passé means past, passed, or (for a colour) faded.

reprise
repetition of previous music in a suite, programme, etc. In French it may mean an alternate version of a piece of music, or a cover version. To express the repetition of a previous musical theme, French would exclusively use the Italian term coda.

maître d’
translates as master o'. Francophones would say maître d’hôtel (head waiter) instead (French never uses "d'" alone).

[Greybeard]

I am just pissed when I have to use French. I have had to use Suisse, French, Canadian dialects. Although "Merde" seems universal.

Ever notice in History of the World Part 1 The French Revolution scene has a street named "Rue de Merde"

[Purple Fencer]

I am just pissed when I have to use French. I have had to use Suisse, French, Canadian dialects. Although "Merde" seems universal.

Ever notice in History of the World Part 1 The French Revolution scene has a street named "Rue de Merde"

Even better...in an VERY earl Star Trek: TNG episode ("The Naked Now" I think), Picard clearly says "merde"...and the censors didn't catch it.

I think that's the only time I heard Picard swear on camera!

[lauragoodin]

Sir Patrick's French accent was, alas, an atrocity in and of itself that should have been censored.

[Greybeard]

Wouldn't that be distracting if someone in the crowd yelled "allez?" It would be like a fan blowing a whistle.

[downunder]

Wouldn't that be distracting if someone in the crowd yelled "allez?" It would be like a fan blowing a whistle.

The french yell allez all the time.

arête
a narrow ridge. In French, also fishbone; edge of a polyhedron or graph; bridge of the nose. (as in point d' arete an old fashioned tip)

In refereeing terminology we use arrêt for a 'counterattack' that takes priority - like a stop hit.

[Greybeard]

[QUOTE=downunder;861205]The french yell allez all the time.


My point exactly, what about others who are not used to it? Yellow card

[downunder]

My point exactly, what about others who are not used to it? Yellow card

You identify the voice of the referee? Convention is that everyone quietens down before each point anyway. I've never seen a problem with this before.

[Greybeard]

Just thought I'd throw a spanner in the spokes.

[Mergs]

Hmmm. My initial response to the thread title was - Very difficult through the mask mesh. Then I started actually reading it. So sorry.......

Of COURSE Patrick STEWART's french accent stank.....He's a Scot! And they were only allies of the french, that didn't mean they actually deigned to speak the language. Hell, it's taken them over two hundred and fifty years to get to be understood in English to a reasonable state.

Gav, please, no offense..........please don't banish me........

[PretAllez]

Of COURSE Patrick STEWART's french accent stank.....He's a Scot! And they were only allies of the french, that didn't mean they actually deigned to speak the language. Hell, it's taken them over two hundred and fifty years to get to be understood in English to a reasonable state.

Gav, please, no offense..........please don't banish me........

This coming from someone from Texas?

But seriously, JLP's accent may have been just fine (I say may because I don't remember the episode).
There are just as many French accents as there are English ones, and some are just as incomprehensible to an "international standard French-speaker" as Glaswegian is to a Texan (or vice versa, for that matter)

For example,
My husband, who is an educated French-Canadian with only a mild accent (Eastern Townships, not Lac St Jean), once left a voice message for some of my Parisian relatives. They did not understand a word of it. Not a word. When they eventually met face-to-face, they asked him to repeat what he had said on the phone: once he was standing in front of them, they understood him easily (the hand gestures and body language were enough to overcome the accent).

[Wetmelon]

arête
a narrow ridge. In French, also fishbone; edge of a polyhedron or graph; bridge of the nose. (as in point d' arete an old fashioned tip)

Not the Arrête that is spoken when on piste, bud. Arête is what you say it is, but they are saying Arrête, which means "Stop" or "Halt".

P.S. PretAllez, where in Ottawa do you fence? I was just there for OUA championships.

[Inquartata]

I thought that the masks would tend to inhibit French on the piste.

[Wetmelon]

I thought that the masks would tend to inhibit French on the piste.

? What?

[WGH]

? What?

I believe Inquartata's tongue has difficulty penetrating the mask mash.

[Inquartata]

It might be interesting to watch it in some womens' events.

[PretAllez]

P.S. PretAllez, where in Ottawa do you fence? I was just there for OUA championships.

My son fences; I'm just logistics ...
He fences foil with "Ottawa Fencing" (a superclub that encompasses competitive fencers from OttawaU, Carleton, and RA fencing clubs) but he's in high school so we were not at the OUA champs.
Will you be in Kingston for the Ontario Senior Champs (March 20-21)?