5. C'est du pipeau !
pronounced more or less: say dew pee po
The stress goes on the last syllable, "-peau": C'est du piPEAU !
Variant: C'est pas du pipeau ! / Ce n'est pas du pipeau ! These are simply negative forms of the expression, meaning something akin to: "And that's not just whistlin' Dixie, folks."
"Un pipeau" is a reed pipe (tin whistle) or a bird call.
Literal translation: "It's a bird call." / "It's a tin whistle."
Implications: C'est du pipeau implies that whatever was just said isn't true or at best a stretch of the imagination. It's roughly equivalent to the American English expressions, "what a load of rubbish" or, a bit more outdated, "it's strictly for the birds." It's sometimes used as well to indicate that, in the user's opinion (always the favored perspective), what is being referred to as "pipeau" is inconsequential, no big deal, about as important as...well, let's see...a tin whistle.
Remarks: This is a familiar, fairly high-frequency expression, in no way vulgar (sorry to disappoint).
Example One: You walk into your dining room and nearly drop to the floor when you see that someone has carved his initials into your beautiful mahogany dining table. A blood curdling J'hallucine ! escapes your lips. You suspect one of the kids in the household, and by "suspect," I mean that you're sure. Not having good parenting instincts, you call all the kids into the room in hopes of exposing the culprit and forcing a tearful, guilt-ridden confession. They all deny the act. Dumbfounded, you say: C'est du pipeau !!!! Mais j'hallucine ou quoi ?!!!
To no avail, of course. Eh bien !
PS: this example crosses cultures with no problem whatsoever. Just ask my brother, JS.
Example Two: "La Tour Eiffel bio, c'est du pipeau" ["an organic Eiffel Tower, yeah, sure, you betcha...not!"] That's what all the buzz was back in 2009 when the French were preparing, in celebration of the 120th anniversary of the Eiffel Tower, to re-paint the giant according to the organic norms set up for 2012. In fact, the paint used was identical to the paint used in 2001, no lead, but plenty of solvents, so... c'est du pipeau !
GOT GAUL?
Showing posts with label french culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label french culture. Show all posts
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Et bien...?
2. Et bien...?
pronounced more or less: Ay b'yenh
Variation: Eh bien...?
The -en is nasalized: to produce the correct sound, don't let your tongue touch the roof of your mouth.
Essentially expresses a lack of surprise, but also acceptance of a situation as the (not necessarily agreeable) norm and therefore to be expected.
Literal translation: "And well...?"
Meaning: "Well, whad'ya expect after all?" tinged with "Whatchya gonna do?"
Often accompanied by a shoulder shrug, raised eyebrow and knowing look.
Implication: Everybody (especially me and apparently not so much you ) knows that that's the way it is. Why would we/should we expect otherwise and beside there's nothing we can do about it.
Example: Up until a few months ago, our small village, like other remote villages in France, was still living in the age of dial-up Internet connections (j'hallucine). The community finally installed a high speed system, but the job wasn't done properly (Et bien...?). Many homes found themselves and find themselves not only without a functional Internet connection, but also without phone service. So DSL technicians make the long trek up here several times a week to correct the problems and connect new customers. Each time a repair is made to link a new customer into the system, an already existing customer loses his service. We couldn't make any sense out of it till yesterday when a technician confessed that, given the way the system had been installed, the only way to connect a new client was to disconnect an old one. My reaction: J'hallucine! The reaction of the French villagers? Et bien...?
pronounced more or less: Ay b'yenh
Variation: Eh bien...?
The -en is nasalized: to produce the correct sound, don't let your tongue touch the roof of your mouth.
Essentially expresses a lack of surprise, but also acceptance of a situation as the (not necessarily agreeable) norm and therefore to be expected.
Literal translation: "And well...?"
Meaning: "Well, whad'ya expect after all?" tinged with "Whatchya gonna do?"
Often accompanied by a shoulder shrug, raised eyebrow and knowing look.
Implication: Everybody (especially me and apparently not so much you ) knows that that's the way it is. Why would we/should we expect otherwise and beside there's nothing we can do about it.
Example: Up until a few months ago, our small village, like other remote villages in France, was still living in the age of dial-up Internet connections (j'hallucine). The community finally installed a high speed system, but the job wasn't done properly (Et bien...?). Many homes found themselves and find themselves not only without a functional Internet connection, but also without phone service. So DSL technicians make the long trek up here several times a week to correct the problems and connect new customers. Each time a repair is made to link a new customer into the system, an already existing customer loses his service. We couldn't make any sense out of it till yesterday when a technician confessed that, given the way the system had been installed, the only way to connect a new client was to disconnect an old one. My reaction: J'hallucine! The reaction of the French villagers? Et bien...?
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