Iceni Posted April 15, 2005 Share Posted April 15, 2005 I am on the OU beginners course but for some reason there is not a vocabulary. I have come across a phrase which does not fit - we are in the process of looking for a flat to rent when someone says 'Quelle galère!' Now all I can find is a reference to a boat (galley) so I presume it must be colloquial. Please help as it is driving me mad.Muchos gracias (YES, I do start to speak in Spanish whenever under pressure when speaking French - luckily the waitress yesterday could translate agua minerale into it's French equivalent). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bizzyliz Posted April 15, 2005 Share Posted April 15, 2005 According to Chamber's dictionary, galère can be an unpleasant situation or an undesirable group of people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weedon Posted April 15, 2005 Share Posted April 15, 2005 My french is just about non-existant but I have looked in my Shorter Dictionary and dans quelle galère est-ce que je me suis embarqué translates to what have I let myself in for.And galérer is to have a hard time.AND c'est une vraie galère is it's a real pain.weedon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
letrangere Posted April 16, 2005 Share Posted April 16, 2005 Di, I smiled when I saw this for I've come across this before and it threw me to. I stand corrected but I seem to recall it means, "what a business", perhaps more commonly, "what a pallaver". Would that make sense in the context you heard it in? M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceni Posted April 16, 2005 Author Share Posted April 16, 2005 What a great response. Many thanks - 'What a palaver' - or words to that effect fit it to a tee.If anyone ever takes a language course, ensure that some form of vocabulary is provided. If not, give it a miss. Even longstanding OU student with degrees under their belts say they are getting RSI from checking each and almost every new word in various dictionaries and the amount of 'other support materials' we are having to use but not listed in the OU course that we are now using has made the course quite expensive.We gather the course is changing for next year but that is no comfort for us as we struggle on. Next year will again be a sort of 'first year' if they make all the changes they promise.Next year I will use this money to pay for private lessons - at least I get to speak French to a real person and not just listen and talk to a CD. Impressed - NOT and I was a teacher in another incarnation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mpprh Posted April 16, 2005 Share Posted April 16, 2005 Hmm"It's a load of ********" seems to be the best translation ?PeterI've been edited out by the dreaded ******** , but if you imagine a fairly common word for male reproductive equipment (and there actually two of them) you will get the gist ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battypuss Posted April 17, 2005 Share Posted April 17, 2005 'What a balls up' fits ok too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie & Steve Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 My daughter said it means 'what a drag'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vraititi<P>PSG till I die -fluctuat nec mergitur.<P> Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 All above translations are excellent in their own right, it really depends which context the phrase is used in. But generally best translated in 50 % of occurences by either 'what a drag' as J & S suggest, 'what a nightmare (this is/this is turning out to be)' or simply 'what a rotten experience (that was)'. In any case, it is not a vulgar phrase, rather an ageless one used by people from all walks of life. Is obviously always used for a very unpleasant, stressful situation, incident, experience, moment; sometimes used for a painless but nonetheless excrutiatingly boring experience.Example: I went to the Préfecture this morning to get my Permis de conduire converted into a French one: quelle galère it was ! (what a palaver)Or: 'We had such a rotten filthy sod of a week-end ! First we visited the in-laws, then got the 4by4 stuck in some ditch, and then to top it all, we had to accommodate 11 friends of friends of my husband from Skeggie who turned up famished and thirsty at 10 PM. Punaise, quelle galère ce week-end !'Also: the verb, 'galérer', noun 'un galérien' (someone who seems to 'specialise' voluntarily or not in rotten experiences, or who even seeks them out !), 'la galère' (opposite of a 'happy moment'). Very used also the following phrase: 'Tu parles d'une galère, toi !' (that was bloody hard/awful that was !) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Animal Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 I have one for you here Vraititi :If Iceni has someone looking for a flat in the Summer when it's hot and he is in "bras de chemise", how would you explain that one? I have always loved that expression. Quelle galère !Christine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vraititi<P>PSG till I die -fluctuat nec mergitur.<P> Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Don't know where it comes from, and it's so early in the morning ! It does indeed sound very odd when you analyse it, and such are so many phrases in French or English. I would imagine this particular oddity is the result of a metonymical transformation of 'sleeveless shirt' in French (chemise sans manches) which then became 'sans manches', sorry if that does not make crystal clear sense ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paule PICKETT Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 A galere was a war ship up to the XVIIIe. It had sails and oars. Criminels used to be condemmed to row on the king's galeres. Hence quelle galere meaning a very apleasant situation or a very hard work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicfille Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 With reference to the "bras de chemise" thing, isn't it exactly the same as the English expression "in shirt sleeves"? Simply a way of saying that a chap has taken his jacket off due to the heat. I remember thinking the English expression was odd as a child, and being surprised that the French had the same one.But maybe I've got it all wrong... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Animal Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Yes, I know what it means. It's just so odd to say "in shirt arms" (it doesn't mean anything when you think about it) at least the English version is in "sleeves". Why don't they just say in a "shirt" or "chemise"?Oh, why can't they just wear a T-shirt?! Or a T-short as the French often say, getting mixed up somewhere between a shirt and shorts. They also say a "sweet" for a sweatshirt. It's getting a little cold to be "en bras de chemise", je vais me chercher un petit "sweet"...The worst must have been to row on a galère en bras de chemise.I shall try to dream about it all tonight "en bras de chemise de nuit".Christine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monika Posted June 17, 2005 Share Posted June 17, 2005 [quote]Hmm "It's a load of ********" seems to be the best translation ? Peter I've been edited out by the dreaded ******** , but if you imagine a fairly common word for male reproductive equipment (and th...[/quote]Can't be, its feminine!!!Monika (61) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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