NormanH Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Yesterday I made a real fool of myself.I went out for lunch to a restaurant near me which advertises a 'brunch', though to be honest it is more of a buffet.In any case it is self-service which I am not that keen on, though the quality is good to be fair.It was one of the nice sunny days I posted about on another thread so at the end I took my dishes inside and looked around for where to leave them.Not seeing any where obvious I asked the patronne who indicated the conspicuously empty table marked DESSERTE I had wondered why the fruit and yoghurt were in another place over by the coffee....Now if I had been doing a translation I wouldn't have been so stupid, (I do know the word) but there was something about the situation which mislead me into thinking it was the place for the Desserts. Anyway she had a good laugh at the stupid English man who didn't understand French, something which hasn't happened for a while to me [:-))] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre ZFP Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Don't feel bad, it would have caught me out too [:P]Hope you enjoyed your brunch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybanana Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Ah, Norman, it comes to all of us. The oher day I asked a rather sweet your thing if I coild introduce myself and she said surely I meant present!Ho hum, back to packing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Ah, I am beginning to grin in a rather superior way![:)]I have been looking for a desserte roulante on Leboncoin so I have reason to be just a tiny bit smug.BTW, do they pronounce the final "e" where you come from, Norman?I don't know about the Dordogne but where we lived in the Charente, someone would have looked at me nastily and said "dessertE" and I'd have felt just as silly as you did [:P] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted March 4, 2013 Author Share Posted March 4, 2013 [quote user="woolybanana"]Ah, Norman, it comes to all of us. The oher day I asked a rather sweet your thing if I coild introduce myself and she said surely I meant present!Ho hum, back to packing.[/quote]I suppose she asked what a double entendre was so you gave her one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5-element Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 I am pretty sure that many French people have no idea what une desserte is.And, Norman, it could have been worse. At least you didn't attempt to eat the furniture. [:P] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarkkent Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 When we were furnishing our French house (many years ago) my wife went into a bedding shop and told the sales assistant that she wanted a matelot. He didn't bat an eyelid! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyEveriss Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Some of our English customers stopped off at a McDonalds on the way down here in the morning.They ordered their 'food' and tea and sat down at a table and a few minutes later one of them realised they had no milk and went with his very limited French to ask for some.The young woman behind the counter gasped in horror, as did the customers waiting behind him who then proceeded to shout and gesture furiously at him before he was thrown out.Any ideas on what he said? I'm always very careful when asking for milk now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 [quote user="JimmyEveriss"]The young woman behind the counter gasped in horror, as did the customers waiting behind him who then proceeded to shout and gesture furiously at him before he was thrown out. Any ideas on what he said? I'm always very careful when asking for milk now![/quote]No idea but the young woman might have said, "Vous vous foutez ma guerle!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted March 4, 2013 Author Share Posted March 4, 2013 Vous êtes laid? You are ugly?Laid/lait sounds quite similar even if it should be laide for a woman, and some English people might not know how to say est-ce que vous avez.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 I can think of a few things that he could have said. And people mispronounce so things don't sound like they really should. I have an odd vocabulary, and probably rather too rich in rude ones to be honest. I have made enough faux pas in my time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 [quote user="Clarkkent"]When we were furnishing our French house (many years ago) my wife went into a bedding shop and told the sales assistant that she wanted a matelot. He didn't bat an eyelid![/quote]Thankyou, this did make me smile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 [quote user="woolybanana"]Ah, Norman, it comes to all of us. The oher day I asked a rather sweet your thing if I coild introduce myself and she said surely I meant present! Ho hum, back to packing.[/quote]Now let me try and imagine the scene. So.....she didn't want you to go any further than flashing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allanb Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 In the matter of "desserte" I was lucky; soon after I arrived in France, at the beginning of a street I was about to drive down, there was a no-entry sign with a notice under it saying SAUF DESSERTE LOCALE.It didn't seem very likely to me that they would be refusing entry except to local puddings, so when I got home I did some dictionary research and found out the truth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyEveriss Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 One summer I was driving into town to buy a new mower belt with and for a friend of ours, an older French lady.As we were driving along I stated "Je suis chaud!"She was very quick to correct me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frecossais Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 At a quiz evening where all the questions (set by me) were on matters French, I gave the answer to the question " What was the name of Claude Monet's garden?" as Givenchy! Still haven't lived it down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5-element Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Frecossais, I really have to press the "like" button for this one!!! LOL!In any case, it took me 30 seconds of looking at the word "Givenchy" before I realised what was wrong. Givenchy does seem almost right, doesn't it? No wonder you picked it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cendrillon Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 but Frecossais, you were nearly right! [:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericd Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 [quote user="sweet 17"]No idea but the young woman might have said, "Vous vous foutez ma guerle!"[/quote] Hello Sweet. Sorry for the little correction ...."Vous vous foutez de ma gueule?" ...... but this has to be used only if someone is really trying to take you for an obvious ride. Otherwise quite acceptable to use "Vous vous foutez de moi?" . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patf Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 Still thinking about JimmyE's p1 question - could it be something to do with the fruit of the cow? But I don't think "cow " is used as an insult in french as it is in english.My worst one was when buying some live chickens I asked for "cul nu" instead of "cou nu" - again the seller didn't bat an eyelid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 Hi, Eric! Thank you. I just thought, if she was as annoyed as was recounted, that might well have been something she'd have said!Me, I'd have contented myself with "vous vous me moquez?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YCCMB Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 Ah Sweets, reflexives...the bane of our lives...it's vous vous moquez de moi...I always think "Tu me manques" is odd. Not to the French, obviously. But to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 Well Patf, I rarely make that mistake as I have trouble with that sound one should say if saying 'cul' or 'vu' and I do try really hard, so unnatural for me to get to grips with.So I congratulate you on being able to make these sounds that are so difficult for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybanana Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 [quote user="sweet 17"]Hi, Eric! Thank you. I just thought, if she was as annoyed as was recounted, that might well have been something she'd have said!Me, I'd have contented myself with "vous vous me moquez?"[/quote]If tis a question, something like Est ce que vous vous moquez de moi? Perhaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericd Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 [quote user="idun"]Well Patf, I rarely make that mistake as I have trouble with that sound one should say if saying 'cul' or 'vu' and I do try really hard, so unnatural for me to get to grips with.So I congratulate you on being able to make these sounds that are so difficult for me.[/quote] Same for me but in English ....I avoid words such as Sheep and Ship Pepper and Paper Sheet and Sh@t as I very often get them wrong......... and despite long chats with my English wife, I can't see for the life of me what is the difference between Tweet and Tw.t !!! both being nice little single syllable words ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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