Judie Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 I was reading an account of a Chatentais man who was caught driving with 3 grams of alcohol in his blood and no driving licence for 42 years, this morning when I was surprised by a comment about the news item; as follows;Pourquoi confisquer le véhicule de ce monsieur,on ne confisque jamais les véhicules de hautes gammes de ces richards anglais qui roulent pour s'amuser sur nos routes a plus de 250 Km/hWhat are richards anglais? I can guess what they mean but I was wondering if it's just a stereotyping on the part of the commenter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suein56 Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 fat cats ... English in this instance. It has the same slur as when used in English.Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 As many of the English that French people have as neighbours are second home owners (and therefore have a certain amount of capital) there is a generalising of the idea that all English people in France are wealthyI think 'richard' is a bit like 'clochard' or 'vicelard'...the 'ard' ending expresses a certain distaste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judie Posted October 13, 2012 Author Share Posted October 13, 2012 Thank you both, I just hadn't seen it in print like that before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 Rhyming slang that lost its meaning and irony when crossing the channel"Richard the thirds" = ?? [:D][6] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judith Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 [quote user="NormanH"]As many of the English that French people have as neighbours are second home owners (and therefore have a certain amount of capital) there is a generalising of the idea that all English people in France are wealthyI think 'richard' is a bit like 'clochard' or 'vicelard'...the 'ard' ending expresses a certain distaste.[/quote]This is quite likely - enough people have sufficient English to know the word "rich" which is anyhow basically the same in French, and as NormanH says, putting the "ard" on is done often. The fact that it also happens to be an English Christian name (yes, I know it's also used in French occasionally) would seem to be most appropriate to use it in that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deborah Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 Exactly! When you add "-ard", this is very familiar and negative. Like a "bledard", who comes from a "bled", un village.By the bye, a mistake: "...les véhicules haut de gamme..." (contrary : "bas de gamme") Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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