Oh the disappointment!

[Cat]

I have just discovered that for the last 4 years I have been mistaken about the true meaning of the phase pèter les plombs .  I know that it generally means to get very angry, but it seems my imagination has been getting the better of me.

I always imagined it to have a literal meaning, pèter (to fart) les plombs (lead shotgun pellets), and so each time that I heard the phrase I had a mental picture of someone doing just that, and it always made me smile.

I'm so disappointed to learn that it really means to blow a fuse [:(]

On the same note, I now know that Mr Cat's great-aunt (who I always thought was called Marie-Nichole)  is actually his godmother ( marraine Nichole).

I wonder how many other things that I was sure that I was sure about I now shouldn't be so sure of [blink]

[plod]

I used to think Jimi Hendrix sang: " Excuse me while I kiss this guy".

Also (can't remember the name of the song) "How many flowers etc... and though I miss you Shirley, pardon" 

[allanb]

Thank you.  I hadn't heard that one: I'm sure it will be very useful.

I did learn some time ago thet péter is often used to mean "break" or "fail" or "burst", e.g. a light bulb or a balloon or a piece of string.  I learned it from a car mechanic; he was telling me that the timing belt should be replaced, and he warned me of all the awful things that would happen to the engine "si ça pète".

[Chancer]

Well Cat you have disillusioned me!

I too always thought of farting lead [:)]

When I use the phrase it is to say that someone lost the plot, acted totally irrationally, went into one  etc rather than to say that they were simply (or very) angry.

Am I using the phrase incorrectly as well ?

editted:

I also was confused for ages at to why my girlfriend referred to her godmother as "her queen", she (he?) did seem a little butch to me and I always made sure that I didnt sit next to him/her [:D] 

[Cat]

As it means to blow a fuse (the lead wire in an electrical fuse is called a plomb)  I take it to mean that you will go into overload and not be responsible for your actions.  You might, as a result of being annoyed or stressed, go into one/lose the plot/lose control or even don your godmother's hat and bloomers and dance a fandango on the table.

 

 

 

[5-element]

Cat is right. "J'ai pété les plombs!" = "I just lost it" , "I went into a mad rage".

[Clair]

J.R. and Cat, the "marraine" bit made me smile (in a nice way [:)])!

Theses are things a French person would almost certainly never think about! [geek].

It's just a bit weird reading about a language from another angle... [blink]

[Cat]

I'm always pestering Mr Cat about the roots/meanings of French words that he takes for granted.  It often makes me think twice about English words and phrases as well.

Take the French response to a sneeze... à tes souhaits, it can't be a coincidence that the English word to describe the sound of a sneeze is atishoo, can it? 

[Cendrillon]

Relâche was a word that caught me out.

For ages I looked at the cinema listings and thought to myself why are they always showing this film, I realised later that 

Relâche = closed - no performance.[8-)]