Question for French speakers

[Drago]

I'm afraid the only French I know is "Je suis le gendarme la Angleterre", and now I've retired I can't even use that.

 

[woodbutcher]

It is raining cats and dogs here today. I imagine the French, Germans etc. would have fun with that description!

dont quote me on this but the naughty French have been known to say Ill pleut come vache qui pisse
of course it could be a corruption of old French for waterfall, catadupe or even Greek kata doska which means contrary to expectations and l really like that one as in "oh l say this rain is contrary to expectations" .....terribly gentile hey what !!

 

[woodbutcher]

I'm afraid the only French I know is "Je suis le gendarme la Angleterre", and now I've retired I can't even use that.

Just stick retraite on the end might raise a smile, unlikely from a gendarme l know

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

dont quote me on this but the naughty French have been known to say Ill pleut come vache qui pisse
of course it could be a corruption of old French for waterfall, catadupe or even Greek kata doska which means contrary to expectations and l really like that one as in "oh l say this rain is contrary to expectations" .....terribly gentile hey what !!

After spending a good deal of time on the Millevache plateau in Corrèze I learned that the -vache part referred not to cows but to stones (or boulders) in the local Patois. I'm no expert on that and it's not clearly relevant to waterfalls. It could pleut des cordes there, though.

 

[robjh]

I think you'd use en rather than dans, assuming you're talking about the region rather than the water temperature of the river.

No, it's definitely dans le Lot, same for other French départements with masculine names. En occurs only with feminine geographical names, eg. en Espagne (f) but au Portugal (m).

 

[woodbutcher]

After spending a good deal of time on the Millevache plateau in Corrèze I learned that the -vache part referred not to cows but to stones (or boulders) in the local Patois. I'm no expert on that and it's not clearly relevant to waterfalls. It could pleut des cordes there, though.

Oh well l give up, the locals l know well here tell me not to bother with French, just learn the Patois of the Lot

 

[Aperitif]

It could pleut des cordes there, though.

Cats, dogs, cows and horses...it's raining rênes... plutôt il pleut.

 

[User169]

[QUOTE 4834284, member: 259"]They say "il pleut des cordes" but "it's raining ropes" isn't as poetic as cats and dogs. [/QUOTE]

"pijpenstelen" - "steel rods" in Dutch

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

"pijpenstelen" - "steel rods" in Dutch

Which brings ''raining stair rods'' to mind.

 

[gavroche]

[QUOTE 4834328, member: 259"] View attachment 356159 [/QUOTE]
I think Mort should explain this joke to the CC members who don't speak French.

 

[srw]

I think Mort should explain this joke to the CC members who don't speak French.

In French letters?

 

[Poacher]

[QUOTE 4834284, member: 259"]They say "il pleut des cordes" but "it's raining ropes" isn't as poetic as cats and dogs. [/QUOTE]
How about "il tombe des hallebardes"? Literally "Halberds are falling".

 

[nickyboy]

"pijpenstelen" - "steel rods" in Dutch

"da yu" in Chinese...literally "big rain". Although they do have the rather more poetic "mao mao yu" for drizzle which translates as "hair rain"

 

[nickyboy]

[QUOTE 4834733, member: 259"]It probably means something mucky if you pronounce it wrong.[/QUOTE]
Not mucky but if you get the tones wrong "mao mao yu" means *a small fish you will feed to your cat"

 

[User169]

Not mucky but if you get the tones wrong "mao mao yu" means *a small fish you will feed to your cat"

Nicky's totes making this up as he goes along!