mercredi, janvier 25, 2006

stripping over my words

Diana's post on butchered idioms (courtesy of her former boss Renaud, a Frenchman) is hilarious.

Read the Renaudisms and learn what "Did you wake up on the wrong side of the foot?" and "You can't teach a monkey a new face" mean.
TopicRenaudism
Finality of numbers"It's not that those numbers have to be set in marble."
Phone Tag"I'm sorry that we keep playing tag phone."
Kissing up"I don't need you to lick ass."
Getting to the point"We need to cut to the chest."
Bad mornings"Did you wake up on the wrong side of the foot?"
Non disclosures"You can't look at that because you haven't signed the DNA yet."
Unappealing jobs"What would repeal you from this job?"
Renaud's brightness"I'm not the sharpest tool on the shelf."
Training"You can't teach a monkey a new face."
Leaving for the day"I'm about to quit the building."
Talking about others"I wouldn't talk in your back."
Sucky jobs"My friends have dead hand jobs."
Picking your battles"Don't kill the hand that feeds you."
Go ahead, make my day"Be my guess."
Tripping over my words"Stripping over my words."
It strikes me that..."It strikes my mind that..."
Probability"Shoot fish in a pond."
That's a relief"That's a large weight off your stomach."

1 commentaire:

Mr. Middlebrow a dit…

Some of these aren't so much mangled idioms as English phrases spoken w/ an atrahjes Franch aksent, a la Monty Python. Not that that's a bad thing. It actually brings to mind a running gag from the TV-movie adaptation of Peter Mayle's "Provence" books. A Parisienne woman keeps inquiring about a real estate offer, but w/ her accent, it sounds she selling more personal than property: "Duh yuh want to bah mah ass?"

Some others remind me of expressions that an Army buddy of mine from Woonsocket, RI, attributed to his French-Canadian grandparents. (
Apparently, the place is lousy with Acadians.) To wit: "Throw me down the stairs my keys." and "Next time you walk across my lawn, dont!"

Mostly fractured syntax, but still comedy gold.

Love your blog, btw.