On: Rouille

[ur-whale]

No, you meant : "Rouille, c'est vraiment LA merde !"

Which, of course, while it is a diret word-for-word translation, has perfectly antinomic meaning in each language.

[ocimbote → ur-whale]

For those wondering:

* "c'est la merde" : "we're in trouble"

* "c'est de la merde" : it's shit

* "Je te dis merde" : well... "F*ck you" or "all the best", depending on context.

Yes, for real ^^

(edit: formatting)

[phtrivier → ocimbote]

"Je te dis merde" before a performance would translate to "break a leg".

The supersition goes that you should not reply with "merci" ("thanks") but "je prends" ("I'll take it ?")

There are unverifiable explanations for why "merde" is used by actors ; my favorite one is that it is related to horse carriage carrying theatre-viewers to the theatres ; you're wishing actors that a lot of horse will carry a lot of viewers, and do the other thing...

[ocimbote → phtrivier]

Oh thanks, I always assumed the carriage explanation was verified.

Do you know of others you could share, before I google it?

[traceroute66 → ocimbote]

I think you missed more than a few xcambiar !

e.g. "écoute ce que je te dis, merde" ... ending sounds the same as your example "je te dis merde" but totally different meaning.

[ocimbote → traceroute66]

Indeed, but merde is such a versatile word, it's hard to be exhaustive.

Thanks for your addition!