# French slang help (or, he didn't say that did he?) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 3, 2005, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-slang-help-or-he-didnt-say-that-did-he/306722 "2005-06-03T14:44:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-slang-help-or-he-didnt-say-that-did-he/306722/1 "2005-06-03T14:44:53Z")
Hi there, I just got a strange email from a French coworker. I mentioned my upcoming wedding and he said: > [@](#): > > I would like to wish you, and your future wife, for “Happiness and no shadow on your path” in advance (hope your are not superstitious). > Let’s use french words " Vive la mariee ! " and " Merde ! ". So, I get most of it. Vive la mariee is roughly, “long live the marriage” or something, right? But did he just yell “Shit!” at the end? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-slang-help-or-he-didnt-say-that-did-he/306722/2 "2005-06-03T14:50:00Z")
> [@gonzoron](#): > > But did he just yell “Shit!” at the end? 😕 Yes, “merde” translates as “shit”. But part of the definition in the dictionary on my desk is: > [@Larousse Dictionnaire Général](#): > > [pour souhaiter bonne chance] fingers crossed! break a leg! So it’s being used ironically here, to wish you good luck. ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-slang-help-or-he-didnt-say-that-did-he/306722/3 "2005-06-03T14:57:00Z")
Ah… that make sense. Thank you. Shit!!! ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-slang-help-or-he-didnt-say-that-did-he/306722/4 "2005-06-03T15:03:50Z")
I dated a modern dancer, and this is apparently a pre-show tradition in the dance community as “break a leg” is among actors- the idea being that you don’t want to jinx it/call the evil spirits who will mess it up. I think I remember reading about a culture that, when viewing newborn babies, one traditionally calls them ugly for the same reason. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-slang-help-or-he-didnt-say-that-did-he/306722/5 "2005-06-03T20:01:32Z")
“Merde” is known as the “mot de Cambronne” (Cambronne word), referring to a French general who supposedly said, when asked to surrender, “Shit! The Guard dies but does not surrender!” See [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambronne), but I’m sure that some people could tell it much better than me. Yes, it is used today with the same meaning (and connotations) as “break a leg”. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-slang-help-or-he-didnt-say-that-did-he/306722/6 "2005-06-03T20:05:06Z")
> [@Happy Scrappy Hero Pup](#): > > I think I remember reading about a culture that, when viewing newborn babies, one traditionally calls them ugly for the same reason. No, **Happy** , that was just an excuse your mom’s friend made up. 😃 –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-slang-help-or-he-didnt-say-that-did-he/306722/7 "2005-06-04T01:26:27Z")
> [@severus](#): > > “Merde” is known as the “mot de Cambronne” (Cambronne word), referring to a French general who supposedly said, when asked to surrender, “Shit! The Guard dies but does not surrender!” And for that, Cambronne got a nice little square near the Eiffel Tower named after him. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-slang-help-or-he-didnt-say-that-did-he/306722/8 "2005-06-04T01:50:28Z")
Saying “good luck” (bonne chance) is supposed to bring bad luck. As a result, people will often say “merde” instead.