Hello, Straightdopers; AMAPAC here.
In the movie “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” there’s a scene where Everett and Delmar meet Big Dan Teague, the one-eyed Bible salesman, in a resturant.
Big Dan introduces himself to Everett and Delmar, and he uses the term “toot court” in this context: “The name’s Big Dan Teague or, for those who are pressed for time, Big Dan, toot court.”
Where does that expression come from and what does it mean?
Thanks…AMAPAC.
It’s French, spelled tout court, and means “in short.”
Tout court, what they said. 
In this context, it probably means something closer to “for short”.
I believe the redundancy is part of the joke. It took him longer to explain the French expression. Oh, and it should have been pronounced “too core,” which adds even more to the joke. The guy is being pretentious by using a French word that common people don’t know, but he can’t even pronounce it right.
Didn’t much of this movie take place in Louisiana? I assumed it was a Cajun thing.
The movie is set in Mississippi. The main characters are imprisoned at Parchman Farm.
I noticed they also used the French-ish term “auto voiture” in that movie as well. Why? I don’t know.
I thought Toot Court was where they prosecuted brass bands for playing too loudly.