# What does "toot court" mean? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 16, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-toot-court-mean/618981 "2012-04-16T18:46:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![A\_Man\_A\_Plan\_A\_Canal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/839c29/32.png) [@A\_Man\_A\_Plan\_A\_Canal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Man_A_Plan_A_Canal)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-toot-court-mean/618981/1 "2012-04-16T18:46:19Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-toot-court-mean/618981/2 "2012-04-16T18:52:31Z")
> **[Definition of TOUT COURT](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tout%20court)** > > quite short : and nothing else : simply : period… See the full definition > [@](#): > > Definition of TOUT COURT > : quite short : and nothing else : simply : just; also : brusquely ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-toot-court-mean/618981/3 "2012-04-16T18:52:54Z")
It’s French, spelled _tout court_, and means “in short.” ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-toot-court-mean/618981/4 "2012-04-16T18:56:47Z")
Tout court, what they said. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-toot-court-mean/618981/5 "2012-04-16T19:08:12Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > It’s French, spelled _tout court_, and means “in short.” In this context, it probably means something closer to “for short”. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-toot-court-mean/618981/6 "2012-04-16T19:51:33Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-toot-court-mean/618981/7 "2012-04-16T19:54:38Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-toot-court-mean/618981/8 "2012-04-16T19:56:17Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-toot-court-mean/618981/9 "2012-04-16T20:05:30Z")
I noticed they also used the French-ish term “auto voiture” in that movie as well. Why? I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2012, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-toot-court-mean/618981/10 "2012-04-17T02:56:02Z")
I thought Toot Court was where they prosecuted brass bands for playing too loudly.