# What is French for "rush hour"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 7, 2006, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-french-for-rush-hour/375584 "2006-10-07T04:10:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2006, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-french-for-rush-hour/375584/1 "2006-10-07T04:10:54Z")
Not much else to add here, except that auto-translators tend to do this word-at-a-time so I need to ask a person who knows. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2006, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-french-for-rush-hour/375584/2 "2006-10-07T05:12:01Z")
Rush hour is “Heure de pointe” in French. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2006, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-french-for-rush-hour/375584/3 "2006-10-07T06:49:58Z")
Le honk! ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2006, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-french-for-rush-hour/375584/4 "2006-10-07T08:13:34Z")
“Un film tres mal avec Jackie chan et l’idiot Chris Tucker” ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2006, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-french-for-rush-hour/375584/5 "2006-10-07T08:18:36Z")
[QUOTE=Snooooopy] Le honk! [/QUOTE] Only if the road is blocked by a goose otherwise it’s Le toot! ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2006, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-french-for-rush-hour/375584/6 "2006-10-07T17:12:55Z")
[QUOTE=Antigen] Rush hour is “Heure de pointe” in French. [/QUOTE] Also known as “Ostie de calisse de ciboire de Métropolitain -AVANCE!” ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2006, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-french-for-rush-hour/375584/7 "2006-10-07T17:29:07Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] Only if the road is blocked by a goose otherwise it’s Le toot! [/QUOTE] Isn’t Le toot a euphemism for a Frenchman’s nether regions? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2006, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-french-for-rush-hour/375584/8 "2006-10-07T18:34:01Z")
What’s French for the colloquial US expression “chow hound”? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2006, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-french-for-rush-hour/375584/9 "2006-10-07T18:55:23Z")
[QUOTE=astro] What’s French for the colloquial US expression “chow hound”? [/QUOTE] Un Américain. 😉 Seriously, if it means what I think you mean, then “gourmand” is the correct term. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2006, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-french-for-rush-hour/375584/10 "2006-10-07T19:01:23Z")
[QUOTE=danceswithcats] Isn’t Le toot a euphemism for a Frenchman’s nether regions? 😉 [/QUOTE] And “toot sweet” is some fine French booty. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2006, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-french-for-rush-hour/375584/11 "2006-10-07T20:05:07Z")
[QUOTE=Snooooopy] Le honk! [/QUOTE] This reminds me of an episode of _Girls Behaving Badly_ (hidden camera show) where they hire a young man, innocent and eager to please, as a server for a private catered party. One of the platters contained meatballs, and they told him to call them “Le balls de meat” in order to make the dish sound exotic. Of course, he complies in a marvelous display of hilarity, as he moves from guest to guest with most sincere offerings of “le balls de meat”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2006, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-french-for-rush-hour/375584/12 "2006-10-07T20:25:26Z")
Properly it should be “_les_ balls de meat,” non? ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2006, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-french-for-rush-hour/375584/13 "2006-10-08T02:15:41Z")
[QUOTE=Snooooopy] And “toot sweet” is some fine French booty. [/QUOTE] Roger, that. Just Google ‘Alizee’. Now _there’s_ a reason for surrender. :eek: 🆒😉 ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2006, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-french-for-rush-hour/375584/14 "2006-10-08T04:35:35Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] Properly it should be “_les_ balls de meat,” non? [/QUOTE] The sad part is, they sound just as weird in real French: “boulettes de viande”. Balls of meat. I don’t care how classy they look with their little golden toothpicks on a hors d’oeuvres tray, they are _balls_ of _meat_.