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FRENCH WORD OF THE DAY

French word of the day: Dégage

Need to let someone know that they are not welcome and need to leave you alone immediately?

French word of the day: Dégage
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

Why do I need to know dégage?

We hope you won’t need it much, but if you want to tell someone to get lost, this is a winner.

What does it mean?

Dégage means 'get lost'.

It can have other meanings depending on the context, however we’re talking specifically about the interjection version of the verb – dégage! – that French people use when they’re annoyed with someone and want them to leave.

It is a colloquial expression, and French people don’t say “tu pourrais dégager, s’il te plait ?” (just like British people don’t say “would you be so kind as to get lost, please?” Actually on second thoughts, maybe some do).

Mostly, it's used when someone is pretty serious about wanting another person to leave.

A teenage girl might use it to get her little brother out of the room:

Dégage, Paul! Laisse-moi tranquille! – Bugger off, Paul! Leave me alone!

An older woman might use it to chase away someone who is giving her unwanted attention on the street:

Dégage! Beat it!

Other ways of translating it are 'beat it', 'scram' and 'piss off'.

Synonyms

Being a rich language, French has many different ways of telling someone to bugger off (read them as though they were accompanied by an exclamation point):

Pars  – leave

Partez – leave (polite version, or if you're talking to several people)

Va te faire foutre – bugger off (very colloquial, foutre is a pretty harsh insult)

Allez vous faire foutre! (funnily enough, you can be polite while telling someone to se faire foutre)

Fous le camp – bugger off

Foutez le camp – bugger off (polite/all of you)

Tirez-vous – run/get lost

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For members

FRENCH WORD OF THE DAY

French Word of the Day: Flipper

This French word does not have anything to do with marine mammals.

French Word of the Day: Flipper

Why do I need to know flipper?

Because this anglicism is used a bit differently in French than it would be in English.

What does it mean?

Flipper – roughly pronounced flea-pay – is a colloquial French term and these days it means to be upset or overly anxious. People often use it similarly to the English expression ‘to freak out’.

As you may have expected, the term is an anglicism, and it comes from the English word ‘to flip’. 

However, in French it does not mean to literally flip something over – you would use renverser for that. It comes from a different usage of the word ‘flip’, more in line with ‘losing one’s head’.

The word started being popular in France in the 1970s, and at that time it was almost exclusively used to describe the experience of ‘freaking out’ or having a bad trip after taking LSD or other hallucinogenic drugs, according to Le Figaro.

Over time, it started to refer to the period of depression many people experience after feelings of euphoria when high, as well as the anxiety that one might feel due to withdrawal. 

Nowadays, people mainly use it to refer to any irrational response. You can also call something flippant (shocking).

A more formal synonym for flipper might be paniquer.

And if you find yourself in an arcade, you may hear the word a few times, as flipper is also the French term for a pinball machine.

Use it like this

Arrête de flipper, on va être à l’heure.  – Stop freaking out, we’re going to be on time.

Les résultats des élections m’ont vraiment fait flipper. Mes amis n’ont pas été surpris pour autant. – The results of the election really freaked me out. My friends weren’t surprised though.

J’ai flippé en regardant le film d’horreur. – I freaked out when I was watching the horror movie.

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