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FRENCH WORD OF THE DAY

French expression of the day: Coup de pouce

In French, a thumb can be all you need.

French expression of the day: Coup de pouce
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

Why do I need t know coup de pouce?

Because it's common and there's no good literal English translation.

What does it mean?

Coup is a versatile French word that can mean a lot of different things depending on the context, while pouce is French for 'thumb'.

READ ALSO: The French word that can mean a drink, a punch, a helping hand and much more beside

 

Literally coup de pouce therefore translates as 'stroke of thumb', 'blow of thumb' or 'knock of thumb' – none of which makes a lot of sense.

But the expression coup de pouce really refers to giving someone or something a 'boost', 'nudge' or 'helping hand', although coupe de main is more common for the latter.

Coup de pouce is often used about financial aid or economic situations, combined with the verb donner (to give).

Donner un coup de pouce – to give a helping hand/ to boost.

For example, the French government has set in place a bike repair scheme called Coup de pouce vélo (Bike boost), which aims to get more commuters to pick the bike over other means of transport to get around.

READ ALSO: How to get €50 to cover the cost of your bike repairs in France

 

Use it like this

L'industrie française aurait vraiment besoin d'un coup de pouce en ce moment suite à la crise sanitaire. – French industry could really use some help right now.

Le déconfinement a tout de suite donné un coup de pouce à l'économie. – The lifting of lockdown gave the economy a boost straight away.

Le gouvernement français a donné un coup de pouce aux petites entreprises à travers du fonds de solidarité. – The French government helped small businesses through the solidarity fund.

Synonyms

Coup de main – helping hand

Aide – help

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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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