Yay! An expression I knew and you didn’t!! Mind you, that probably means I hang out with the wrong sort 🙂
You can use prendre une prune in any situation where you mean you ‘took a hit’ or ‘took a blow’. It is mostly used to indicate you got a driving fine, or that you have been shot.
Rosemary Kneipp
August 23rd, 2014 at 8:07 pm
Well, if the people you hang out with use it to talk about being shot, then they are definitely the wrong sort!
Hmmm, not off hand… I would have to think about that.
Nicole Y
August 22nd, 2015 at 2:39 am
Wow i got no idea prune could mean bad luck! In English we always say we feel blue as we feel sad or depressed right (especially monday)?
I think Japanese and Chinese culture also have symbolic meanings attached to each colour! I know red and white colours are auspicious colours which you use for ceremonies in Japan and China. Like white symbolises nothingness, purity and death – so Chinese only use it for funerals but Japanese also use it for weddings because new bride supposes to join a new family pure and clean.
Rosemary Kneipp
August 24th, 2015 at 9:18 pm
Surprising, isn’t it? Thanks for your input. I can remember seeing funeral processions in Hong Kong that were brightly coloured.
Fascinating piece, Rosemary! (And I thought the policeman meant to give you a ticket, too! Yay for mercy!)
“Tirer à blanc” comes to mind, corresponding to the Spanish, “tirar al blanco” with which I’m more familiar, meaning “target shooting” or “target practice.” But what is the meaning behind this color connection? Hmmm . . . at one time, and chime in if I’m wrong, you could recognize cartridges with and without bullets by their different colors; those without bullets or with what English speakers call “blanks” were often times white/blanc/blanco. In Spanish, the noun “blanco” has come to mean the target itself.
Rosemary Kneipp
August 24th, 2015 at 9:23 pm
“Tirer à blanc” means to fire blanks, so it’s “blanc” used in the sense of “blank” and not “white”, but perhaps there is a story of colour coding there. I’ll have to go searching further!
Thanks, Rosemary, for clarifying the meaning of the French phrase. Still, I so enjoy the connections of things and the words that describe them . . . cannot help but wonder how these two phrases where one is shooting, but not to kill, might be related in the word that means “white” in both languages. So, will be interested to learn what you find out!
Rosemary Kneipp
August 26th, 2015 at 10:10 pm
Yes, that’s what I love about languages as well – the connections and words that describe them.
Yay! An expression I knew and you didn’t!! Mind you, that probably means I hang out with the wrong sort 🙂
You can use prendre une prune in any situation where you mean you ‘took a hit’ or ‘took a blow’. It is mostly used to indicate you got a driving fine, or that you have been shot.
Well, if the people you hang out with use it to talk about being shot, then they are definitely the wrong sort!
Hmmm, not off hand… I would have to think about that.
Wow i got no idea prune could mean bad luck! In English we always say we feel blue as we feel sad or depressed right (especially monday)?
I think Japanese and Chinese culture also have symbolic meanings attached to each colour! I know red and white colours are auspicious colours which you use for ceremonies in Japan and China. Like white symbolises nothingness, purity and death – so Chinese only use it for funerals but Japanese also use it for weddings because new bride supposes to join a new family pure and clean.
Surprising, isn’t it? Thanks for your input. I can remember seeing funeral processions in Hong Kong that were brightly coloured.
Fascinating piece, Rosemary! (And I thought the policeman meant to give you a ticket, too! Yay for mercy!)
“Tirer à blanc” comes to mind, corresponding to the Spanish, “tirar al blanco” with which I’m more familiar, meaning “target shooting” or “target practice.” But what is the meaning behind this color connection? Hmmm . . . at one time, and chime in if I’m wrong, you could recognize cartridges with and without bullets by their different colors; those without bullets or with what English speakers call “blanks” were often times white/blanc/blanco. In Spanish, the noun “blanco” has come to mean the target itself.
“Tirer à blanc” means to fire blanks, so it’s “blanc” used in the sense of “blank” and not “white”, but perhaps there is a story of colour coding there. I’ll have to go searching further!
Thanks, Rosemary, for clarifying the meaning of the French phrase. Still, I so enjoy the connections of things and the words that describe them . . . cannot help but wonder how these two phrases where one is shooting, but not to kill, might be related in the word that means “white” in both languages. So, will be interested to learn what you find out!
Yes, that’s what I love about languages as well – the connections and words that describe them.
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