You also get ce n’est pas mon truc (‘it’s not my thing’, as in it’s not the sort of thing I enjoy) and trucs et astuces (which I take to mean ‘feedback and advice’).
Rosemary Kneipp
September 26th, 2013 at 9:32 pm
Yes, ce n’est pas mon truc is very common, isn’t it? But I would not have translated trucs et astuces as “feedback and advice” but rather “tips and tricks”.
You are quite right of course — trucs et astuces is usually used to mean ‘tips and tricks’, or ‘tricks of the trade’. The first time I saw it though was when a teacher friend used it to refer to the parent teacher meeting she had to attend that night and I think in that case she meant ‘feedback and advice’.
Thanks for this detailed explanation, very interesting!
I’m still getting the hang of spelling rules, so could you help me understand why this phrase is: “truc de ouf” instead of “truc d’ouf“?
Merci!
Rosemary Kneipp
August 5th, 2015 at 10:32 am
Ah ha, good question! It’s because it’s not a real word, but “verlan” for fou and since fou begins with a consonant, ouf is treated as though it also begins with a consonant. Subtle, I know!
You also get ce n’est pas mon truc (‘it’s not my thing’, as in it’s not the sort of thing I enjoy) and trucs et astuces (which I take to mean ‘feedback and advice’).
Yes, ce n’est pas mon truc is very common, isn’t it? But I would not have translated trucs et astuces as “feedback and advice” but rather “tips and tricks”.
You are quite right of course — trucs et astuces is usually used to mean ‘tips and tricks’, or ‘tricks of the trade’. The first time I saw it though was when a teacher friend used it to refer to the parent teacher meeting she had to attend that night and I think in that case she meant ‘feedback and advice’.
Very interesting! Learning french is such an ongoing affair, isn’t it 🙂
Even 45 years down the road, I’m still learning! I didn’t realise that ouf was verlan until I checked it out.
I’m enjoying all your French windows on Facebook. You’ll need to do another post with a collection of them.
Thanks for this detailed explanation, very interesting!
I’m still getting the hang of spelling rules, so could you help me understand why this phrase is: “truc de ouf” instead of “truc d’ouf“?
Merci!
Ah ha, good question! It’s because it’s not a real word, but “verlan” for fou and since fou begins with a consonant, ouf is treated as though it also begins with a consonant. Subtle, I know!
Ah, interesting! Thanks for the quick response! : )