h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

*it's no use - you may bedazzle them young'uns by pointing to your pedantic punctuation but I can see the semantics of your diz appointment - and I know that's got nothing to do with the price of hairdressers in China but I just wanted to say hi and good morning, good night or good day as it happens to be where you are - I'm feeling a little choked up after a few rounds of the DNA threads - there's a new one from 'the Adams family' saying thank you to the hootoos for all the boohoos - well not in so many words but y'know*

Does anyone know the origins of Double Entendre. I know its french but I just mentioned it to a couple of French colleagues and I got a resounding "Quoi" from them. They agree the words are french but the phrase doesn't seem to exist. Any ideas if it was made up by the English or has just dropped out of french usage.
And while we're at it another thing that confuses them is "Pardon my French" any suggestions.

That was a fascinating question. None of the 12 on-line French dictionaries I found had any examples. English etymology sources it as 17th century. So it must have fallen out of use in France.
Since the definition in English suggests that one of the pair of meanings is sexually suggestive, the term belongs with all those other French words indicating naughtiness and all stations West (including French letter)
"Pardon my French" = I have said something not generally accepted in polite society (thus related to the above).I have also heard it used to apologise for belching
jwf I'm with you, I catch your drift (where do you think that comes from?) ()

Morning all. A fun night last night, thankyou all. I have seen the old thread print out, and it is scary.
Is the Court of St. James not the official title for the Queen's entourage? And hence, if you are an ambassador you have to present yourself at Court, in a very medieval way, and so are an ambassador to that Court. While it is named after the palace, I think it is its own political entity these days.

So that's where it comes from. I was just wondering

Hi all - especially those in the Wellington last night - what a wonderful evening !! Thanks must go to TC for organising us.

We all thought TC was mad when she announced last year that she would index the BtitEng thread. At various points in the evening, TC produced a sheaf of papers with the postings printed in impossibley small type, saying "I know there's a reference to that here somewhere" ! Now we *know* she's mad !

I know what "Double" means, but what, actually, does "Entendre" mean ?

One of the possible translations for understand. Thence "double meaning". I thought it might be French for "pun", but it turns out that that translates as "play on words".
Technically, wherever the Queen is, the court is also, but the whole shebang is called after where the paperwork is kept.

Have we done "shebang" ?
The phrase is "the whole shebang". What is it when it isn't all of it ? Is it a bit like half of infinity ?

What? Infinity again?

"shebang" sounds a bit rude!

Shebang must be the old folksong version of Cindy Lauper's 'shebop'.

'' Drift is currently being used on a new Roddenberry conceived TV series called Andromeda to mean a city floating in space, like a space station grown to the size of small country, not in orbit around anything, just 'drifting' in space - so naturally when I hear the word I think of the 'atolls' in Waterworld.
But with some thought now consciously applied to the notion I wonder if it refers to the manner in which idle conversation, such as among sailors on a becalmed raft, might tend to ramble but in a hopefully progressive way. So much of English comes from the sea, if only because there was more time for a chat than down the mines or in the factories.

No doubt a whole 'shebang' will be about nine yards long.

Creative as ever jwf.

'O' level French tells me that 'entendre' means 'to hear' and 'double' (pronounced doobler) means 'double' (pronounced dubble) which makes the phrase mean 'to hear twice', which is exactly what it does mean, sort of.

Silly I know, but I always just assumed 'entendre' meant intention. A double entendre was 'intended' to have two meanings. Just shows-to-go-ya how wrong ya can be by assuming anything. Let that be a lesson to ye all and henceforth follow the Pheroneousic example, and look things up, otherwise you'll end up looking as foolish as I.

*btw P, there was big-time coverage here on the CBC-TVnews of the EDEN Project opening. Thanks to you I was able to know smilingly*

Double entendre, or more frequently double entente or double entendement (as mentioned - double meaning [understanding])was in use until the late 17th century. It is now said to be obsolete - unless you know some very old French persons.
JWF, is this not something which has survived in Quebec, if one were to turn over the right stone?
Or are they still awaiting the arrival of the 17th century?

Attention all UK readers with TV licences!
At great personal risk of being moderated I am about to publicise a BBC programme and quote from the Radio Times.
Another spinoff (as was h2g2) from the wonderful Radio 4. "People like us" (like = resemble, not admire) 10.20pm. BBC2 Sunday 20th May. [Copyright material removed by moderator]

Oh dear, Why don't these moderators get a life? I suspect they're slightly lower in the popularity stakes at the moment than traffic wardens.

'Pardon my French' always amuses me, because the words it is used to excuse are almost always robustly anglo-saxon!

Joyce Grenfell collected the sayings of nannies, and on of them was "Johnny's talking German" which meant the child was farting.

Both of these seem to be examples of British prejudice at play.

On the subject of things you hear which have two meanings - if you say one thing and I hear another - who created what I heard? Not a question for this thread though.

a natural philospher called Ben

Deep stuff, that. Like if a tree falls over in the forest, does anybody hear.

Hi folks - I'm back at the keyboard. Great on Monday night - hugs all round.

While researching (ha!ha!) for my entry on confusing words between German and English, I also looked into a couple of French ones. For example, the French do not understand the word "risqué" to mean the same as the English have come to do, and "vol-au-vent" is a word for those puff pastry things, but they usually call them "bouche de reine" (the Queen's mouth). More later.

Dont they roll around laughing at cul-de-sac, too?

a monoglot called Ben

Or indeed if one forms a mistaken impression from reading another's words...

As in the fact, jwf, that I have rarely looked anything up in cause of this thread. However I have never claimed total accuracy either.

(I am hoping to get down there this summer. (Its a fair old trek from London, in UK, if not Canadian, terms) Much as I admire their ability to garner publicity, an extremely useful - if not vital - skill in a project such as this, I shall be disappointed if there is not more substance to the place than at Heligan.)

In the cause of the current subject, there are several examples of all of the above in a recent entry wot I rote, but I need plenty more, especially bad puns and double, if not treble, entendres. It is at http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A536582. It has turned into a bit of a collaborative project, and I would very much welcome any further input from all you clever people before the editors get hold of it, so if any of you have the time or inclination, please pop along and add your bit to the conversation thread attached (Not here, please)