{"id":29214,"date":"2017-11-01T14:25:28","date_gmt":"2017-11-01T13:25:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=29214"},"modified":"2017-10-30T22:49:29","modified_gmt":"2017-10-30T21:49:29","slug":"a-household-white-wolf-idioms-in-french","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/a-household-white-wolf-idioms-in-french\/","title":{"rendered":"A Household White Wolf – Idioms In French"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I learned Joe Dassin<\/em><\/a> is a household name<\/em>, I wanted to use an equivalent French expression in the article. What I found surprised me with how imaginative it is to English speakers: to be known like the white wolf<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"\"

“White Wolf<\/a>” by John Drake on Flickr. Licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.<\/p><\/div>\n

Les expressions<\/strong><\/a> (the expressions) we use every day can be hard to translate because of how the idea has nothing or very little to do with the literal meaning of la phrase<\/strong> (the sentence). If you try to translate mot \u00e0 mot<\/strong> (word for word) you’re destined to fall into the trap of thinking in English<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you said to a French person:<\/p>\n

Il pleut des chats et des chiens.\u00a0<\/strong>
\nIt’s raining cats and dogs.\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

They will never understand that you mean:<\/p>\n

Il pleut des cordes.<\/strong>
\nIt’s raining ropes.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Of course now neither le francophone<\/strong><\/a> (a French speaker) nor l’anglophone<\/strong> (an English speaker) realizes that both just want to say:<\/p>\n

Il pleut beaucoup.<\/strong>
\nIt’s raining a lot.\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So when I saw that one way to say a household name<\/em> is:<\/p>\n

\u00catre connu comme le loup blanc.\u00a0<\/strong>
\nTo be known like the white wolf.\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I knew a literal translation would not make any sense to un anglophone<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Alors d’o\u00f9 vient l’expression ?\u00a0<\/strong>
\nSo where does the expression come from?\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

L’expression<\/strong> can be seen in literature as early as le 13e si\u00e8cle<\/strong> (the 13th century), but all throughout le Moyen Age<\/strong><\/a> (the Middle Ages) le loup<\/strong> (the wolf) was a seen as scary animal that was often used in fairy tales and other folk stories as a monster. Even today almost everyone grows up with the story of Le Chaperon Rouge<\/strong> <\/em>(Little Red Riding Hood).<\/p>\n

It’s not hard to see how whenever un loup<\/strong> was near le village<\/strong> during a time when everyone saw l’animal<\/strong> as a monster that the news spread quickly to everyone in town. That is indeed where it’s thought l’expression<\/strong> comes from!<\/p>\n

Interestingly, it wasn’t specified to be un loup blanc<\/em><\/strong> (a white<\/em> wolf) until le 19e si\u00e8cle<\/strong>. Until then it was common to see a similar variant: \u00eatre connu comme le loup<\/strong> (to be known like the wolf). Cependant<\/strong> (however), it’s easy to see how an all white wolf might be an even more surprising sight to un petit village<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

No matter the case, the funny way l’expression<\/strong> sounds<\/a> to un anglophone<\/strong> makes it very easy to remember and gives you something fun and new to add to votre vocabulaire<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

\u00catre connu comme le loup blanc.\u00a0<\/strong>
\nA household name.\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

When I learned Joe Dassin is a household name, I wanted to use an equivalent French expression in the article. What I found surprised me with how imaginative it is to English speakers: to be known like the white wolf. Les expressions (the expressions) we use every day can be hard to translate because of…<\/p>\n

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