{"id":30903,"date":"2018-11-14T20:28:03","date_gmt":"2018-11-14T19:28:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=30903"},"modified":"2018-11-14T20:28:03","modified_gmt":"2018-11-14T19:28:03","slug":"stuck-in-the-stuffing-running-late-in-french","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/stuck-in-the-stuffing-running-late-in-french\/","title":{"rendered":"Stuck In The Stuffing – Running Late In French"},"content":{"rendered":"

The fast pace of a busy work day leaves little room for mistakes<\/a>. When you are au bureau<\/strong><\/a> (at work), it’s important to know how to deal with new words or forgetting vocabulary so you can quickly tackle the task at hand.<\/p>\n

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Image<\/a> from Pixabay. Licensed under CC0.<\/p><\/div>\n

When un coll\u00e8gue<\/strong> (a coworker) uses une expression<\/a> ou de l’argot<\/strong> (a expression or slang), I don’t always have the time or luxury of stopping the conversation to figure out what exactly is being said.<\/p>\n

Instead, in these tight schedule<\/a> scenarios, I have to rely on context getting me through the parts I don’t understand or wait until a more appropriate time to ask what something means.<\/p>\n

Heureuseemnt<\/strong> (luckily), most of the time les malentendus<\/a><\/strong> (misunderstandings) are small things related to small talk more than professional jargon.<\/p>\n

Par exemple<\/strong> (for example), I needed something from un coll\u00e8gue<\/strong> and after a few days I had not received a response. I wanted to remind them that I was still waiting and decided to spark up a conversation:<\/p>\n

Salut ! \u00c7a va ?<\/strong>
\nOui je sais. Je suis d\u00e9sol\u00e9. Je suis \u00e0 la bourre.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hi! How’s it going?<\/em>
\nYes I know. I’m sorry. I’m \u00e0 la bourre<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I had never heard cette expression<\/a><\/strong> before, but understood it meant I would have to wait longer. In fact, the only related word I could think of was bourr\u00e9<\/strong><\/a> (wasted, drunk), but I was pretty sure that was not what mon coll\u00e8gue<\/strong> wanted to say.<\/p>\n

I decided to ask someone who wasn’t busy what exactly the expression meant:<\/p>\n

Tu connais l’expression “\u00eatre \u00e0 la bourre” ?<\/strong>
\nOui bien s\u00fbr.<\/strong>
\nAlors, tu peux m’expliquer qu’est-ce que \u00e7a veut dire exactement ?<\/strong>
\nHaha, oui ! \u00c7a veut dire “press\u00e9” ou “en retard” !<\/strong>
\nAh oui, merci !<\/strong>
\nDe rien !<\/strong><\/p>\n

You know the expression, “\u00eatre \u00e0 la bourre<\/strong>“?<\/em>
\nYes of course.<\/em>
\nSo, can you explain what exactly it means to me?<\/em>
\nHaha yes! It means “in a hurry” or “late”!<\/em>
\nAh yes, thanks!<\/em>
\nYou’re welcome!<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

After that short conversation, I fully understood l’expression<\/strong>, but I wanted to look up son origine<\/a><\/strong> (its origin) because I still didn’t really know the definition for la bourre<\/strong><\/em>. To my disappointment, la bourre<\/strong> has no obvious connection to being in a hurry<\/em> or running late<\/em>:<\/p>\n

La bourre<\/strong> – Stuffing, filling<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In regards to \u00eatre \u00e0 la bourre<\/strong><\/em>, it seems most likely to have come from le verbe<\/strong> (the verb):<\/p>\n

Bourrer<\/strong>
\nTo stuff, to fill<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While la connexion<\/a><\/strong> may not be obvious at first, the definition of bourrer<\/strong> <\/em>can also seen to generally mean bloquer<\/em> ou arr\u00eater<\/em><\/strong> (to block or to stop) from where the idea to be press\u00e9<\/strong> <\/em>or en retard <\/strong><\/em>comes into play. <\/em>If you’re blocked<\/em> or stopped<\/em> then you can’t go forward<\/em> or advance<\/em> and if you can’t advance<\/em> then you’re going to be late<\/em> or at the very least be in a hurry<\/em>.<\/p>\n

There is another theory that l’expression<\/a><\/strong> comes from l’occitan<\/strong>, the language traditionally spoken in Southern France. In occitan<\/strong> there is an expression that is used in a card game from the region, es a la borra<\/em> (il est \u00e0 la bourre<\/strong> in French), but the connection to meaning press\u00e9 ou en retard<\/strong> <\/em>is hard to make.<\/p>\n

The busy days and tired nights of office life<\/a> make \u00eatre \u00e0 la bourre <\/strong><\/em>useful for anyone working in a french speaking environment. The next time you’re running a little late and need to let un coll\u00e8gue<\/strong> know, try to use l’expression<\/strong> and say:<\/p>\n

Je suis \u00e0 la bourre !<\/strong>
\nI’m running late!<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

The fast pace of a busy work day leaves little room for mistakes. When you are au bureau (at work), it’s important to know how to deal with new words or forgetting vocabulary so you can quickly tackle the task at hand. When un coll\u00e8gue (a coworker) uses une expression ou de l’argot (a expression…<\/p>\n

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