# branler le mammouth



## Amda Zako

My girlfriend wants to know how you say this in English.

It's used in phrases like: _"Appelle le, de toutes façons il branle le mammouth en ce moment."_ i.e. he's not doing anything, wasting time.

My suggestion is: "to do fuck-all" - but I'd like something as vivid as the French


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## Cath.S.

My non-native suggestions: 
_to watch the paint dry,_
_to watch the grass grow._


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## Tayllc

Maybe: fucking around, messing around, fooling around?
*
I don't really understand what **branler le mammouth means, I based these suggestons off of what you wrote in English (wasting time).
*


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## Tayllc

egueule said:


> My non-native suggestions:
> _to watch the paint dry,_
> _to watch the grass grow._



if this expression mean more along these lines then I would offer the expression: *to be a slow as molasses*.


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## hamer1970

Anyway, he's just jerking off... pulling on his pud... whacking off...


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## Cath.S.

Tayllc said:


> Maybe: fucking around, messing around, fooling around?
> 
> *I don't really understand what **branler le mammouth means, I based these suggestons off of what you wrote in English (wasting time).*


It just means _doing nothing at all_. But even though the phrase has _branler _which is a vulgar word, it's not quite as offensive as what hamer1970 suggested in his post, imo, because it's informal but (meant to be) humorous.


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## Amda Zako

Tayllc said:


> Maybe: fucking around, messing around, fooling around?
> *
> I don't really understand what **branler le mammouth means, I based these suggestons off of what you wrote in English (wasting time).
> *



literally, it would mean _wanking the mammoth_

No idea what the etymology is. It sounds like hard work to me...

Thanks for your suggestions everyone


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## wildan1

_Anyway, he's blowing all his time doing (fucking) squat, zip, _ (AE-add word in parentheses if you want to be a bit more forceful and blunt.)


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## wildan1

egueule said:


> My non-native suggestions:
> _to watch the paint dry,_
> _to watch the grass grow._


 
egueule, ce sont de bons équivalents à _je m'ennuie à mort_. Un peu trop poli pour branler le mammouth ! En général, on n'utilise pas l'article... Un copain natif de BE me dit la même chose sans article.


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## Cath.S.

wildan1 said:


> egueule, ce sont de bons équivalents à _je m'ennuie à mort_. Un peu trop poli pour branler le mammouth !


_He's watching the effing paint dry, then!_ 
Only kidding, of course.

_Doing fuck all_ is the right meaning, of course, but Amda Zako was looking for something more colorful. What would you suggest, Wildan?

Edit
I have also heard those phrases with the article. It could be an AE - BE difference.

Edit 2
_Watch* the* grass grow_ seems twice as common as_ watch grass grow_.


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## Primal

I can't say as I've ever heard anyone say "Do fuck all."  Probably a local thing.  I have heard "Do shit all," but the first one that comes to my mind after reading the other suggestions and the request for something colourful, is "Do jack shit."  I would never say anything like that though...
Prymal


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## BigRedDog

Tayllc said:


> Maybe: fucking around, messing around, fooling around?
> *
> I don't really understand what **branler le mammouth means, I based these suggestons off of what you wrote in English (wasting time).
> *



 Literally it means "to masturbate the mammoth". Meaning that you're very busy (a mammoth is after all a large pachyderm) at doing nothing (may the mammoths and their libido rest in peace).


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## Tresley

Hello Amda Zako,

To my mind 'to do fuck-all' sounds like a very good translation.  It simply means 'to do nothing at all'.  It's quite a common expression in the UK (amongst the people that use it, I might add). I can't think of anything better. Some of the suggested North American expressions might work, but they sounded strange to my British ears.

I don't think that we have an expression that uses the word 'wank' (branler) to mean this.

I hope this helps.


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## wildan1

Tresley said:


> Hello Amda Zako,
> 
> To my mind 'to do fuck-all' sounds like a very good translation. It simply means 'to do nothing at all'. It's quite a common expression in the UK (amongst the people that use it, I might add). I can't think of anything better. Some of the suggested North American expressions might work, but they sounded strange to my British ears.
> 
> I don't think that we have an expression that uses the word 'wank' (branler) to mean this.
> 
> I hope this helps.


 
Tresley's feedback is good if your audience uses BE. If not, the other suggestions would be better...it's not an expression used in North America, and using it it could be misunderstood and perhaps a bit stronger-sounding than intended.


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## BigRedDog

wildan1 said:


> Tresley's feedback is good if your audience uses BE. If not, the other suggestions would be better...it's not an expression used in North America, and using it it could be misunderstood and perhaps a bit stronger-sounding than intended.



 Although the French expression is NOT mainstream. Originally it was mostly used among teenagers and from there slowly pervaded, but mostly as a joke between young adults ...  Disclaimer: No mammoth has been harmed in the making of this post


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## Primal

Thinking, I suppose that depending on the context, such as one teen asking another what a third party is doing, could say something along the lines of: "I don't know... Probably jacking off or something,"  especially if they are all good friends, and the third party is known to be a little bit dirty.  To be used with caution, but it is possible.
Prymal


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## BigRedDog

Primal said:


> Thinking, I suppose that depending on the context, such as one teen asking another what a third party is doing, could say something along the lines of: "I don't know... Probably jacking off or something,"  especially if they are all good friends, and the third party is known to be a little bit dirty.  To be used with caution, but it is possible.
> Prymal



But then, how would you know if it's used as an image or literally?


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## Primal

You mean, how would you know if I was being serious?  Well, like I said, it would depend on the context, and the tone of voice.  I guess if you said it kind of through your teeth, or in a sarcastic tone, then it wouldn't be true.
Prymal


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## jp_fr_linguaphile

I agree with Primal.  I'd also like to add that unless the person in question was suffering from some type of psychopathy, it is safe to assume that the phrase would be intended in its figurative sense.


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## Budd

A couple of these are good, especially Wildan1's suggestions, but I think in AE there is a closer version, at least because it uses an animal: "fucking the dog" or more politely "screwing the pooch."  Qu'en pensez-vous?


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## aponroy

Bonjour à tous,

L'expression appartient à l'argot militaire auquel seuls les conscrits ont pu accéder. L'expression n'est pas courante en dehors du contexte militaire, hormis pour les nostalgiques.
Al


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## Budd

Bonjour et merci, aponroy.  Interestingly, the equivalent I have offered ("fucking the dog" in AE) is also originally a military usage, which in the United States also means southern.  As with _branler le mammouth_, it's not generally current in AE outside the military and the rural south.


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## bobepine

Re: doing fuck all



wildan1 said:


> Tresley's feedback is good if your audience uses BE. If not, the other suggestions would be better...it's not an expression used in North America, and using it it could be misunderstood and perhaps a bit stronger-sounding than intended.


 
I hate to disagree, but it is quite common here, to the extent that _fuck all _has been absorbed into slang French!


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## mgarizona

My understanding of "to screw the pooch" has always been "to make a grave, possible fatal, error."

As for _branler le mammouth_, sounds a bit akin to 'twiddling one's thumbs' in the sense of doing nothing much at all.

And I suppose you could pun on it and say 'he's probably diddling his thumbs,' just to keep it confusing and nasty.


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## Budd

mgarizona said:


> My understanding of "to screw the pooch" has always been "to make a grave, possible fatal, error."
> 
> As for _branler le mammouth_, sounds a bit akin to 'twiddling one's thumbs' in the sense of doing nothing much at all.
> 
> And I suppose you could pun on it and say 'he's probably diddling his thumbs,' just to keep it confusing and nasty.


 
Sorry, that's not right at all.  Screw the pooch is the cleaned up version of Fuck the dog and means to waste time, usually by doing something pointless.  It's stronger than "spinning your wheels."


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## mgarizona

Budd said:


> Sorry, that's not right at all. Screw the pooch is the cleaned up version of Fuck the dog and means to waste time, usually by doing something pointless.


 
Seems the folks at Urban Dictionary would disagree:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=screwed the pooch


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## Already-Seen

Per this link, it originally meant "wasting time doing nothing" but is now generally understood as "making a terrible mistake."

Other explanations and definitions, here , here and here.


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## Budd

The Urban Dictionary is notoriously unreliable, especially when it is dealing with what is a very rural term.  My guess, from the examples I saw after following mgarizona's link, is that young people have heard "Screw the pooch" and misunderstood it.  Already-Seen's links more or less bear this out.  It could be that usage, however incorrect, is changing the value of the phrase, and so be it: that's the way of language.  But when it comes to screwing the pooch, I remain a purist.


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## sarahgk

doing diddly squat
doing jack shit
dick around

vulgar but funny expressions like what frat boys would use


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## Budd

> doing diddly squat
> doing jack shit
> 
> vulgar but funny expressions like what frat boys would use


 
Bless you, Sarahg


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## Amda Zako

I can't comment on usage, but they sound good to me!


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## exiled scot

suggestion = "he is doing sweet fanny adams" which is a euphemism for "sweet fuck all"


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## jf_uk

In British English for "doing nothing, wasting time" you could use "fart-arsing around".


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