# couleuvres



## isa

HELP!!!!!!!
Comment diriez-vous en Anglais : "avaler des couleuvres"? Merci!


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## Jean-Michel Carrère

an equivalent would be 'eat crow'.


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## Jean-Michel Carrère

My Robert and Collins dictionary has 'swallow an affront'.


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## claude123

I do not think avaler des couleuvres and eat crow are strict equivalents.
Avaler des couleuvres is more like "to pocket an affront", and eat crows is more like "take back a mistaken statement".


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## Yves

"il avale des couleuvres" is often used to mean that someone is passively accepting an unacceptable treatment, for instance an  overly submissive employee, who lacks the guts to fight back against his boss's excessive demands


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## Jabote

claude123 said:
			
		

> Avaler des couleuvres is more like "to pocket an affront",


 
Are you sure about this claude ? To me avaler des couleuvres means to believe somebody when they are telling you bs, to gobble up lies... But maybe I'm wrong, in which case I always used the expression wrongly !!!


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## Agnès E.

Bonjour Jabote 
Il s'avère que vous avez raison tous les deux (ce que j'ignorais, je penchais plutôt dans le sens de Claude) :

Petit Robert

Avaler des couleuvres : subir des affronts sans protester ; croire n'importe quoi.

Quand je vous dis que nous n'avons, décidément, aucune raison de faire la guerre ! 

http://forum-images.hardware.fr/images/perso/dariuss.gif


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## Jabote

Agnes E. said:
			
		

> Bonjour Jabote
> Il s'avère que vous avez raison tous les deux (ce que j'ignorais, je penchais plutôt dans le sens de Claude) :
> 
> Petit Robert
> 
> Avaler des couleuvres : subir des affronts sans protester ; croire n'importe quoi.
> 
> Quand je vous dis que nous n'avons, décidément, aucune raison de faire la guerre !
> 
> http://forum-images.hardware.fr/images/perso/dariuss.gif


 
Bon eh bien finalement à nous tous qui connaissons chacun une définition partielle des mots, nous arriverons peut-être un jour à faire un dictionnaire réellement complet... ;o)))

Qui fait la guerre ? C'est bien trop fatigant....


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## claude123

Oui, mais alors quelle serait l'expression anglaise la plus rapprochée ?


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## Gil

"to eat humble pie" or "to swallow anything"?


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## Jabote

claude123 said:
			
		

> Oui, mais alors quelle serait l'expression anglaise la plus rapprochée ?


 
Je suppose que cela dépend du sens que l'on retient de l'expression française: le tien ou le mien !!! ;o)))

En ce qui concerne ma version des couleuvres (!), peut-être quelque chose comme to swallow (ou to gobble up) anything, to swallow lies, to be fed bs...


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## Jabote

Gil said:
			
		

> "to eat humble pie"


 
This certainly is more politically correct than to be fed bs... ;o)))


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## claude123

J'ai trouvé dans le "dictionnaire du gai parler", qui s'y connaît en expressions imagées, pourquoi l'expression veut dire tant _subir des affronts_ que _se faire passer un sapin_ : On avale des couleuvres qui, cuisinées sont détestables, à la place d'anguilles, mets exquis. (signalé par Furetière au XVIIe siècle)

Oui Gil, to swallow anything, ou to be taken for a fool, ou quelque chose comme ça.


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## Jabote

claude123 said:
			
		

> J'ai trouvé dans le "dictionnaire du gai parler", qui s'y connaît en expressions imagées, pourquoi l'expression veut dire tant _subir des affronts_ que _se faire passer un sapin_ : On avale des couleuvres qui, cuisinées sont détestables, à la place d'anguilles, mets exquis. (signalé par Furetière au XVIIe siècle)


 
Si je comprends bien, c'est donc un peu comme les gens à qui on faisait avaler du chat en disant que c'était du lapin...


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## sophievm

Can someone explain to me what "to be fed bs" means please ?


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## Jabote

sophievm said:
			
		

> Can someone explain to me what "to be fed bs" means please ?


 
pm on its way to you sophie


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## DDT

sophievm said:
			
		

> Can someone explain to me what "to be fed bs" means please ?



Take a bull, then take the typical French curse (5 letters, starting with "m" and ending with "e") and translate it in English...join them together and you'll get "bs" in its full splendour! 

DDT


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## Jabote

DDT said:
			
		

> Take a bull, then take the typical French curse (5 letters, starting with "m" and ending with "e") and translate it in English...join them together and you'll get "bs" in its full splendour!
> 
> DDT


 
ET BON APPÉTIT TOUT LE MONDE !


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## DDT

isa said:
			
		

> HELP!!!!!!!
> Comment diriez-vous en Anglais : "avaler des couleuvres"? Merci!



Hi isa,
Welcome to WR forums!

I'd suggest "to swallow a bitter pill" or "to lump it"

DDT


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## Gil

Jabote said:
			
		

> ET BON APPÉTIT TOUT LE MONDE !



Donnez moi des couleuvres et gardez vos secrétions bovines...

Edit:  Jabote avait raison.  Il s'agit d'excrétions.


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## Jabote

Gil said:
			
		

> Donnez moi des couleuvres et gardez vos secrétions bovines...


 
A-hem.... to me bs is a little more than just secrétions.... ;o)))

OK enough with this, I'm getting nauseous...


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## RobInAustin

First, I would say "turn the other cheek" for avaler des couleuvres. "eat humble pie" is the same as "eat crow" in English. "turn the other cheek" means exactly to bear some rudeness, or mistake in silence.

"to be fed bs" = to be given "made up" information the person wants or hopes you will believe to be real (bs = bullsh** or "the excrement of a bull")

cheers,
Rob


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## sophievm

Thanx all for your explanations... And good appetite to everyone ;-))))


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## sophievm

RobInAustin, the problem with your suggestion ("turn the other cheek") is that it has an equivalent in French ("tendre l'autre joue", this comes from the Evangile) and it doesn't have the same sense as "avaler des couleuvres".


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## Jabote

RobInAustin said:
			
		

> First, I would say "turn the other cheek" for avaler des couleuvres. (.....)  "turn the other cheek" means exactly to bear some rudeness, or mistake in silence.


 
Hi Rob !
Sorry to disagree with you: to turn the other cheek has its exact equivalent in French in "tendre l'autre joue" and it does not mean to bear some rudeness or mistake in silence. It means not to retort, not to defend yourself, and even to ask for more.... I think (but I'm far from being sure) this expression has its origin somewhere in the Bible.


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## Jabote

sophievm said:
			
		

> RobInAustin, the problem with your suggestion ("turn the other cheek") is that it has an equivalent in French ("tendre l'autre joue", this comes from the Evangile) and it doesn't have the same sense as "avaler des couleuvres".


 
Sophie beat me to it *again*...


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## sophievm

Sorry Jabote, I've been typing for 20 years (more than two third of my age...) that's why I can be very quick if the idea is clear in my mind !


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## Jabote

sophievm said:
			
		

> Sorry Jabote, I've been typing for 20 years (more than two third of my age...) that's why I can be very quick if the idea is clear in my mind !


 
HA HA !!! I'm the one beating you there sophie ! Been doing it for 31 years, but I was answering other posts and pms !


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## sophievm

<mode=chat>
Of course you beat me since 31 years is more than my age... But obviously I began 12 years younger than you !
</mode>


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## Cath.S.

sophievm said:
			
		

> RobInAustin, the problem with your suggestion ("turn the other cheek") is that it has an equivalent in French ("tendre l'autre joue", this comes from the *Evangile*) and it doesn't have the same sense as "avaler des couleuvres".


Hi Sophie, _l'évangile_ = the gospel in English.


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## DDT

ERM....

Let's not chat that much, please 

DDT (le mechant modo casse-pieds    )


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## Jabote

DDT said:
			
		

> ERM....
> 
> Let's not chat that much, please
> 
> DDT (le mechant modo casse-pieds  )


 
he he... that's why I did not answer sophie's last post... he he he

OK OK OK DDT, I'm shutting my big mouth..


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## sophievm

I will shut my mouth after having thanked egueule for the correction about gospel.


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## la grive solitaire

isa said:
			
		

> HELP!!!!!!!
> Comment diriez-vous en Anglais : "avaler des couleuvres"? Merci!




How about: to swallow something hook, line, and sinker--être crédule, naïf?


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## Gil

sophievm said:
			
		

> I will shut my mouth after having thanked egueule for the correction about gospel.



Don't worry.  Its an evangelical book anyway.


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## lainyn

How about "to take things lying down" or "to be a doormat"  or "to allow yourself to get walked over" ?

Oh! I should add, I just looked up the expression "avaler des couleuvres" and my dictionary actually had an answer! It's "to swallow an affront" or if "des couleuvres" refers to _un mensonge_  it means "to swallow a lie, to be taken in".


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