# to be a bit slow on the draw



## valskyfrance

_hi,_
_how can you say this in french, please ?_
_You're a bit slow on the draw aren't you?_
_Tu es un peu long à la détente _
_Tu mets du temps à comprendre._

_thanks_


----------



## CDHMontpellier

valskyfrance said:


> _hi,_
> _how can you say this in french, please ?_
> _You're a bit slow on the draw aren't you?_
> _Tu es un peu long à la détente _
> _Tu mets du temps à comprendre._
> 
> _thanks_



I particularly like this one, as it keeps the image of drawing a gun.


----------



## david314

valskyfrance said:


> _hi,_
> _how can you say this in french, please ?_
> _You're a bit slow on the draw aren't you?_
> _Tu es un peu dur à la détente _
> _Tu mets du temps à comprendre. _
> 
> _thanks_


 This is a very drole expression to say that someone is _not all that bright, or capable_ -w/ out being too hurtful.


----------



## valskyfrance

CDHMontpellier said:


> I particularly like this one, as it keeps the image of drawing a gun.


 
you're right, I didn't think about it. 
But I hate guns


----------



## CDHMontpellier

I don't like guns either, but linguistically, it works!


----------



## valskyfrance

david314 said:


> This is a very drole expression to say that someone is _not all that bright, or capable_ -w/ out being too hurtful.


 
well, you think that I must not use it ?
Do you think it's negative even with a big smile ?


----------



## david314

http://www.gunfighter.com/fastdraw/


----------



## valskyfrance

david314 said:


> http://www.gunfighter.com/fastdraw/


 
So it's only use for guns !  I found it here : 
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/slow


----------



## CDHMontpellier

I think that in English, many (most?) people don't know that "draw" in this expression refers to drawing a gun.  It's standard enough that people say it without thinking.  It seems to me that it might be the same in French--if you think about it, you know what it refers to, but people use the expression without thinking too much.  So I think it's fine (just my opinion, of course!).


----------



## JeanDeSponde

Let me slightly disagree here - the usual French idiom is _être un peu *dur* à la détente..._


----------



## valskyfrance

JeanDeSponde said:


> Let me slightly disagree here - the usual French idiom is _être un peu *dur* à la détente..._


 
oui tu as raison ! Merci. Mais j'aime bien utiliser "long" aussi.


----------



## valskyfrance

CDHMontpellier said:


> I think that in English, many (most?) people don't know that "draw" in this expression refers to drawing a gun. It's standard enough that people say it without thinking. It seems to me that it might be the same in French--if you think about it, you know what it refers to, but people use the expression without thinking too much. So I think it's fine (just my opinion, of course!).


 
well, if it's only reference to guns I will not use this expression. Thanks again.


----------



## JeanDeSponde

valskyfrance said:


> oui tu as raison ! Merci. Mais j'aime bien utiliser "long" aussi.


Dans ce cas là je dis _être un peu long au préchauffage...
_(pour amateurs de diesel, seulement...)
Expression charentaise : _celui-là, il ne part pas le jour où il fait ses malles..._


----------



## valskyfrance

JeanDeSponde said:


> Dans ce cas là je dis _être un peu long au préchauffage..._
> (pour amateurs de diesel, seulement...)
> Expression charentaise : _celui-là, il ne part pas le jour où il fait ses malles..._


 
 jolie expression...


----------



## ianaré

valskyfrance said:


> well, if it's only reference to guns I will not use this expression. Thanks again.


This is mainly a US expression, probably from the wild west/cowboys and all that stuff. The origin is certainly gun related, not drawing a picture (cowboys are too macho for that  ).

Others you could use :
Not the sharpest tool in the shed
A little rusty up there


----------



## valskyfrance

ianaré said:


> This is mainly a US expression, probably from the wild west/cowboys and all that stuff. The origin is certainly gun related, not drawing a picture (cowboys are too macho for that  ).
> 
> Others you could use :
> Not the sharpest tool in the shed
> A little rusty up there


 
Thanks. Please can you explain these expressions . 

Thanks again


----------



## wildan1

JeanDeSponde said:


> Let me slightly disagree here - the usual French idiom is _être un peu *dur* à la détente..._


 
Et moi, il me semble avoir entendu _*lent* à la détente..._


----------



## valskyfrance

wildan1 said:


> Et moi, il me semble avoir entendu _*lent* à la détente..._


 
aussi : dur, long, lent. Les 3 fonctionnent je pense.


----------



## Kelly B

The explanations in these threads also apply to ianaré's _not the sharpest tool in the shed_:

Not the sharpest knife in the drawer


----------



## wildan1

ianaré said:


> This is mainly a US expression, probably from the wild west/cowboys and all that stuff. The origin is certainly gun related, not drawing a picture (cowboys are too macho for that  ).
> 
> Others you could use :
> Not the sharpest tool in the shed
> A little rusty up there


 
or _slow on the uptake_

Toutes veulent dire la même chose :

_il n'a pas inventé la poudre_


----------



## ianaré

Sorry. Here goes:

Your'e not the sharpest tool in the shed
Tu n'est pas l'outil le plus aiguisé de la cabane/l'abri

Un travail prend plus longtemps quand l'outil est mal aiguisé.

A little rusty up there today?
Un peu rouillé là-haut aujourd'hui ?

Un objet/outil rouillé ne sera pas le plus efficace.


----------



## valskyfrance

ianaré said:


> Sorry. Here goes:
> 
> Your'e not the sharpest tool in the shed
> Tu n'es pas l'outil le plus aiguisé de la cabane/l'abri
> 
> Un travail prend plus longtemps quand l'outil est mal aiguisé.
> 
> A little rusty up there today?
> Un peu rouillé là-haut aujourd'hui ?
> 
> Un objet/outil rouillé ne sera pas le plus efficace.


 
J'aime beaucoup  Merci


----------



## JeanDeSponde

wildan1 said:


> Toutes veulent dire la même chose :
> _il n'a pas inventé la poudre_


Well - let me disagree here...
_Il n'a pas inventé la poudre / l'eau tiède / la marche arrière_ would suggest _he's stupid_.
While _il est lent/etc. à la détente_ simply implies a lengthy reaction time - but the reaction could still be sharp...
(OK - I was fast. But at other times I can be sharp)


----------



## SwissPete

Il comprend vite quand on lui explique longtemps.


----------



## Moon Palace

_il n'a pas inventé la poudre = il n'a pas inventé le fil à couper le beurre_
(indeed these two phrases mean he is not on the bright side of mankind...)
More colloquial - and probably for youngsters mainly: '_il lui manque un quart d'heure de cuisson' _(very disparaging in fact, even outright disrespectful).


----------



## valskyfrance

'_il lui manque un quart d'heure de cuisson' _(very disparaging in fact, even outright disrespectful).

Je ne connais pas cette expression. Instructif. Mais si c'est irrespectueux alors ;-)


----------



## JeanDeSponde

Moon Palace said:


> and probably for youngsters mainly: '_il lui manque un quart d'heure de cuisson' _


Which reminds me of _il a été bercé trop près du mur..._


----------



## valskyfrance

JeanDeSponde said:


> Which reminds me of _il a été bercé trop près du mur..._


 
Là on s'éloigne 

Le pauvre


----------



## funnyhat

david314 said:


> This is a very drole expression to say that someone is _not all that bright, or capable_ -w/ out being too hurtful.


 
But not always. You could use it, in a non-offensive manner, to describe someone who simply isn't as quick to do something as another person. For example, if you were to ask for a volunteer out of a group of people, and one person were to raise his hand more quickly than someone else, you could jokingly say to the second, "Sorry, you were too slow on the draw."


----------



## wildan1

funnyhat said:


> But not always. You could use it, in a non-offensive manner, to describe someone who simply isn't as quick to do something as another person. For example, if you were to ask for a volunteer out of a group of people, and one person were to raise his hand more quickly than someone else, you could jokingly say to the second, "Sorry, you were too slow on the draw."


 
It's true that _slow at the draw_ can have two meanings--not bright or not fast (sometimes both!)

Less ambiguous for not fast might be _slow as molasses in January_


----------



## funnyhat

valskyfrance said:


> well, if it's only reference to guns I will not use this expression. Thanks again.


 
To be clear, this is a pretty lighthearted expression.  It's not so much a reference to guns, per se, as to the old cowboy movies from the 1950s, where there would always be a big duel between the good guy and the bad guy.  To say someone is fast or slow on the draw is more a way of poking fun at those movies than actually discussing gun violence.


----------

