# tout-à-l'ego



## AJ2018

L'expression _*le tout-à-l'ego *_me donne beaucoup du fil à retordre.

Pour vous mettre en contexte, je suis tombé sur cette phrase en lisant un article qui porte sur une mode qui existe à priori à Matignon et qui fait polèmique: taper sur l'actuel Premier ministre Jean Castex. En effet, plusieurs propos ont déjà été publiés.

<<On a Cresson [l'ex-première ministre de la France] à Matigon, et il va s'user aussi vite qu'elle_>>, ou _<<a_vec Castex, qui n'écoute personne, *le tout-à-l'ego *s'est installé à Matignon>>, ou encore <<Macron s'est convaincu que le côté province et bon sens de Castex allait payer dans les sondage, il y plonge déjà>>, ou enfin <<on a un psychorigide à Matignon, qui adore faire des crises d'autorité.>>_

Un environnement de travail vraiment stimulant, me semble-t-il.  (Je dis ça je dis rien.)

_Anyway, does anyone know what *le tout-à-l'ego *_means in English?


----------



## SwissPete

A play on words with 





> Le *tout-à-l'égout* correspond au réseau d'assainissement mis en place sous la voie publique [...]


Translation *here*.


----------



## trellis

ego maniac? tyrant? despot?


----------



## AJ2018

SwissPete said:


> A play on words with
> Translation *here*.



Could you explain a little more. I´m not getting the _jeu de mots _or the play on words.


----------



## tartopom

Yes, as Pete said there's a pun ego / égout.


----------



## trellis

I see the pun, but I'm not laughing - please explain the humour!


----------



## AJ2018

tartopom said:


> Yes, as Pete said there's a pun ego / égout.



So, is the pun that he's selfish - like égoïste - it's all about me?



trellis said:


> I see the pun, but I'm not laughing - please explain the humour!



thank you - I think that's at the heart of me not understanding this phrase.


----------



## Locape

Usually, it's 'on a installé le tout-à-l'égout' (to put in place (?) mains drainage) in a building. Here it's like someone put an overinflated ego installation (?) at Matignon, now it's oversized ego all over in Matignon. It's not meant to be very funny, more sarcastic I think.


----------



## AJ2018

Locape said:


> Usually, it's 'on a installé le tout-à-l'égout' (to put in place (?) mains drainage) in a building. Here it's like someone put an overinflated ego installation (?) at Matignon, now it's oversized ego all over in Matignon. It's not meant to be very funny, more sarcastic I think.



The image is very vivid. It's like you took the entire sewage system and clogged up the halls of Matignon. Not a pretty picture. Very dirty, smelling, and you clearly can't get much work done in that environment.  

So, I'm still struggling to express this idea in English.


----------



## tartopom

_mains drainego_

  ???


----------



## Laurent2018

It suggests both an oversized ego and a kind of "sewage-policy": that's a strong metaphor.
As for a translation???


----------



## AJ2018

Laurent2018 said:


> It suggests both an oversized ego and a kind of "sewage policy": that's a strong metaphor.
> As for a translation???



If the phrases *tout-à-l'ego *is referring to Castex and what he brings with him, then I'm leaning more towards some like:

- stubborn bureaucracy 

That's the best I can do for now.


----------



## Bezoard

It is only a pun, not created for Castex ; there is indeed even a book with that title. And this pun, that I find rather funny, has been used as a nickname for Castex by the people who work with him. It just means an autocratic behaviour. I don't believe that "stubborn bureaucracy" conveys the right meaning.


----------



## LARSAY

Yes, it is a play on words with "tout-à-l'égout". It means that Castex himself is a huge egocentric, and so has become his subordinates. I would translate by "an egocentric bureaucracy reigns in Matignon".


----------



## Topsie

Sugestion: He's just sewer full of himself!


----------



## LARSAY

No mention of "sewer" in the text, just a play on words, so, it does not work


----------



## broglet

I don't think the use of this pun here has anything to do with sewers.  There is no _double entendre_.  It's just a very slightly funny way of saying "He is all ego" by omitting a couple of letters from a common phrase.    It's not the kind of joke that would make anyone laugh out loud or even giggle but you might allow yourself a wry smile.


----------



## Bezoard

It is typically the kind of pun you would find in a satirical paper such as_ Le Canard enchaîné._


----------



## Laurent2018

broglet said:


> There is no _double entendre_



You're going too fast: it depends on one's sensitivity ! Look at the responses above, about main drains (and thus sewage): the link has been made at once...
I agree it's not easy (or simply impossible) to render the pun in english !
Since you have "tout-à-l'ego" in french, maybe this could be translated by "Me-before-everybody"...? Or, more stretched " I share my opinions with myself" ... anyway, good luck !


----------



## AJ2018

Okay everyone - I think I've got it.

*the self-absorbed*

That seems to capture the funny, yet insulting nature of the original.



Bezoard said:


> It is typically the kind of pun you would find in a satirical paper such as_ Le Canard enchaîné._



Chapeau!  Vouz avez raison. 

It is ineed from Le Canard Enchainé.


----------



## broglet

Laurent2018 said:


> You're going too fast: it depends on one's sensitivity ! Look at the responses above, about main drains (and thus sewage): the link has been made at once...


Yes I agree that the link is inevitable (because everyone is immediately aware that that's where the phrase came from) but what I meant was that I don't think the literal meaning of tout à l'égout is _relevant - _so it isn't a  _double entendre_ in the sense of being a play on two different meanings.
It's a bit like saying "Prince Charles is a royal male" which is a pun that evokes Royal Mail although it has nothing to do with postage.


----------



## Topsie

AJ2018 said:


> <<a_vec Castex, qui n'écoute personne, *le tout-à-l'ego *s'est installé à Matignon>>_


Peut-être trouver un jeu de mots avec "*power*" 
_The power is on in Matignon!_ (bof!)


----------



## Locape

Je me demande si on peut utiliser une autre expression qui existerait dans les deux langues, comme 'le gaz à tous les étages'. Avec le 'tout-à-l'égout', cela représentait la modernité dans les immeubles des villes. Quelque chose comme 'avec lui, c'est l'ego à tous les étages à Matignon', mais je ne saurais comment le dire exactement en anglais.


----------



## AJ2018

Okay, I looked at a few youtube videos and it turns out, duh, that you can even have a *tout-à-l'égout *attached to your home. It is basically a drainage system. And we know all the awful things that run through the draining system (and I'm not talking about dirty water).

So, I'm going to give the translation another stab.

_<<Avec Castex, qui n'écoute personne, le tout-à-l'ego s'installe à Matingon.>>_

*It's a total shit show over at Matigon with Castex and everybody ignoring him. *

I used the word "shit show" because we all know runs through _les égouts_. Also the _tout-à-l'ego _seems to refer to the situation in Matignon. It's a byproduct of Castex's presence there, according to who gave this quote to the newspaper.

And the word shit-show means nothing is working, total disaster, rampant incompetence, _et j'en passe et des meilleurs. _(No offense taken if you thought I was referring to the White House. Ha!)


----------



## Locape

I understand what you mean, but 'everybody ignoring him' is really in the article? Because 'avec Castex, qui n'écoute personne' means 'with Castex, who doesn't listen to anybody'. The 'ego' reference might still be missing ('it's an ego and shit show', maybe?) and it's the main one, I think. They reproach Castex for his huge ego, not necessarily for Matignon being now a shit show.


----------



## AJ2018

Locape said:


> I understand what you mean, but 'everybody ignoring him' is really in the article? Because 'avec Castex, qui n'écoute personne' means 'with Castex, who doesn't listen to anybody'. The 'ego' reference might still be missing ('it's an ego and shit show', maybe?) and it's the main one, I think. They reproach Castex for his huge ego, not necessarily for Matignon being now a shit show.



Vous avez raison.

I can see why you say that this refers to his "ego" because you have ego ... short for égoïst.

So, piggy-backing off of your idea, and referring back to my previous suggestion, below is another stab:

*When it comes to Castex, who doesn't listen to anyone, you would think it's a one-man show over at Matignon.  *

or

*When it comes to Castex, who doesn't listen to anyone, you would think it's all about me, me, me over at Matignon.  *

According to the quote, he thinks it´s all about him, and everything goes through him, or the buck stops with him. Thus, the thinking behind my rendition.


----------



## Locape

I like your second translation, I think it captures exactly the right meaning. The first one would mean he's always showing off or be extrovert like a comedian.


----------



## broglet

... to replace one pun with another how about "Castex, who listens to nobody, has nothing but ego on his face" ?


----------



## ain'ttranslationfun?

Re AJ2018's "you'd think it's a one-man show over at Matignon", how about "... a one-man shitshow over at Matignon." Or if that's too coarse, "... a one-man show over at Mategoignon;", but would most EN speakers know what that refers to (or for that matter "l'Élysée")?


----------



## Laurent2018

AJ2018 said:


> It's a total shit show



I've been thinking about a mix of "conceit" and "shit":  self-consheit ?


----------



## Bezoard

I think it is a mistake to seek to associate the translation with any reference to "égoût". As I said, _"tout-à-l'égo"_ is just a pun without any deep meaning other than insisting on the egocentric character of Castex, but this should remain what it is, just un "mot d'esprit", to be said quickly and without insistance. Instead of _"tout-à-l'égo_", any other pun with "ego" could have been used, for example, qualifying the ministry as "_l'égoland"_.


----------



## Laurent2018

Ah! mais je trouve "l'égoland" bien moins équivoque et tout aussi bon comme jeu de mots...et presque bienveillant !

Disons qu'on s'est lancé dans un exercice difficile en anglais, et, par ailleurs, on ne saura jamais comment le ministre a ressenti le fameux "tout-à-l'égo".


----------



## clairet

Edith Cresson only lasted a year and one of the quotes says Castex " va s'user aussi vite qu'elle ".  I don't see a repetition of an association of Castex with "tout-à-l'égo" so I'm not sure it's him the latter phrase refers to.  "L'égo" could be Macron and the idea implied that Castex is just Macron's tool who will be flushed away when he's served his purpose. This suggestion may be way off, it's hard to tell without the relevant sentences immediately preceding the one which contains the term to translate.


----------



## Locape

But there's '*Avec Castex*, qui n'écoute personne, le tout-à-l'ego s'est installé à Matignon', so it seems it refers directly to Castex, not Macron here.


----------



## Laurent2018

Et on fait référence à Matignon, pas à l'Elysée !


----------



## ain'ttranslationfun?

Laurent2018 said:


> Ah! mais je trouve "l'égoland" bien moins équivoque et tout aussi bon comme jeu de mots...et presque bienveillant !



For me, "l'égoland" evokes the building blocks game "Legoland®".


----------



## Laurent2018

Yes, it evokes children's innocence, that's why I ment "bienveillance".
But look: "legoland" decoded becomes "pays de l'ego" in french, where "land" of course is "a place" (like Matignon).


----------



## ain'ttranslationfun?

For me, "----land" evokes an imaginary place, like "Wonderland" or "Never-Neverland" or "Cloud-Cuckoo Land", e.g. "In Trumpland, there will be only White people."


----------



## Bezoard

ain'ttranslationfun? said:


> For me, "l'égoland" evokes the building blocks game "Legoland®".


That's the point of the pun, just as "tout-à-l'égo" evokes the existing word "tout-à-l'égoût".


----------



## clairet

Locape said:


> But there's '*Avec Castex*, qui n'écoute personne, le tout-à-l'ego s'est installé à Matignon', so it seems it refers directly to Castex, not Macron here.





Laurent2018 said:


> Et on fait référence à Matignon, pas à l'Elysée !


I don't doubt that Castex is the immediate subject of interest in the particular sentence quoted but the structure of the sentence suggests to me (given that the discussion here seems to be coming to no convincing conclusion) that the the phrase about "tout-à-l'ego" may refer not directly to Castex but to a system (in a pun) for disposing rapidly of prime ministers who are failing the president's needs (for example by not listening to anyone).  I just think would help if we had more context, with the key sentence embedded in the sentences which surround it in the original.


----------



## Bezoard

> Comme le rapporte _Le Canard enchaîné_ du mercredi 14 octobre, la nouvelle mode à Matignon serait de se payer la tête du chef du gouvernement, en privé, et dès qu’un journaliste politique passerait dans le coin… «_ Avec Castex, qui n’écoute personne, le tout-à-l’ego s’est installé à Matignon_ », peut-on lire [...]


https://www.valeursactuelles.com/po...nistres-se-paient-jean-castex-en-prive-124590


----------



## Kelly B

For an American audience: A new atmosphere of self-interest has settled in at the Prime Minister's residence with the arrival of Castex, who....

Atmosphere isn't great but I haven't finished my coffee yet.


----------



## swift

Could there be a pun with “navel-gazing” perhaps?


----------



## clairet

Bezoard said:


> “Tout-à-l’ego”, “psychorigide” : les ministres se paient Jean Castex en privé



Thanks Bezoard.  I guess this is as near as we are going to get to the context in Le Canard Enchainé - and it may be enough.  At least it convinces me . It says   <<Comme le rapporte Le Canard enchaîné du mercredi 14 octobre, la nouvelle mode à Matignon serait de se payer la tête du chef du gouvernement, en privé, et dès qu’un journaliste politique passerait dans le coin… « _Avec Castex, qui n’écoute personne, le tout-à-l’ego s’est installé à Matignon _» >> I read this as saying there is a method for disposing quickly of unwanted prime ministers (via leaks to journalists) and the method is joking called tout-à-l'ego (a double pun on Castex and sewage disposal).  I can see now that my speculation about Macron being l'ego was mistaken.


----------



## ain'ttranslationfun?

Re "psychorigide", I've heard "psychoconstipé". (This wouldn't produce anything that'd go down the "tout-à-l'égout", though.)


----------



## Laurent2018

ain'ttranslationfun? said:


> "psychoconstipé"




Let's remain in soft poetry: I dare "laxative-effect ego"...


----------

