# to be built like a brick shithouse



## david314

-Believe it or not, this is a high compliment paid to _tall, statuesque, well-built, full figured women. _Normally:  " She is built like a ... "

Qu'en pensez-vous?


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## cropje_jnr

Elle a l'air forte comme un boeuf (?)

But could this even be complimentary, addressed to a woman?


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## Lanchii

david314 said:


> -Believe it or not, this is a high compliment paid to _tall, statuesque, well-built, full figured women. _Normally: " She is built like a ... "


I've always known this to mean : 'big boned', e.g. tall, broad shoulders, thick waist and solid legs. 

It's definetly not a compliment, though. As in, you wouldn't say this to somebody's face. But it's also not necessarily an insult. It is kind of something you might joke about with your friends regarding someone else, but without being malicious.


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## Antipodean

David, To make it an Australian trifecta: It must be the Coreolis effect but I wouldn't be saying it about a woman and certainly not to her face -not here at least - and especially if she actually is built like one. Rather, I'd say it about a bloke eg  _He's built like a brick shit house_! There is the expression  _Il est canon !_ but my understanding is that applies to a male who is a hunk which isn't quite the same thing.


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## Lanchii

Further clarification of use:  You could describe a pro rugby player as being "built like a brick shit house"... but not Johnny Bravo. 

I don't really think it's the same thing as a 'hunk' ... it's more like ... a beefcake ! haha ! Does anyone else know that colloqialism ? 

(P.S. i'm from Melbourne)


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## Antipodean

Yes Lanchii you're quite right. Any member of the _All Blacks_ (the New Zealand rugby union team) would fit the bill as could Sébastien Chabal for _Les Bleus_.


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## david314

My peers & I might refer to, for instance, _a professional female volley ball / soft ball player_ -by this term.  I concede that our term _generally applies to sturdy men_.  

-Any French suggestions from the natives?


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## Sbonke

Maybe:
For a man : bâti comme un déménageur
For a woman : bâtie comme une amazone


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## Antipodean

According to a previous entry in the WR Forum: _bâti comme une armoire à glace_


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## david314

Thanks alot folks.


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## Budd

Things must be different in Australia.  In American English, "built like a brick shithouse [usually as one word, not two]" is only applied to women and is fairly complimentary if one knows the woman: saying it to a stranger could cause you some pain, especially if she really is.  It also refers to her breasts: being statuesque does help, but I've known short women who were built like brick shithouses--and everyone agreed. B_âtie comme une armoire à glace_ is pretty good, but sadly lacks the vulgarity of the English phrase.


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## senoritamy

I agree that this phrase is complimentary, in a very informal way.  It means that a woman is well built, muscular, in good physical shape, has a nice body.  (at least in the USA)


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## Antipodean

I suspect that we may use the expession in slightly different contexts. In my experience, the expession has only applied to males - particularly football players. I have not heard it used here when describing women - hence my surprise. That said, I have just consulted the _Macquarie Dictionary_ - the premier dictionary of Australian English - which states:

a. _(of a woman) physically well developed in a sexually attractive way._
b. _of solid build_.

Interestingly, the _Macquarie Dictionary_ does not make reference to any particular Australian usage. And the Penguin book _Australian Slang_ simply states: _a term for someone who is particularly large, strong or stocky_. However, revenons à nos moutons, I have just confirmed with some French Australians and some French people that _bâti(e) comme une armoire à glace_ should work in the sense of someone who is solidly built. I'm still unsure, however, about an equivalent for  a woman who is physically well developed in a sexually attractive way but _bâtie comme une amazone_  has a nice ring about it.


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## wicca

cropje_jnr said:


> Elle a l'air forte comme un boeuf (?)
> 
> But could this even be complimentary, addressed to a woman?


 mmmm.... no I don't think so. If I were told that I'm forte comme un boeuf, I would probably get offended 



Antipodean said:


> According to a previous entry in the WR Forum: _bâti comme une armoire à glace_


I don't think this would work as a compliment for a French girl....  



david314 said:


> My peers & I might refer to, for instance, _a professional female volley ball / soft ball player_ -by this term.  I concede that our term _generally applies to sturdy men_.
> 
> -Any French suggestions from the natives?


Hi! This is way too late, but hey better late...

I would personally say:
-C'est/T'es une bombe (sexuelle)!
-Elle a/Tu as un corps de rêve.

-Elle est/Tu es trop bien foutue. (this last one sounds a little less elegant but conveys the message as well)

All three expressions would pretty much flatter any French girl. 

I also like Sbonke's 'amazone' without the word 'bâtie'... 'Elle a /Tu as un corps d'amazone' could work as well.


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## Charlie Parker

I learned something new. I've never heard this expression used of a woman. In my part of the world, it is only used of men, particularly, short, stocky men, or small men who are nevertheless very muscular.


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## Micia93

I'd simply say "elle est bien bâtie" - contrary to "bien faite" which suggests a more feminine and slim figure, the word "bâtie" (usually used for a house) suggests some strength, a bony body but not a fat one

the comparison with "amazone" has too much an heroic fantasy connotation


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## Budd

I don't know, Micia. When you say a woman built like a brick shithouse, you are referring in AE to her worship-inducing breasts.  She could be slim otherwise, cf. Dolly Parton. But I don't think a bony body would go with brick shithouse. That is, the woman is certainly not _maigre_, but also not _costaude_.


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## doodlebugger

When I was younger, there were a ton of not-so-subtle expressions to describe a well-endowed female.
_Elle a de beaux yeux (tous ronds) - Elle a de la conversation - Elle a deux talents - Elle a de la présence _- etc.
One that could work here given the sport analogy: _elle a du souffle_.
However, I am not sure this is idiomatic (certainly idiotic from me and my friends) and would be understood by many people.


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## Cat'sPaw

Yes... "elle a du souffle" makes me think of another expression I've heard: "elle a de beaux poumons" (pretty obviously, you can't see her lungs)


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## wildan1

I agree with Charlie Parker but not Budd -- _built like a brick shithouse_ is not at all limited to women in AE--in fact, to me it's a more common description of a burly man.

_Une armoire à glace_ seems to me to be suitable for a man only.
For a woman, perhaps _elle est plantureuse_. Or more humorously, _Il y a du monde au balcon_ !


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## Budd

Wildan, I like _plantureuse_ as a translation of _zaftig_ far a woman whose big all over. _Armoire à glace_ and _du monde au balcon_ are droll and good, I think.  But I have never in all my (many) born days heard built like a brick shithouse applied to a man.


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## Unreal McCoy

I've heard it mainly in working-class circles throughout the US -- to express admiration for a shapely woman. Not strong, solid, big-boned, etc -- I've never heard it used like that. Just 'well built.'
Obviously it's not a literal comparison. I suspect it's an example of a jumping metaphor -- heard in one context, i.e., something strong and solid, and then applied in another. 
fwiw


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## CarlosRapido

Charlie Parker said:


> I learned something new. I've never heard this expression used of a woman. In my part of the world, it is only used of men, particularly, short, stocky men, or small men who are nevertheless very muscular.



Funny, I being also Canadian, have heard it only in reference to women of 'sculptural beauty'.  >> bâtie comme une déesse grecque? 

And I've also never heard '_armoire à glace_' applied to a woman.


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## bing181

Charlie Parker said:


> I learned something new. I've never heard this expression used of a woman. In my part of the world, it is only used of men, particularly, short, stocky men, or small men who are nevertheless very muscular.



Me neither, and agree with your definition.

(late to thread ….)


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## petit1

elle est bâtie en force  
elle a une carrure d'athlète
Pour un homme OK, mais une femme ne sauterait pas de joie avec un tel "compliment". (Genre bûcheronne, quoi!)


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## Micia93

Tout dépend si cette expression s'applique à une femme genre Jane Mansfield ou à une femme lanceuse de poids!


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## CarlosRapido

Where I come from, the image of brick shithouse applies to Jane Mansfield type women, not to squat, solid female hammer throwers.


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## Micia93

so, the word "plantureuse" or "bien charpentée" might be the best in this case


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## petit1

épanouie ???


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## Micia93

A ce moment, il faut rajouter "formes" sinon, ce pourrait être pris au sens figuré : "elle a des formes épanouies"


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

I've never heard this expression used of a man, only by men of a woman who is "sacrément bien foutue", has a voluptuous figure, is "bien roulée". You'd never say it to a woman's face, unless you wanted your own slapped, or had had one too many. "Plantureuse" and "du monde au balcon" refer only to a woman's mammary attributes, but "built like a brick shithouse" means she's "round in all the appropriate places", well-built, "stacked". I have heard "canon" applied to women, but "armoire à glaces", only to men, nor can I recall having heard a man described by another man as "built like a brick shithouse". The reference to a shithouse in this context remains a mystery. For all I know, though (turn about is fair play), _mesdames _do say this of a hunk; I thought "beefcake" referred more to a style of male pinups than to an individual.


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## Micia93

"plantureuse" doesn't refer only to mammary attributes, but to bottom, hinches ...


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## archijacq

elle est belle comme un camion


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## CarlosRapido

Un visage qui cherche une baffe, Archijacq ? 

@ Micia - hinches?? re  

The first meaning of_ plantureuse_ is busty, but we tend to forget that it may also translate as buxom (healthy, plump, cheerful, and lively) - of generous proportions>>_q__ui est bien en chair, qui a des formes pleines, rebondies_; which aptly describes a brick shithouse.


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

For me, as for other previous posters, _zaftig_ ="busty". - micea, I think you might be right because I believe the expression may be "elle a la poitrine plantureuse". - For her buttocks, we have two hifalutin' words, one complimentary and the other not, both Greek: "callipygean", 'having beautiful buttocks", and "steatopygean", 'fat-assed'. - In the novel "Rhubarb", whose author's name I can't recall, there are two whimsical expressions I've never seen anywhere else for an ample-bosomed woman: "Whatta pair of lung warts!" and "I wish I had two bushels of tat to give her!" (from the expression "to give tit for tat"). FWIW_... _


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## CarlosRapido

ain'ttranslationfun? said:


> micea, I think you might be right because I believe the expression may be "elle a la poitrine plantureuse". [...]


Of course, when you specify_ poitrine_ it means busty, but _plantureuse_ may also be applied to the whole person ei; _une femme plantureuse >> _a buxom/curvaceous woman.  Please don't restrict the meaning of words to suit your argument...


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

I was agreeing w. micea by saying that I'd heard "une poitrine plantureuse", indicating that it was that part of the woman's figure we were referring to. Thus, a woman with an otherwise svelte figure can have "une poitrine plantureuse". Another adjective to toss into what is on the way to becoming a mini-dictionary here: "pneumatic" for a woman whose cups runneth over. However, I'm not sure 'buxom' (localized) and 'curvaceous' (overall) are necessarily synonyms? Whatever, I wonder which of these expressions would be considered complimentary or offensive by women thus endowed? And, to _revenir à nos moutons_, it seems like "built like a brick shithouse" has different meanings in  different parts of the EN-speaking world.


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## archijacq

CarlosRapido said:


> Un visage qui cherche une baffe, Archijacq ?
> 
> @ Micia - hinches?? re
> 
> The first meaning of_ plantureuse_ is busty, but we tend to forget that it may also translate as buxom (healthy, plump, cheerful, and lively) - of generous proportions>>_q__ui est bien en chair, qui a des formes pleines, rebondies_; which aptly describes a brick shithouse.



C'est un compliment...
_"C'est au milieu du XXe siècle que l'expression commence à apparaître. A la base, on part d'une ironie car peu de monde trouve un camion  joli ou beau. Mais cette expression veut bien dire gracieux et beau. Donc, dans ce même sens, on utilise le mot camion pour amplifier, pour grossir l'importance de l'adjectif "beau"."
_


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## Micia93

CarlosRapido said:


> @ Micia - hinches?? re



"je voulais dire "hip"! (je ne sais pas pourquoi j'ai mis "hinch" )


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## KaRiNe_Fr

Salut,

Je viens de lire tout ce fil, et j'avoue n'avoir toujours pas saisi ce qu'on veut exprimer avec cette expression...
Est-ce l'armoire à glace dans le sens _baraquée_ ? Est-ce plutôt dans le sens _bien balancée_, avec un _beau châssis_ ? Ou encore en rapport avec une _poitrine généreuse_ ?
Un petit éclairage ne nuirait pas.


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## CarlosRapido

La réponse diffère tout dépendant de qui répond; il semble y avoir plusieurs acceptions régionales, toutes teintées de perceptions personnelles...A mon humble avis 'armoire à glace' va pour un mec baraqué mais pas pour une amazone bien roulée. Et pour _'brick shithouse', _l'image s'inspire de la qualité de la construction (overkill) plutôt que de la carrure et la solidité  - pas très indiqué pour un homme. Dans mon coin ça réfère à une femme athlétique, sexy et aux courbes prononcées, la totale à la Sophia Loren; du genre à prendre 2 heures pour s'habiller parce qu'elle ralentit dans les virages. 

Mes confrères/sœurs de forum ne semblent pas tous d'accord.


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## petit1

I have found an explanation about this funny expression here:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns...like-a-brick-shithouse-get-to-be-a-compliment


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## Keith Bradford

I know the original thread was about US usage, but just a word to put it into perspective for foreigners.

American speakers can say what they like about heftily-built or curvy women.  But if they came east across the Atlantic and used any expression that included "shit" and "brick" when trying to compliment a British woman, they'd need to worry about outlying portions of their anatomy.

In the UK, the people said to be "built like a brick shithouse" are typically rugby players, heavyweight boxers and wrestlers.


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## gm12

I totally agree with Keith.


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## CarlosRapido

Merci petit1, ta trouvaille confirme la version nord-américaine que j'expliquais plus haut. 

And Keith, no need to worry, us 'provincials'  aren't so stupid, the brick shithouse saying is never used to compliment a woman directly, it is used between boys when describing a hot number...


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## wildan1

Keith Bradford said:


> In the UK, the people said to be "built like a brick shithouse" are typically rugby players, heavyweight boxers and wrestlers.


That's the only context in which I would use the term as well, as I said a long time ago. 

Clearly we apply it individually the way we see it over here, however.


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## Nicomon

Contrairement à Carlos, j'ai entendu plus d'une fois - et même dit - « bâtie comme une armoire (à glace) » avec ou sans l'ajout de « à glace » en parlant d'une femme très grande, aux épaules larges. Baraquée, donc. Comme certaines athlètes, nageuses, joueuses de tennis. Je pense entre autres à Mauresmo. 

Ce n'est pas vraiment un compliment, mais ce n'est pas péjoratif non plus. 

Sauf que... ça ne décrirait pas bien sûr une femme à la silhouette sculpturale, comme Sophia Loren. 

Je comprends que dans l'expression "built like a brick shithouse" ... c'est le mot "brick" qui change tout.
Mais si on l'utilise aujourd'hui comme compliment de ce côté-ci de l'Atlantique, ça n'a pas toujours été le cas, si j'en juge par cet extrait de la page que petit1 a mise en lien : 





> When said of women, one 1938 source notes, the phrase usually meant a "heavy, cloddish, sexually unappetizing female."


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## KaRiNe_Fr

Merci à tous pour vos différents éclairages et pour le lien.


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## midlifecrisis

Keith Bradford said:


> I know the original thread was about US usage, but just a word to put it into perspective for foreigners.
> 
> American speakers can say what they like about heftily-built or curvy women.  But if they came east across the Atlantic and used any expression that included "shit" and "brick" when trying to compliment a British woman, they'd need to worry about outlying portions of their anatomy.
> 
> In the UK, the people said to be "built like a brick shithouse" are typically rugby players, heavyweight boxers and wrestlers.



Absolutely agree, indeed, just to introduce another unsavoury phrase, if I thought a woman had heard me describe her as 'built like a brick shithouse' then I would be 'shitting bricks' with apprehension


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## William Stein

wildan1 said:


> I agree with Charlie Parker but not Budd -- _built like a brick shithouse_ is not at all limited to women in AE--in fact, to me it's a more common description of a burly man.
> 
> _Une armoire à glace_ seems to me to be suitable for a man only.
> For a woman, perhaps _elle est plantureuse_. Or more humorously, _Il y a du monde au balcon_ !



I'm American and I've only heard the term applied to women (but I've been living abroad for years, maybe it's a recent development). Anyway, I'd say the closest thing in register and meaning is: "Elle est vraiment bien-foutue  [cette nana]"


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## Nicomon

À part _vraiment bien foutue_, je suggère  :   _Elle est vachement bien roulée (cette gonzesse).
_


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