# So, bite me !



## Blancheneige

Hello everyone,
I came across an expression I didn't know. A man and a woman are arguing.
M:- You are taking this too far, I won't accept it
W:- *So, bite me* !
I understand it as the woman meaning the man can't do anything to stop her. Is it very colloquial ? Very frequent ? Also, I'm at a loss to find a similar expression in French, which would sound right in such a context. Can you help ?


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## cropje_jnr

It is merely an expression of defiance, although I'm not sure it denotes that the woman feels immune to the man's wrath 

I think that it's similar in tonality to: _je m'en fous_, quite simply, but let's see what others can come up with.


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## Blancheneige

Aha, thank you cropje! If it's merely an expression of definance, it throws another light on the situation. Could it also translate as something like "Cause toujours" ?


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## Blancheneige

Or could it be in the line of : "qu'est-ce que tu veux que ça me fasse" ?
I'd be glad to get some additional comments, I'm still not sure I get the full meaning of this phrase.


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## wildan1

I think reflects the wife's sharp sarcasm--by saying "so bite me" she reflects that her husband is acting like an angry dog or a temperamental child--either of whom might bite as an expression of displeasure.


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## Blancheneige

Thank you wildan. But is it a set expression, something you could actually hear people say ? Or just somethink the author made up ?


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## broglet

I think wildan1 has got it absolutely right - but this is far from a common expression (in BE at least). I, for one, have never heard it before. I suspect the author made it up.  I think it could be quite funny, though, especially spoken on stage.


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## verbivore

Bite me = Eat me , and is very very colloquial AE, perhaps BE, too, maybe.

Anyway I think you have the overall idea Blancheneige, but there's a bit of a "Vas te faire voir" in it too. I would say it's along the lines of "You can screw off cuz I don't give a shit."


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## wildan1

Blancheneige said:


> Thank you wildan. But is it a set expression, something you could actually hear people say ? Or just somethink the author made up ?


 
I have never heard it--it seemed clever to my ear.

A more "set" (although not cliché) reply that I sometimes hear when someone is very upset (il fait un caca nerveux) is simply, 
_"Are you finished?"_ (Anglo-saxon understatement)


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## calembourde

It's something like a mixture of 'so what?' 'I don't care what you think' 'So what are you going to do about it, bite me or something?' 'I don't care, go f*** yourself' (but a lot more polite)

It's colloquial but not very rude (well, it can be rude because you are completely dismissing what the person just said, but it is not made considerably ruder by the choice of words. Sometimes in a less serious situation it's just playful and lighthearted, not really defiant.) I don't think it's particularly common, but my sister went though a phase of saying it a lot.

I agree with cropje_jnr, the best way to describe it is that it's an expression of defiance... and the best translation I can find is 'je m'en fous'.


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## Blancheneige

Thank you so much, broglet, wildan and verbivore !
So it is at best very, very colloquial, so not the thing for a non-native to say in a casual way, I guess ;-)
I understand the context better. I wish I could think of something as sharp in French to translate it, but I'm at a loss for the moment.


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## Blancheneige

Thank you calembourde. I just saw your post, and it's very helpful. Now I know where I stand


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## david314

My minor contribution:_  Espèce de crétin!_


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## verbivore

*Heads up*: "Bite me" is a real expression in AE. I'm from Cali, and it's said quite often here, especially among those in the age range of 15-25. When said sarcastically in a lighter context, it's equivalent to someone sticking his tonque out at you in jest. Since it can run the gamut from silly to mean, it's quite a clever and useful expression. In this regard, any translation into French will be highly contextual.


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## Matcauthon

Blancheneige said:


> Thank you wildan. But is it a set expression, something you could actually hear people say ? Or just somethink the author made up ?



The author did not make it up.

It is very common.(well, commonly understood, I personally haven't heard it in a few years) but just "bite me" without the "so" has been often used while I was in elementary school if there was ever a fairly bitter argument, between friends ending their relationship perhaps.

As for a French equivalent, I have not a clue, other than what has been previously mentioned.


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## KaRiNe_Fr

I'm not sure I understood all the natives explanations... but we have also an expression in French when someone doesn't impress you much as a an expression of defiance. It's something along the lines: « Mais c'est qu'il mordrait l'animal ! ».
Don't know if it could fit the bill, though.


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## Blancheneige

Thank you so much, david, verbivore and Matcauthon. This thread has turned out to be highly informative and interesting. Thanks everyone


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## Matcauthon

KaRiNe_Fr said:


> I'm not sure I understood all the natives explanations... .



ill try again then?

"Bite me" could be used to try and provoke anger, through defiance. 

I think once I saw a movie where some person had kidnapped another. The kidnapper wanted information about something, but, defying the kidnapper, the kidnapped says "Bite me", fairly vehemently, and trying to change the topic. Perhaps to have the kidnapper kill the kidnapped, so that they wouldn't be able to allow themselves to leak information.

Is that any clearer?


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## Cath.S.

_Va te faire voir !_


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## Blancheneige

> « Mais c'est qu'il mordrait l'animal ! ».


Merci Karine! D'après tout ce qui a été dit plus haut, je m'imaginerais une expression qui contienne plus de défi. Et aussi, une expression qui soit largement utilisée, comme calembourde, verbivore et matcauthon l'ont dit. Il doit exister quelque chose, mais je n'arrive pas à mettre le doigt dessus. 
"_Tu te fous de moi ?"_ est probablement légèrement plus provocateur que "_Je m'en fous !". _
Peut-être qu'on pourrait retenir _"Et mon oeil, tu l'as vu ?"_



> I think once I saw a movie where some person had kidnapped another. The kidnapper wanted information about something, but, defying the kidnapper, the kidnapped says "Bite me", fairly vehemently, and trying to change the topic. Perhaps have the kidnapper kill the kidnapped, so that they wouldn't be able to allow themselves to leak information.



_"Tu te fous de moi_" pourrait aussi convenir dans le contexte du kidnapping décrit par Matcauthon. Bien que... L'otage dirait peut-être quelque chose de plus fort. "_Tu peux toujours courir_" ???


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## wildan1

I just checked out Urban Dictionary based on verbivore's input. I don't interact with teenagers much anymore, but in fact you'll read here what teens and 20s suggest as meanings for _bite me_

_..._et moi je me coucherai moins bête ce soir


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## Blancheneige

egueule and wildan: thank you!



egueule said:


> _Va te faire voir !_


 
 egueule, après avoir lu le urban dictionary proposé par wildan, je pense que ta proposition "va te faire voir" tombe parfaitement dans le bon registre. 
Moi aussi, je me coucherai moins bête ce soir


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## david314

egueule said:


> _*Va te faire voir* !_


 If you add your (actually, verbivore's) expression to mine, then I believe we've got it. It's basically:  _Go f-ck yourself, you little piece of sh-t except_ -in *ado*lescent language). I believe that it is _a twofold insult_.


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## Cath.S.

david314 said:


> If you add your (actually, verbivore's) expression to mine, then I believe we've got it. It's basically:  _Go f-ck yourself, you little piece of sh-t except_ -in *ado*lescent language). I believe that it is _a twofold insult_.


Mille excuses Verbivore, j'avais loupé ton message.
In adolescent language, _go fuck etc_. might become _nique ta race / ta mère_, but in Blancheneige's example we have a man and a woman arguing, not teens, ans I can't imagine a grown-up woman (or man, for that matter) saying anything of the sort.
Maybe
_Mon cul !_


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## Blancheneige

david314 said:


> If you add your (actually, verbivore's) expression to mine, then I believe we've got it. It's basically:  _Go f-ck yourself, you little piece of sh-t except_ -in *ado*lescent language). I believe that it is _a twofold insult_.


david is right: my apologies, verbivore, you had said it much earlier in the thread, but at that point in time the meaning of the expression was not as clear as it got later, and it had not clicked .
Well, I think we're all agreed on the meaning of "bite me", now, and on its possible translation in French. Thanks everyone for this fascinating thread.


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## KaRiNe_Fr

Matcauthon said:


> [...]
> Is that any clearer?


Clearer, indeed. I meant I didn't understood, not that your explanations were any bad. It needs more than one explanation for dumb people like me to understand.  Thanks Matcauthon.


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## Matcauthon

Blancheneige said:


> _"Tu te fous de moi_" pourrait aussi convenir dans le contexte du kidnapping décrit par Matcauthon. Bien que... L'otage dirait peut-être quelque chose de plus fort. "_Tu peux toujours courir_" ???



Mon commande de le langue français n'est pas aussi bon qu'il devrait être, mais "Tu te fous de moi" sembler comme quelque chose qu'on pourrait répliquer a "bite me" avec.

Tu te fous de moi= Are you making a fool of me? 

Le différence je pense, est que jamais le personne en pouvoir utilise "bite me", c'est un dernier effort (au plutôt des situations) pour faire le personne qui gagne un argument, ou qui voulait d'information, de réagir sans penser, et de perdre un peu de quoi il a gagné. 

Aussi, c'est utiliser quand on savait qu'on a perdu , ou est perdu, et on parle sans penser.

There is of course multiple definitions, that can mean different things. "Bite me" is like saying "So, do something about it!" perhaps in the situation you first mentioned, where there is of course, nothing the other can do. Actually, if that is understood by you, I wish I had thought of it earlier.

I read the Urban dictionary definitions, and although they are accurate, bite me isn't as vulgar. I actually was thinking of saying !F*ck off!* a few times, but thought it was too vulgar a synonym.


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## Nicomon

verbivore said:


> "Vas te faire voir" in it too. I would say it's along the lines of "You can screw off cuz I don't give a shit."


This makes me think of a very familiar Quebec expression...  Va donc chier ! which I believe to be our equivalent to the less vulgar _va te faire voir !_


> Va chier! : [Québec]formule par laquelle on exprime de façon agressive son désaccord avec qqn ou son désir de rompre la communication. Va donc chier!


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## Nicomon

Matcauthon said:


> There is of course multiple definitions, that can mean different things. "*Bite me" is like saying "So, do something about it!"* perhaps in the situation you first mentioned, where there is of course, nothing the other can do. Actually, if that is understood by you, I wish I had thought of it earlier.


 
I light of this (which I hadn't read ) and given the context - the woman answers "*So*, bite me" - would  "So, *sue* me" be a closer equivalent?


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## dicomec

In my generation we said "So sue me!"  meaning "there's nothing you can do about it," but the expression has clearly sunk to a much lower level.these days


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## verbivore

Just one more little clarification, if I may.

"Bite me", in its worst sense, stops short of "fuck off" - it's not quite that bad. 
In it's mildest context it's like a sarcastic "whatever" (see post#14). The rest of the time it's a taunt more like "Up yours" or "Shove it", in terms of vulgarity. The context of the thread seems to be about an 8 out 10 in terms of how strong it is. Hopefully that helped.

Also, I would like to make a minor correction to post#8 where I said "bite me" = "eat me." Here, "eat me" would be worse because of the sexual connotation. It would be like a guy saying "suck my d***" to a woman. So, it's not quite equal to "eat me." Still, you get the idea..."Va te faire voir, crétin. Essaie de m'arrêter!" is how I would translate the English here.


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## Matcauthon

Nicomon said:


> I light of this (which I hadn't read ) and given the context - the woman answers "*So*, bite me" - would  "So, *sue* me" be a closer equivalent?



In the context it would work I think... but I think "So, sue me" is a little softer than "so, bite me!" here, and anywhere really. If you were to take away the exclamation on so bite me in the first example, it would be close to "so, sue me" with the exclamation.


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## Nicomon

Thank you guys. I think I get it now.  But a Quebec French equivalent most probably wouldn't be _va te faire voir crétin ! _

It would be something like _j'm'en..._ followed by a word with a "K" sound that some are so fond of, or the already said  _va donc chier... épais_ 



> [Québec][Familier]Stupide. Il est vraiment épais!


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## verbivore

Très bien! "Epais", je le garde


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## goodJinxie

"Bite me" is a very defiant, disrespectful expression. It's used in movies a lot, it seems like one of those phrases where the mood has to be "just so" or it falls flat.  Matcauthon's movie reference makes a lot of sense (I'm sure there are several movies with such scenarios where it is used).

Another movie reference: if you've ever seen "The Breakfast Club" (an american movie from the '80s) I'm fairly certain that that punk kid (can't remember his name) uses it in the scene where the teacher is giving him detention after detention.  For example:
Teacher: You want another detention?
Punk kid: Sure.
Teacher: How about another?
Punk kid: Go to hell.
Teacher: That just earned you another.
Punk kid: Bite me.
(I'm just making this up, I don't remember.)

I agree with verbivore, 15-25 sounds like a pretty accurate range.


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## lagoonwater

"Va voir ailleurs si j'y suis" would be an alternative to "vas te faire voir/foutre"


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## Nicomon

lagoonwater said:


> "Va voir ailleurs si j'y suis" would be an alternative to "vas te faire voir/foutre"


 
And that in Quebec French is  _va (donc) jouer dans le trafic_. But my understanding is that "bite me" is well... slightly "coarser".


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## wildan1

Nicomon said:


> And that in Quebec French is _va (donc) jouer dans le trafic_. But my understanding is that "bite me" is well... slightly "coarser".


 
and in North American English, too (although pretty dated now): _Hey kid, go play in the traffic _

Or there is the fairly timeless: _Drop dead!_
(can be said in anger to someone you can't quite use the F-word with)


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## dicomec

J'en ai conçu un exemple :  
I see you and say, "You told me the store opened at nine o'clock, but it didn't open until ten.  I had to hang around a whole hour." 
You say, "So sue me," or "So bite me," or "So I was wrong, et alors ?
I hope this helps clarify the expression, if not, sue me!


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## Cath.S.

dicomec said:


> J'en ai conçu un exemple :
> I see you and say, "You told me the store opened at nine o'clock, but it didn't open until ten. I had to hang around a whole hour."
> You say, "So sue me," or "So bite me," or "So I was wrong, et alors ?
> I hope this helps clarify the expression, if not, sue me!


_Et alors, qu'est-ce que tu veux que ça me foute ?_
(this is a translation, not an answer! )


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## Xavier11222

I second egueule here - "bite me" is dismissive as was pointed out before, more than it's agressive_. Et je suis censé en avoir quelque chose à foutre ? _would work too. But _Et alors ? _or even _Et...? _can be understated like "bite me" is sometimes.


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## Blancheneige

"Et alors" est effectivement très bien aussi, Xavier, dans un registre moins agressif que celui des autres expressions qui sont apparues dans ce fil. Très polyvalent.


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## Cath.S.

Vous avez raison, Xavier et Blancheneige, e_t alors?_ est une possibilité, qui me rappelle aussi _so what? _


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## Nicomon

dicomec said:


> J'en ai conçu un exemple :
> I see you and say, "You told me the store opened at nine o'clock, but it didn't open until ten. I had to hang around a whole hour."
> You say, "So sue me," or "So bite me," or "So I was wrong, et alors ?
> I hope this helps clarify the expression, if not, sue me!


 
Well... I really wouldn't use expressions such as _va te faire voir/mon cul!_ (or coarser language) in such situation. It would be more sarcastic. Something like... 
_Tu ne vas pas me mordre, toujours?_ OR _Et tu me dis ça parce que... ? _

Edit: I'm way too slow !! Had not read posts 40 to 43. About _Et alors_? - which I also agree with - a Quebecer might say _Oui, pis?_ (short for _et puis?_)


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## Cath.S.

N'oublions pas que _bite me_ est une version édulcorée de_ blow me_, qui est ouvertement sexuel, donc ce n'est pas vraiment poli et sous prétexte de ne pas être vulgaire il ne faudrait quand même  pas exagérer dans le sens contraire. 

N'est-ce pas, Karine ?


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## KaRiNe_Fr

egueule said:


> N'oublions pas que _bite me_ est une version édulcorée de_ blow me_, qui est ouvertement sexuel, donc ce n'est pas vraiment poli et sous prétexte de ne pas être vulgaire il ne faudrait quand même  pas exagérer dans le sens contraire.
> 
> N'est-ce pas, Karine ?


Je suis bien d'accord (tu lis dans mes pensées ou quoi ? ).
Je disais en plaisantant qu'on pourrait bientôt proposer « peu me chaut ! » si on continuait à mettre de l'édulcorant...


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## mlvcr

As to saying it in French I wouldn't have clue, but I would best describe it as kiss my ass.


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## Nicomon

egueule said:


> N'oublions pas que _bite me_ est une version édulcorée de_ blow me_, qui est ouvertement sexuel, donc ce n'est pas vraiment poli et sous prétexte de ne pas être vulgaire il ne faudrait quand même pas exagérer dans le sens contraire.


 
Oui mais... si je lis les explications de Verbivore (#14 et #31)  "bite me" me semble être utilisé à divers registres de vulgarité ou d'impolitesse. Je ne répondrais vraiment pas de la même façon, dans les situation exposées pas goodJunkie (#35) et dicomec (#39).  Au # 35, j'envoie chier le prof, ou je luis dis que je m'en crisse. Mais à la place du vendeur du # 39, je serais plutôt sarcastique que vulgaire.  Voilà. __


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## broglet

egueule said:


> N'oublions pas que _bite me_ est une version édulcorée de_ blow me_, qui est ouvertement sexuel, donc ce n'est pas vraiment poli


Mais il faut néanmoins se rendre compte que l'origine d'un mot n'est pas un guide parfait à ses qualités - les origines sont souvent oubliées ou ignorées dans l'usage courant


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## Cath.S.

broglet said:


> Mais il faut néanmoins se rendre compte que l'origine d'un mot n'est pas un guide parfait à ses qualités - les origines sont souvent oubliées ou ignorées dans l'usage courant


Je pensais néanmoins qu'il était bon d'en rappeler l'origine ; de plus il ne s'agit pas d'une obscure étymologie remontant au XVIe siècle, mais de l'emploi d'un euphémisme visant à remplacer un mot qui existe actuellement. Lorsque les gens disent _frigging_ _,_par exemple, personne ne me fera croire qu'ils ne savent pas que c'est une manière d'éviter  _fucking_. C'est pour cette raison qu'à la réflexion, _va te faire voir_ reste à mes yeux un bon équivalent, parce que _voir_ y est employé comme évitement de _foutre_.

Ensuite, quand je lis ce type de commentaires écrits par des anglophones,


			
				mlvrc said:
			
		

> As to saying it in French I wouldn't have clue, but I would best describe it as kiss my ass.


je suis naturellement tentée de traduire par une expression agressive et pas très raffinée.

J'en conclus que plusieurs traductions, plus ou moins vulgaires, sont possibles.


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## broglet

egueule said:


> Je pensais néanmoins qu'il était bon d'en rappeler l'origine ; de plus il ne s'agit pas d'une obscure étymologie remontant au XVIe siècle, mais de l'emploi d'un euphémisme visant à remplacer un mot qui existe actuellement. Lorsque les gens disent _frigging_ _,_par exemple, personne ne me fera croire qu'ils ne savent pas que c'est une manière d'éviter  _fucking_


c'est vrai - mais, par contre, les parents qui disent 'tu es con' à leurs chers enfants ne pensent pas au même temps aux origines de ce mot, bien qu'il soit un mot assez courant, n'est-ce pas? Quand-même, je suis d'accord qu'il vaut bien notre peine ici de rappeler l'origine.


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## dicomec

Bon, assez de matraquer cette triste phrase vulgaire. Je ne l'ai pas entendu sauf peut-être au cinéma. Je ne dirais même pas "sue me" sauf entre copains, et ça avec un gros sourire. Moi, qui porte une brassée de dicos partout, je dis : Bien qu'il soit bon de reconnaître ces paroles, il n'est toujours pas bon de les employer. Quand j'écris ou parle le français, j'évite toute éspèce de mots ou de phrases qui peut offenser ou manquer au entendeur. Les Français, eux, savent plus des petites courtoisies de tous les jours que nous autres Américains chez nous, d'ailleurs. Tant pis pour nous, los gringos !


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## Cath.S.

broglet said:


> c'est vrai - mais, par contre, les parents qui disent 'tu es con' à leurs chers enfants ne pensent pas au même temps aux origines de ce mot, bien qu'il soit un mot assez courant, n'est-ce pas? Quand-même, je suis d'accord qu'il vaut bien notre peine ici de rappeler l'origine.


Je ne veux pas pinailler mais ta comparaison ne tient pas,_ con_ n'est pas du tout un euphémisme, simplement un mot qui avec le temps a acquis deux sens, l'un crûment sexuel, l'autre pas. Mais rassure-toi, je vois quand même tout à fait ce que tu veux dire.


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## Tybalt1212

I'm in a region with a pretty obscure dialect (Newfoundland), but I hear it all the time among teenagers. I'd interpret it as saying "I don't care", "Je me moque de ça".


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## Dale Texas

Now I don't what to shock everybody, but the original derivation of this, "bite me" is coming from "eat me" which is coming from "perform oral sex on me!" and is a generalized mocking taunt.


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## Keith Bradford

I'm not at all sure that the "original" meaning of this is particularly sexual.  It seems to me to be an adolescent version of "so sue me" and "so shoot me", which I have always taken to be New York Jewish expressions (note the use of "so"), meaning "_*If you think that this petty detail is so important, do something serious about it.  Until then, shut up*._"  E.g. "So I forgot to put pickles on your salt beef sandwich, so shoot me already!"

I'd say the register is far closer to: "Et alors?" than to any of the other cruder excesses suggested above.


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## Dale Texas

Oh, I agree that is the present day register of it and slips out people's mouths with that register of meaning, and register is what counts...on the other hand, it's naive to pretend that "this sucks!" doesn't also originally derive from crude sexual origins, or that lots of speakers might hesitate to say "piss" anywhere in public or even in private, but say "pissed off" frequently because the register of the _phrase_ is just now "I'm really angry."


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## Flynnzane

Dale Texas said:


> Now I don't what to shock everybody, but the original derivation of this, "bite me" is coming from "eat me" which is coming from "perform oral sex on me!" and is a generalized mocking taunt.


 
"eat me" i've heard it in an American movie, "suce moi" French translation


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## Uncle Bob

At the risk of spoiling the fun, I'm surprised that nobody seems to have mentioned the Black Knight's threat "I'll bite you" (when he has had all four limbs and his torso cut off) in Monty Python and the Holy Graal!


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## Dale Texas

I just re-read this entire thread, and got fascinated, because we start  off with a simple question, "I heard this expression, what does it  mean?" and it seemed that many European French/BE speakers weren't too  familiar with it, then slowly we cross the Atlantic to here in the U.S.  where we are VERY familiar with it.

I've read with with similar fascination the gradual dawning of  realization that the term is vulgar, crude, sexual, aggressive -- if  that's what some people mean by "dismissive" well that's for sure, by  definition, and an almost desperate attempt to find a "mild" translation  or equivalent expression both in English and French, as though people  think they can soften the blow.

It seems to me the only thing the can "soften" the meanings in English  or French would be the people and scenarios involved.  Are we school  children laughing and giggling?  Are we young adolescents trying out our  assertion skills with each other about to make a mistake with a parent  or school teacher who can slap our face hard or get us expelled from  school if that language doesn't stop immediately?

Is it something we can say with good friends but maybe not say to a  rival gang member because the crude sexual taunt that is really is might  provoke the pulling out of a knife or a gun?

What expression would you as a parent maybe indulge from an adolescent  bratty-at-that moment child whose utterance might even make you smile or  laugh while you continued to discipline and help, and what utterance  would provoke you to say "Don't you EVER speak to me/your father/your  mother like that again!" and at least have fantasies of strangling the  kid on the spot?

That is another kind of register which can get people into VERY serious  trouble, which I why I keep insisting the vulgar sexual meanings cannot  be ignored or dismissed, and those registers are particularly hard to  pick up in a foreign language.

I'm saying "bite me!"  could result in physical harm to you and you  should be aware that's how strong it can be.


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