# Get a clue!



## JazzByChas

Moderator Note: Several threads have been merged.

Bonjours, tout le monde!

En anglais, quand on est exaspéré avec quelqu’un(e), ou bien quand quelqu’un(e) a besoin de plus d’élégance, ou raffinement, ou si on fait un contresens, on lui dit, « Get a clue, babe/buddy/dude ! »

Comment dit-on en français ?


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## tilt

Salut,

Les situations que tu évoques me semblent très différentes les unes des autres,  je ne suis donc pas certain qu'on puisse trouver une seule traduction en français.
Pourrais-tu nous préciser *l'intention* de celui qui dit "get a clue" dans chacun des cas ?
Merci.

PS: _tous les mecs_ refers to men only, contrary to _guys_. You should avoid it, unless you do want women not to answer you!


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## hunternet

--> je crois que ca va pas le faire...


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## Steed

JazzByChas said:


> Bonjours, tous les mecs!
> 
> En anglais, quand on est exaspéré *par *quelqu’*un*, ou bien quand quelqu’un(e) a besoin de plus d’élégance, ou raffinement, ou si on fait un contresens, on dit, « Get a clue, babe/buddy/dude ! »
> 
> Comment dit-on en français ?


 



> on est exaspéré *par *quelqu’*un *


 : va te faire voir / casse toi / dégage ! Note : all this is slang and is to be said with a smile 



> quelqu’un(e) a besoin de plus d’élégance, ou raffinement,


 : t'as tout faux ! (familiar)


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## JazzByChas

Bon, alors...pour tout le *monde*:

La situation la plus précise est quand quelqu'un comprends le contresens...on ne comprends pas le point voulu...

C'est meiux, ça? (J'éspere...)



tilt said:


> Salut,
> 
> Les situations que tu évoques me semblent très différentes les unes des autres, je ne suis donc pas certain qu'on puisse trouver une seule traduction en français.
> Pourrais-tu nous préciser *l'intention* de celui qui dit "get a clue" dans chacun des cas ?
> Merci.
> 
> PS: _tous les mecs_ refers to men only, contrary to _guys_. You should avoid it, unless you do want women not to answer you!


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## Steed

> Bon, alors...pour tou*t* le *monde*:
> 
> ...
> 
> C'est meiux, ça? *Nan* (J'éspere...)


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## Pistache

Bonjour Jazz,

you can say : "tu es à côté de la plaque" it means "tu n'as rien compris". 
c'est vrai que tu peux dire aussi "tu as tout faux"


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## david314

Pistache said:


> Bonjour Jazz,
> 
> you can say : "tu es à côté de la plaque" it means "tu n'as rien compris".
> c'est vrai que tu peux dire aussi "tu as tout faux"


  I believe that is a good explanation of our term.


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## JazzByChas

Oui, mais _*après*_ qu'on dit" t'es à côté de la plaque," ou "t'a tous faux" on ajute "Get a clue!"

Qu'est-ce qu'on ajute en français?



Pistache said:


> Bonjour Jazz,
> 
> you can say : "tu es à côté de la plaque" it means "tu n'as rien compris".
> c'est vrai que tu peux dire aussi "tu as tout faux"


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## Steed

JazzByChas said:


> Oui, mais _*après*_ qu'on dit" t'es à côté de la plaque," ou "t'a tous faux" on ajute "Get a clue!"
> 
> Qu'est-ce qu'on ajute en français?


t'es naze


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## hunternet

JazzByChas said:


> Oui, mais _*après*_ qu'on dit" t'es à côté de la plaque," ou "t'a tous faux" on ajute "Get a clue!"
> 
> Qu'est-ce qu'on ajute en français?



Maybe "cherche encore" or "laisse tomber" or "on n'y est pas encore" or...well, there are millions of posibilities.

Why don't you explain, and give an example in English ? This would help avoid one million additional posts.


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## tilt

Maybe _Creuse-toi un peu !_ (implying _creuse-toi la tête_, i.e._ think about it_).


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## JazzByChas

Bon...le sitution en anglais:

The dork/spazz/dweeb walks up to a pretty girl, and says, "Hey...I like your boobs...they're big and they make me all excited..."  To which she replies, "[Oh my God..you so totally miss the point (of manners, social graces, and the like)]...<slap!>  "Get a clue, loser!"

Ça vaux mieux?


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## hunternet

JazzByChas said:


> Bon...le sitution en anglais:
> 
> The dork/spazz/dweeb walks up to a pretty girl, and says, "Hey...I like your boobs...they're big and they make me all excited..."  To which she replies, "[Oh my God..you so totally miss the point (of manners, social graces, and the like)]...<slap!>  "Get a clue, loser!"
> 
> Ça vaux mieux?



Based on your description, "get a clue" is a synonym for "get lost" -> dégage / va te faire foutre


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## tilt

I think _Non mais tu t'es regardé ?!_ could work properly here.


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## JazzByChas

Yep...I think this is where I was headed
_....[down that linquistic highway...]_



tilt said:


> Maybe _Creuse-toi un peu !_ (implying _creuse-toi la tête_, i.e._ think about it_).


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## JazzByChas

Yes...but first, before that ill-mannered person "gets lost" or "goes and fucks themselves" they need to think about doing/saying the right thing...which I think Tilt so gracefully said.



hunternet said:


> Based on your description, "get a clue" is a synonym for "get lost" -> dégage / va te faire foutre


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## hunternet

tilt said:


> I think _Non mais tu t'es regardé ?!_ could work properly here.





also : mais ca va pas ? / pour qui tu te prends ? / t'as perdu la tête ?


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## JazzByChas

It might also help to note, that when someone says, "Get a clue" they are basically saying, "You're an idiot!"

heh heh


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## Steed

JazzByChas said:


> It might also help to note, that when someone says, "Get a clue" they are basically saying, "You're an idiot!"
> 
> heh heh


 
quel con !
serait approprié alors


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## hunternet

Steed said:


> quel con !
> serait approprié alors



 or: "(quel) pauvre type !"


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## JazzByChas

Ben, en anglais, quand on est exaspéré avec quelqu’un(e), ou bien quand quelqu’un(e) a besoin de plus d’élégance, ou raffinement, ou si on fait un contresens, on lui dit, premièrement, l’évident :

_(Quel) pauvre type!_
_Casse-toi!_
_Dégage!_
_T’as tout faux!_
_Tu es à côté de la plaque!_
_Tu ne peux rien compris!_
_T’es naze!_
_Tu t'es regardé?_
_Mais ca ne va pas? _
_Pour qui tu te prends?_
_T'as perdu la tête?_
_Quel con!_

Ensuite, on dit le solution

_Creuse-toi un peu !_ (_creuse-toi la tête un peu)_
_Va te faire voir_


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## tilt

JazzByChas said:


> _Tu ne peux rien compris!__ Tu comprends rien/T'as rien compris !_


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## Auryn

So "Get a clue" means "Helpful hint: try a better method next time because this isn't going to work". Right?

I can't think of a French equivalent...


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## KaRiNe_Fr

Auryn said:


> So "Get a clue" means "Helpful hint: try a better method next time because this isn't going to work". Right?
> 
> I can't think of a French equivalent...


Maybe « Et la politesse, p'tit con ! » ?
Or...
« Et si tu apprenais les bonnes manières d'abord ? »


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## AZSon.

Auryn said:


> So "Get a clue" means "Helpful hint: try a better method next time because this isn't going to work". Right?
> 
> I can't think of a French equivalent...


 
Correct, that is the meaning in this case. To elaborate, in this case, the phrase refers to the offending person's ingorance and complete failure to follow generally accepted norms of apropriate behavior. Generally it is an insult that refers to a person's lack of what is expected to be common knowledge.


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## AZSon.

KaRiNe_Fr said:


> Maybe « Et la politesse, p'tit con ! » ?
> Or...
> « Et si tu apprenais les bonnes manières d'abord ? »


 
"Et la politesse, p'tit con !"  Yeah, I like that!  Perfect for this case!


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## JazzByChas

Oui, d'accord...je crois que ça capture l'essence...
{EDIT: mais, ça s'agit aussi au sens commun, i.e. pour faire le chose approprié}



			
				Karine_FR said:
			
		

> Maybe « Et la politesse, p'tit con ! » ?
> Or...
> « Et si tu apprenais les bonnes manières d'abord ? »


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## Nicomon

AZSon. said:


> Generally it is an insult that refers to a person's lack of what is expected to be common knowledge.


 
And in this sense, what first comes to mind is a very common Quebec expression...   _Arrive en ville !_ (autrement dit, sors de ta campagne).


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## Xavier11222

I like "Arrive en ville!" even though I never heard it in France; I've heard "Faut sortir de ta campagne", though. 
I'd say 'Achète-toi un cerveau!' could be a fairly good equivalent to _Get a clue_.


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## floise

Hi Jazz by Chas and everyone else,

How about '*réveille-toi*!'.

floise


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## Nicomon

floise said:


> Hi Jazz by Chas and everyone else,
> 
> How about '*réveille-toi*!'.floise


 
  Ou à la québécoise... Heille! Réveille!


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## floise

Nicomon said:


> Ou à la québécoise... Heille! Réveille!





Nicomon's version is more colloquial than mine, has an 'edge' to it that is closer to 'get a clue'. 

floise


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## Odyssée

I think that many French girls could say :
"Vas te faire foutre, connard!" 

But it's very bad and the guy could become dangerous


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## JazzByChas

I like that too..."get a brain [that works]!"



Xavier11222 said:


> I'd say 'Achète-toi un cerveau!' could be a fairly good equivalent to _Get a clue_.


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## mamas

what does that mean?

"At the beginning people threw open bottles of soda, half-eaten hamburgers and raw eggs at us," he says. But in the 15 minutes I stood with him only one man shouted: "*Get a clue*, you bunch of morons", while far more people beeped their horns in support and waved.


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## misterk

We often use it in the negative: 'He hasn't got a clue,' meaning he has no idea about something, so probably 'Get a clue' is a back-formation from this.  It means something like "wise up!"


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## jetset

Je pense que cela a un rapport avec l'adjectif "clueless", mais difficile de trouver un équivalent pour cette expression.


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## eileen marie

"Informez-vous", bande de cons
Ou "Réfléchissez un peu"


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## ebud

misterk said:


> We often use it in the negative: 'He hasn't got a clue,' meaning he has no idea about something, so probably 'Get a clue' is a back-formation from this.  It means something like "wise up!"


Exactly! Thank you. Now, in the light of these clues, we can definitely state that Nicomon gave the best french canadian idioms with "*Arrive en ville!*" OR "*Heille, réveille!*"
As for the French (of France) idioms, their respective advocate have well spoken.

So JazzByChas, there you have it: in Quebec and in french canadian communities, "Get a clue" means "Arrive en ville" OR "Heille, réveille". Plus there are few singularities (again, informal use only): at end of those firsts, young men could add "man" or "dude" ( because we live surrounded in the middle of a wide english / american rich environment and have quick access to that culture with lots of english speaking radio/TV channels, the proximity of major cities like Montreal, Ottawa, New-York, where many anglophones live...) People in Quebec mix english all the time in informal discussions. Another singular addition to expressions is by ending them with "là": it's a stress mark.


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