# pompous ass



## Vache qui rit

Bonjour à tous !

Je cherche une injure, un peu vulgaire mais pas trop, pour décrire quelqu'un qui a un peu la grosse tête, qui s'écoute parler et qui traite les autres comme s'ils était moins intelligents que lui. L'équivalent anglais de ce que je veux dire serait peut-être "pompous ass" or "pretentious windbag."

Merci d'avance !


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## Pedro y La Torre

con prétentieux ?


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## Elle Paris

Trouduc' pompeux
crétin qui péte plus haut que son cul.
Sombre crétin qui s'y croit


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## persona67

Pedro y La Torre said:


> con prétentieux ?


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## hampton.mc

I don't know if that thread could help. Pedro seems to be spot on.


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## SunnyS

Pedro y La Torre said:


> con prétentieux ?



Isn't "con" quite strong in French? I don't see "con" being equal to "ass" in "pompous ass."

 It seems it's either more vulgar or just more insulting. I have the same question for:

_crétin qui péte plus haut que son cul._ / Trouduc' 

Aren't the words "cul" and "trouduc" quite vulgar?

It seems the only suggestion that kind of matches "pompous ass" is:

_Sombre crétin qui s'y croit_


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## hampton.mc

"con" isn't that strong and is commonly used (still slang though)
J'emploierais moins facilement "qui pète plus haut que son cul" et "trouduc" mais ils sont aussi largement utilisés. 
Pour moi un "con prétentieux" est une bonne traduction.
Did you have a look at the thread I mentioned in my earlier post?


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## SunnyS

Yes, but here are some issues. I don't really have a precise sense of _con _in French, so it's hard for me to gauge the French side of things. Even with my spotty sense, I still think it's not equivalent.

In English, ass is not equal to ass-hole in meaning. It seems to me that con=ass-hole, but not ass. A "pompous ass" and a "pompous ass-hole" are two different things.

Ass (in "pompous ass") is not a vulgar word, whereas ass-hole starts to be vulgar, especially because of the graphic anatomy reference.


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## Jeanbar

Peut-être un crétin pontifiant ?


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## SunnyS

Jeanbar said:


> Peut-être un crétin pontifiant ?



Sounds like the original to me and the best translation so far.


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## Keith Bradford

SunnyS said:


> ...
> Ass (in "pompous ass") is not a vulgar word, whereas ass-hole starts to be vulgar, especially because of the graphic anatomy reference.


 
Il me semble que _*ass*_ ici = _donkey, mule_.  Autrement dit, il s'agit du sens et de la prononciation brtitanniques, loin du _cul_ français (_arse_ britannique).

Mon directeur de lycée traitait quelquefois un élève de "ass" et (si nous connassions bien l'autre sens) nous supposions qu'il le considérait comme un _*âne*_ et non pas un trouduc !


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## xiancee

Amusant, il existe un site : *The Pompous Ass Words Web Site *dont l objectif se définit comme suit :  "a place dedicated to identifying words that   shouldn't be used on the grounds that doing so makes you sound like a pompous   ass."
Cela irait bien dans le sens ass = donkey plutôt que de désigner l'endroit ou le dos s'arrondit et prend un autre nom...


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## SunnyS

Keith Bradford said:


> Il me semble que _*ass*_ ici = _donkey, mule_.  Autrement dit, il s'agit du sens et de la prononciation brtitanniques, loin du _cul_ français (_arse_ britannique).
> 
> Mon directeur de lycée traitait quelquefois un élève de "ass" et (si nous connassions bien l'autre sens) nous supposions qu'il le considérait comme un _*âne*_ et non pas un trouduc !



Exactly. Although nowadays, sometimes it's not clear whether a double insult is intended using both meanings of the word ass. But originally, pompous ass was always an idiot and not a vulgar reference to anatomy and its associated degrading meanings.


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## Vache qui rit

Je vous remercie de toutes vos excellentes suggestions ! hampton.mc, l'autre fil m'a aussi été très utile. Encore une question : laquelle des expressions que vous avez citées vous semble la plus naturelle et idiomatique ?



SunnyS said:


> Keith Bradford said:
> 
> 
> 
> Il me semble que _*ass*_ ici = _donkey, mule_.  Autrement dit, il s'agit du sens et de la prononciation brtitanniques, loin du _cul_ français (_arse_ britannique).
> 
> Mon directeur de lycée traitait quelquefois un élève de "ass" et (si nous connassions bien l'autre sens) nous supposions qu'il le considérait comme un _*âne*_ et non pas un trouduc !
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Exactly. Although nowadays, sometimes it's not clear whether a double insult is intended using both meanings of the word ass. But originally, pompous ass was always an idiot and not a vulgar reference to anatomy and its associated degrading meanings.
Click to expand...


I agree. I think that's why "pompous ass" is a little less offensive than "pompous asshole," and why you don't necessarily have to be an asshole to be a pompous ass. I picture a pompous ass as someone who's prone to acting arrogant and condescending but who might still be a fundamentally decent person. Do other English speakers agree?


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## Keith Bradford

Vache qui rit said:


> ... I picture a pompous ass as someone who's prone to acting arrogant and condescending but who might still be a fundamentally decent person. Do other English speakers agree?


 
I certainly do.  Pompous asses are usually rich and/or upper-class and/or not very bright.  But other than that, they're not all of them despicable.


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## LART01

Pedro y La Torre said:


> con prétentieux ?


 

Pour rester dans la ligne=

Un_ petit_ con prétentieux


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## Pedro y La Torre

SunnyS said:


> Yes, but here are some issues. I don't really have a precise sense of _con _in French, so it's hard for me to gauge the French side of things. Even with my spotty sense, I still think it's not equivalent.
> 
> In English, ass is not equal to ass-hole in meaning. It seems to me that con=ass-hole, but not ass. A "pompous ass" and a "pompous ass-hole" are two different things.
> 
> Ass (in "pompous ass") is not a vulgar word, whereas ass-hole starts to be vulgar, especially because of the graphic anatomy reference.



Con can be highly insulting, or a fairly harmless term, depending on tone and context.

Thus, con can quite easily mean both asshole, and _ass_, as Americans would say. Un trouduc, though, would probably be too strong.


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## mirifica

Bonjour,

'Con' est largement utilisé en Français sur tous les tons et toutes sortes de contextes. Y compris à la suite d'une erreur pour soi-même : quel con(ne) je suis !

Un petit con prétentieux me plaît beaucoup, puisque le terme est aussi répandu en FR.

PLus désuet : ce bougre de prétentieux.


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## SunnyS

mirifica said:


> Bonjour,
> 
> quel con(ne) je suis !



This is equal to "I'm such an idiot!" ?

Don't the French also say _connasse _ou _connesse _for the feminine or is that a different term?


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## LART01

_Connard _ou _connasse_
Un connard prétentieux
To me far more aggressive than ''con''
Not _slightly rude _as initial post suggests


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## Keith Bradford

Let's make it clear: "_I don't wish to be thought a pompous ass_..." is a sentence that might quite properly be pronounced (so long as you use the short 'a', i.e. 'donkey') in the British parliament, a church pulpit or a court of law. Nothing indecent, slangy or improper about it at all.

(Of course, if you called another MP an ass, of any kind, you'd be reprimanded for unparliamentary language!)


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## Momerath

Keith Bradford said:


> "_I don't wish to be thought a pompous ass_..." is a sentence that might quite properly be pronounced (so long as you use the short 'a', i.e. 'donkey') in the British parliament, a church pulpit or a court of law.



Those interested in the relationship between the different pronuciations and meanings of the word "ass", might like to read the following

http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/522/Ass-Arse.htmlhttp://encyclopedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/522/Ass-Arse.html


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## xiancee

I incline to agree with LART01, with the slight restriction that for me "un connard" would be older, hence more pompous than a mere "con" ("un ptit con" is younger than you are even if older in age, inferior regarding its IQ).


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## Vache qui rit

xiancee said:


> I incline to agree with LART01, with the slight restriction that for me "un connard" would be older, hence more pompous than a mere "con" ("un ptit con" is younger than you are even if older in age, inferior regarding its IQ).



Ah, but then what term would I use to refer to my professor as a pompous ass? Or do French students generally not speak in such disrespectful terms? Would I just say "con prétentieux," without the "petit"?


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## xiancee

Vache qui rit said:


> Ah, but then what term would I use to refer to my professor as a pompous ass? Or do French students generally not speak in such disrespectful terms? Would I just say "con prétentieux," without the "petit"?



"Vieux Schnoque" would fit perfectly


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## Elle Paris

hampton.mc said:


> "con" isn't that strong and is commonly used (still slang though)
> J'emploierais moins facilement "qui pète plus haut que son cul" et "trouduc" mais ils sont aussi largement utilisés.
> Pour moi un "con prétentieux" est une bonne traduction.
> Did you have a look at the thread I mentioned in my earlier post?


 
I have fun saying "Ce n'est qu'un sombre crétin qui pète plus haut que son... erm ...arrière-train." but that is not what people say.

I agree that "con prétentieux" in that word grouping is not vulgar and works just fine. I like "con pontifiant" too.

What about "âne bâté pompeux"  ?

*âne bâté*. Définition : Individu stupide ou ignorant


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## xiancee

I think âne bâté" is more than enough ...


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## SunnyS

xiancee said:


> I think âne bâté" is more than enough ...



Then again, there are individuals who may require the additional _pompeux _ 

It's like extra-strength "âne baté" !


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## pointvirgule

Si je ne craignais pas de passer pour un _pédant_ _fieffé_, je proposerais : _un cuistre prétentieux. _

Ajout - Au fait, les petits mots sont parfois les meilleurs : _un fat_.


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## orlando09

I think these last suggestions are maybe a bit more the right register. "Ass" in this sense is not vulgar, though it is not complimentary


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## Elle Paris

Yes, *âne bâté pompeux..*. 
Définition : Individu stupide ou ignorant pompeux  ou bien: Individu pompeux stupide et/ou ignorant


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