OffQc | Québécois French Guide

Have a look at this billboard in French advertising used cars (autos usagées or voitures d’occasion) in Montréal:

On « trippe » sur les vieilles

We’ve seen how tripper sur (quelque chose) means to really go for (something), to be totally into (something), to dig (something).

J’trippe sur sa nouvelle toune.
I really love his latest song.

Tripper can also mean to have a blast.

C’est certain que tu vas tripper.
You’re gonna have such a blast.

Tripper is an informal verb deriving from English (trip); it isn’t unusual to see words of this sort set off by guillemets, like here.

This billboard has two meanings — a literal one, and one the result of wordplay meant to catch the attention of passers-by.

The literal one is they’re saying they love old cars (vieilles voitures). On trippe sur les vieilles; we love old ones.

As for the one resulting from wordplay, can you guess this one on your own?

(If you’re studying contractions, then you know how the words sur les on this billboard can be pronounced spontaneously. See chapter 5 of Contracted French. You also know how j’trippe sounds, if that’s what this sign had said instead. See chapter 1.)