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Do you know the meaning of PLATE in this example of overheard French? (#1112)

21 April 2016 by OffQc

On the radio, a man spoke about how to avoid suffering from allergies this season. One of his recommendations was to close the windows. He said:

Fermez vos fenêtres. C’est plate à dire…

Nobody wants to keep their windows shut during summer weather. That’s why he says it’s plate to make the recommendation of closing them.

In this sense, plate (also spelled platte) means too bad, no good, etc. We can translate c’est plate as that stinks, that sucks, that’s too bad.

Fermez vos fenêtres. C’est plate à dire…
Close your windows. It stinks to [have to] say [it]…

Remember that plate is an informal usage, in the same way that stinks is in English.

C’est plate à dire, mais c’est comme ça.
Sucks to say, but that’s how it is.

C’est platte à dire, mais t’aurais dû rester ici.
Sorry to say, but you shoulda stayed here.

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Posted in Entries #1101-1150 | Tagged français québécois, plate, platte, Québécois French | 5 Comments

5 Responses

  1. on 21 April 2016 at 13:47 Benoît Melançon (@benoitmelancon)

    A nice ad with “plate”: http://oreilletendue.com/2010/12/31/une-fois-n%E2%80%99est-pas-coutume/


  2. on 21 April 2016 at 16:59 Denise Knight

    I also remember as a kid using it to say it is boring or I am bored. I am talking about in the 50s and 60s. C’est plate,on a rien à faire. Of course the word “suck” was not used the way it is today. Sand we were kids!

    Sent from my iPhone

    >


    • on 21 April 2016 at 17:04 OffQc

      It’s still used that way today too, in the sense of boring (just not in today’s example).


  3. on 21 April 2016 at 22:28 karengb

    yes I thought it meant flat and so was also used for boring.


    • on 21 April 2016 at 22:45 OffQc

      Yes, it also means “boring.”

      une soirée plate
      un film plate
      c’est plate ici, etc.

      Or, like in today’s post, c’est plate can also mean “that stinks, it sucks, it’s too bad.”

      Un ticket? Ah, c’est plate!
      C’est plate à dire mais…
      C’est plate c’qui arrive.



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