No, Chirac Didn't Say 'Shut Up'

The New York Times ^ | 02/22/2003 (for editions of 02/23/2003) | Eleanor and Michel Levieux

[Inspectorette]

Ha! When my dear departed Memere used to say to me, "Taire tu!!!" - I knew I'd better shut up!

[Cicero]

What a bunch of hogwash.

So, the French didn't say the Eastern Europeans should shut up if they know what's good for them. He said they should keep quiet if they know what's good for them. Big difference. It's still insulting as hell, and it still amounts to extortion.

Behave, or we'll keep you out of the club.

[Exit148]

To your #14 ----- right on!

The NYT can whitewash it as much as they wish. The words went out, they were insulting, and the reaction to them was widespread. All the op-ed's can't change that.

[XEHRpa]

Not a chance. Aziz will hang with Saddam.

I'm sure you are right... I just like to hold out hope that He works the wonder of His Grace through the hearts of even stubbornly evil men (I'm talking the Lord, here, not the Pope).

[jonatron]

Eh Vichy, taisez-vous!

[John Jorsett]

The meaning of what he said was clear, whether or not the tone could be considered 'neutral': "Your input is not desired." He put his foot in it, regardless of how the NYT tries to dress it up.

[ffusco]

So if that's the polite way, how do you say "shut yer pie hole?

[RobbyS]

Too late. If France wants to sell wine they had better try to place orders in Hollywood.

[UncleSamUSA]

Now the left wing times is giving us freeping French lessons, for gosh sakes.

I was always taught back in eighth grade french that saying "taissez-vous" was equivalent to "shut up" and was therefore very rude. Seems like Mr Surrender Monkey did in fact come very close to that naughty-word.

But then again maybe you at the Times could translate the following phrase directed at Mr Chirac: "Bugger off, you obnoxious appeasement maggot" into proper diplomatese.

[calico joe]

All anyone need do is look it up in a French dictionary. "se taire" is not neutral. My OED gives one colloquial meaning as "shut up". Other translations are "hold your tongue" or "be silent".

No matter how you cut it, it isn't neutral either in English or in French.

It is, as they say, worse than a "faux pas"; c'est une faute!

[philetus]

Babel Fish says:
trou fermé de pâté en croûte de yer

[NonValueAdded]

Parse, parse, parse, spin, spin, spin. STFU, Eleanor and Michel Levieux.

We knew what Chirac meant as did the 13 East European countries that are probably having second and third thoughts at trading the Soviet Union for France as their overlord.

[gorebegone]

how about...

fermé la bouche!

[sheik yerbouty]

Les mots de m*rde!

[StriperSniper]

It figures the Times would try to help Chirac weasel out.

[AmishDude]

I have read on NRO that "Cheese Eating Surrender Monkey" does not translate well into French.

I wonder if the NYT went to great lengths to explain that Gerald Ford never actually said "Drop Dead" or anything of the sort to NYC.

Maybe. They resembled a real paper back then.

[gov_bean_ counter]

Even high school students are taught that taisez-vous means SHUT UP!.

I'll go you one farther. My daughter is in the 8th grade, doesn't take French, but has several friends who do. I called her in the study and asked her if she knew what taisez-vous meant?

She thought for about a half a second, then said

Shut up!!!!

[Sarah]

Non, c'est plutot: 'Ferme ta geule!'
(excuse my French...)

[HiTech RedNeck]

I have read on NRO that "Cheese Eating Surrender Monkey" does not translate well into French.

Rendre-singes qui mangent du fromage

[RichInOC]

Did President Jacques Chirac of France actually tell half of Europe to shut up last week? Was he scolding a bunch of unruly children? Not exactly...

"Bien élevé" means "well brought up," and when used in the negative, as Mr. Chirac used it, it typically describes a misbehaving child.

Oops.