Category Archives: Folk speech

Petit train va loi – Quebec Proverb

Occupation: Life Coach
Residence: LA
Primary Language: French

French: Petit train va loi

Translation:  little train goes far

Meaning: slowly but surely

Context: Informant is of French Canadian decent, born and raised in Montreal Quebec. She came to the US in her mid-twenties, and Quebecois proverbs are central to her upbringing and something she employs in her career as a life coach. This proverb was casually shared with me over lunch with the informant. She uses this proverb when clients downplay their ability to do something.

Thoughts: This proverbs seems to capture the collective sprit of popular sayings such as “size doesn’t matter,” “consistency is key,” and “it’s not a race, it’s a marathon.” The size of the train doesn’t matter, all it has to do is just keep chugging along and it will reach it’s goals. Endurance and determination are greater than strength.

Péché avoué est à moitié pardonné – Quebec Proverb

Occupation: Life Coach
Residence: LA
Primary Language: French

French: Péché avoué est à moitié pardonné

Translation: confessed sin is half forgiven

Meaning: [informant] A confessed fault will be judged with more leniency

Context: Informant is of French Canadian decent, born and raised in Montreal Quebec. She came to the US in her mid-twenties, and Quebecois proverbs are central to her upbringing and something she employs in her career as a life coach. This proverb was casually shared with me over lunch with the informant.

Thoughts: Apart for leniency, I took this proverb to sort of provide a roadmap to make amends with someone. For example the first step to making something right is to confess.

Chaque torchon trouve sa guenille – Quebec Proverb

Occupation: Life Coach
Residence: LA
Primary Language: French

French: Chaque torchon trouve sa guenille

Translation: Each dishcloth finds its own rag

Meaning: Even the deplorable find a soul mate

Context: Informant is of French Canadian decent, born and raised in Montreal Quebec. She came to the US in her mid-twenties, and Quebecois proverbs are central to her upbringing and something she employs in her career as a life coach. This proverb was casually shared with me over lunch with the informant. 

Thoughts: This is a lot like, “to each his own” or “birds of a feather flock together” but with a negative connotation. Due to the lack of context provided by the informant, I interpreted this proverb as being used to console someone that might have been cheated on.

Merd

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Birmingham, Alabama
Performance Date: 4/18/21

Overview

The informant is a dancer from Birmingham, Alabama. He has danced at home in Alabama and at school in Los Angeles and in both locations he’s encountered the word “merd”. Merd is something dancers say to wish each other good luck before a performance (similar to how actors say “break a leg”). 

Explanation

The informant gave background on the word. Apparently it comes from Louis XIV era France, when dancers would perform for the king. Horse-drawn carriages would arrive in a procession around the king’s palace, so naturally there was lots of horse poop on the streets. “Merd” is french for poop. So, the carriage drivers would warn, “merd!” when they arrived at the palace so that the dancers wouldn’t get their feet dirty. 

Thoughts

I love the parallels between dance-folklore’s “merd” and theater-folklore’s “break a leg”. Both phrases are dirty and negative, but they really suggest well wishes and positivity. Like with most group folklore, it requires initiation in the group to understand the true meaning, since it differs so much from the literal meaning.

Send It

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Long Island, NY
Performance Date: 5/1/21

Overview

The informant is 21 years old and from Long Island, NY. He describes a saying he and his friends use often, which is “send it”. He describes the contexts in which this saying is used, which usually include the moment when someone is making a decision. To “send it” is to go full-speed ahead, to fully commit to a decision, and to ignore the consequences or risks of committing to this decision.

Analysis

I asked the informant about the meaning and origin of this phrase. He said that he and his friends had spoken about it before, and while they’re not sure of the exact origin, it reminds them of the confidence needed to send risky/bold text: you make the choice to send it, and you press send without looking back. 

Thoughts

I’ve heard this phrase a lot throughout high school and university, too. Interestingly, it’s used by every social group I’ve interacted with within my age group, but I’ve never heard someone more than five years older than me use it. I think it’s funny how much discrepancy there is between small age brackets, which we can see in the extreme difference between Gen Z and Millennial lingo. I love using the phrase “send it” because it embodies the spirit of youth, similar to the phrase “YOLO” (You Only Live Once). At this point, I want to live boldly and take risks, so I choose to send it!