How to Say "Other Half" in French?

:rofl:The phrase was in the French Press this morning… and darned if I can find the article now.
Gendarmes had stopped someone (for whatever reason) and found their vehicle full of all sorts of stolen property… the list went on and on… (until it got to racoons…)
and whilst we understood what they were trying to say, it took us a few minutes to come up with the appropriate English phrase… :rofl: :rofl:

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Sounds ‘interesting’ (post moderated from original first thoughts… :wink: )

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But I didn’t actually write that, I wrote “ma meuf” :slightly_smiling_face: it’s just verlan for femme like keum for mec.

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Please forgive me Vero, but it was just a little too good to miss the opportunity for a bit of school boy humour.
:face_with_hand_over_mouth:

I have never used this cringe making phrase, nor ever heard any
of my friends using it.
I think that this is not a phrase used by anyone with a modicum of a decent education.

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Probably taken from the latin con + iungo - literally “joined together”.

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I’m not familiar with raccoons being used as the French equivalent of the metaphoric kitchen sink.

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Hmm… folk and the “endearments” they use … will vary considerably I would have thought… over the years and depending on the country…

At my great age I’ve certainly heard the word Hubby and have certainly said it myself.
However, it’s always been uttered with affection… in conversation among friends.
Can’t recall using it in France though…

I introduce him and/or talk of him as mon mari in formal French settings…
and amongst friends I tend to use his prénom or mon amour…

EDIT and since my accident… I often refer to him as mon héros :+1: :rofl:

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Neither was I… reading the News can be enlightening and educational … :rofl:
or I might have completely misunderstood… perhaps the Thieves had also stolen a Raccoon…!!!

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Thank you for your wisdom. We all knew you know best.

Speaking of context, I do hear “la meuf” used in French flic cinema and TV. Seems to carry a rather derogatory connotation. May be OK for young persons to use but probably best not for upstanding folk of a certain age who read SF. :disguised_face:

Young people have their own parlance, which is lovely. I don’t speak with many young French but my solo pro-bono student is most informative. I found it quite a challenge explaining to him that there are many words in English that can have completely different meaning depending on the context. And the tone.

For instance, you would think “dear” is definitively positive but in certain cases it is actually quite the opposite. “I wasn’t talking to you, dear”. The English are absolute masters of ‘the tone’.

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Sorry, I assumed you’d drifted off towards your pedalboard!

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Quite agree Jane

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“Everything” includes the kitchen sink. That’s why you have to exclude it. I’ve only encountered it as “to take” everything but the kitchen sink. This implies that the KS is the last thing you would want/need/be able to take.

It seems my education is quite indecent, but I’m sorry that I offended you, Jane.

Meuf origin being femme backwards ,so I’m told by mine.

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Quite right! ‘Verlan’ is the l’envers language that authority should not understand but has now entered mainstream language.

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One of the dubiously useful aspects of the Frantastique on-line language course is that it does teach the more common Verlan words and also some Arabic words that have become common parlance after being introduced mainly in the South. I don’t use any of them but it’s certainly handy to know them…

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You are not alone… :rofl: :rofl:

Language, its uses and meanings… constantly changing according to the whims of each generation… and what is going-on…

Even now, OH and I will indicate and mumble “muriel”… when we spot one… then, of course, we’re both laughing aloud…
Folk might be forgiven for thinking we’re crazy… or they might not…

Hilda Ogden has a lot to answer for :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

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I’m not offended, but it certainly seems to me that it is a phrase used by people with a more limited vocabulary.