Tweedpipe

Now look what you've done...... From now onwards whenever I see the following faces I'll be thinking 'Bob Expectation'.

dmu

"Thanks for the memory...."

Novocastrian

There is an english equivalent to that definition = "milksop".

dmu

Thanks for that, I had a Senior moment and knew it was a bit like "fop", but didn't think to add the milky bit.

dmu

Can any one suggest a French equivalent to "complacent"? I'd say that "complaisant" is a faux ami, and, IMO, "suffisant" or "content de soi" are too arrogant or smug for that particular state of mind,..
Maybe I've got the wrong word in English (another Senior Moment) - I mean, when you've accepted/are resigned to your lot, without making an effort to get out of the resulting "comfort zone"....
Any one?

BuckinghamshireBoy

Dans un mot, non.

Good question. Not that I remember being in a situation requiring the use of that term, if push came to shove I would likely go for "acceptant", delivered in a broad Buckinghamshire accent. If that didn't work, I'd likely have to add on "et je m'en fi***".

Does this mean that complacency does not have a toehold in l'Hexagone?

dmu

This occurred to me, too! I was trying to explain to a French person that I risked becoming too complacent (or whatever) during the second half of our confinement. A sort of Stockholm syndrome during a hostage situation....

Novocastrian

satisfait? Or did you mean compliant? conciliante.

dmu

"Suffisante" is the best I've found in French, but I still think it's too arrogant, in the sense of a smug know-all. Whereas I want to get over the idea of willingly accepting/being resigned to a unpleasant situation, without preparing for the risk of it worsening. According to Webster, "complacent" seems to correspond, but that doesn't help with the French equivalent. As said, the concept probably doesn't exist here, rather like "crises de foie" don't exist in English!

BuckinghamshireBoy

I asked eldest SD, she said that she thought that "suffisant(e)" would be the closest to the English term.

BuckinghamshireBoy

Salut mes amis!

A question; having recently had my eyes opened to an English term (noun to be precise) that I had previously considered to be relatively inoffensive, but not, according to some others ...

This one (spoilered below) I also consider as inoffensive - despite what some of those "all knowing 'murcan" websites would have one believe.




To me, this expression (very likely accompanied by "the shoulder shrug") is just saying "everyone has their own troubles" and nothing more.

Or did I have a mis-spent middle-age in Suisse Romande?