[78-L] FRENCH QUESTION

[Bertrand CHAUMELLE]

Yes: 1813.

BC
Le 2 nov. 11, à 17:43, Malcolm Rockwell a écrit :

>
> So, does the French word zut predate 1915?
> Hmmm.
> Mal
>
> *******
>
> On 11/2/2011 1:14 AM, Kristjan Saag wrote:
>> On the other hand...
>> If you google for the actual use of "très zut" in French you'll find 
>> it
>> used in everyday language. Like here:
>> Excuse-moi, tu parle trés trés zut!
>> Ce non acceptable..
>>
>> ...which literally means:
>>
>> Excuse me, you talk very very damn!
>> That's not acceptable
>>
>> In the song's context
>>
>> Had a spree in gay Paree
>> Those mademoiselles were mighty cute, très zut!
>>
>> that would mean something like:
>>
>> Those mademoiselles were mighty cute, oh damn!
>>
>> ...which, when followed by the usual praise of Connecticut, would be
>> quite logical: they weren't cute enough.
>> Compare with the previous verse which praises Italy, but ends with a
>> comparison with Connecticut:
>>
>> Dined in Capri, thought it was swell,
>> Sampled some wine in a Naples hotel,
>> Though I was showed to road to Rome,
>> Connecticut still will be my home
>>
>> Bing doesn't stress the French expression, though, which either means 
>> he
>> didn't understand the joke, or - my theory is wrong.
>> Kristjan
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 2011-11-02 10:32, Ray Kilcoyne wrote:
>>> Thanks to everyone for their suggestions.  I was waiting for 
>>> Bertrand or
>>> Patrick to chime in, but no luck.  It looks like the most likely 
>>> answer is
>>> that "très zut!" is half French and half English, as in zoot, with a 
>>> meaning
>>> of awesome, cool, nice.  I had never heard zoot used that way but 
>>> there is
>>> some evidence that it was, back in the 40's.
>>> RayK
>>> In the Bing Crosby/Judy Garland recording of CONNECTICUT Bing 
>>> interjects the
>>> phrase "très zut".  Can anyone tell me what exactly is the meaning?  
>>> I
>>> believe it dates from around 1945.  Here it is in context......
>>>
>>> Italy.... was fun to see,
>>> And really gave me quite a boot!
>>> Had a spree in gay Paree,
>>> Those mademoiselles were mighty cute, très zut!
>>>
>>> The song can be heard on YouTube.
>>> RayK
>>>
>>>
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