Raven wrote:But in that context it means "sh*t" as in "oh sh*t!" as in damn, but I think it's a stronger expletive than the latter
Seeing as you disagree with me, Raven, could you please outline your thought processes that led you to this conclusion. My
Collins Robert French Dictionary (5th edition [1997]) gives lots of examples of the use of
merde, many of which clearly indicate that the word is routinely used in situations where in English we might use
crap,
hell,
bloody hell,
damn,
bollo**s,
for heaven's sake and, of course,
sh*t. However, the strength of the word depends on the context in which it is used, so, for example, if your car breaks down your anger might lead you to say,
Quelle voiture de merde!, which could be rendered in English as
What a shi**y car! or even
What a fu**ing awful car! On the other hand, a statement such as
Ils sont venus pour foutre la merde would be rendered in English as just
They came to cause trouble.
Il ne m'arrive que des merdes is
I've had one bloody problem after another, and
Tu as de la merde dans les yeux? is simply
Are you blind or what? Let's look at the situation in Nuttyman's comic strip, difficult for me since I have never seen any
Smitten strip. I am, therefore, making some assumptions. It sounds as though a young French boy called Marcel fancies a young English girl called Sally, and invites her out to supper. I take it that this is to suggest the Frenchness of Marcel, the idea that this is how they do this sort of thing in France, to give him a kind of aura of sophistication. Sally turns him down, so Marcel is sad, possibly exasperated when he says
Merde! Pas de l'amour pour moi! The strength of the word
merde is determined by his disappointment, based on how he had imagined the evening panning out. Now my sensitivities are leaning towards flowers, a few hearts drawn in the relevant panels, and possibly a chaste kiss on the cheek, but definitely no fumblings or leg-overs. This is
The Dandy after all. Marcel's use of the word
merde must therefore be seen as much less aggressive than it would have been if he had dropped an anvil on his foot. Regarding its use in
The Dandy, I venture to suggest that the great majority of the comic's readership would not understand it anyway, although there is always the chance that the children's parents or older siblings might tell them. Regardless of the age range of its readers (5-8?, 6-9?) I don't see its use as in any way a problem. Those who disagree with me could always consult MikeD, but there isn't really any point because he would only tell you that the artist is pushing the boundaries.
A request. Could someone please post the strip so that we can all see it.
Strange censorship! the i became a 1, instead of the word getting blanked.
