Cutting Off The Pope's Nose

[Luigi]

[quote name='sistersintigo' date='05 July 2010 - 02:59 PM' timestamp='1278356390' post='2137969']
Luigi responded to my inquiry about his grandmother's ancestors, saying they were French.
Well, Rabelais was French, and he could be MOST irreverent especially where the church was concerned. Out of context, the above saying does take one by surprise. Restore the south-west Europe context, with its centuries of Catholicism as a state religion, and such irreverence and humor takes a natural place.
Remember, the French have a kind of pendulum swing going on, regarding religion. For centuries France was "the daughter of the Church," with excessive religiosity if anything. Then the inevitable swing of the pendulum resulted in the Revolution and the anti-clerical excesses of its regime. The man in the street, so to speak, struggles to survive the rip-tides of these extreme movements. Hence, the humor, in the privacy of the kitchen.
[/quote]

I think you've nailed it. My grandmother was SOOO completely Catholic - theologically, practically, and culturally - that she thought of everything in Catholic terms. She made daily references to the pope, the poor souls, purgatory, mortification, fasting (her birthday was March 19 {the feast of St. Joseph, so her middle name was Josephine} which often falls in Lent, so she never had birthday cake unless March 19th fell on a Sunday), miracles, saints, feast days, bishops, priests, nuns, religious orders, prayers, the Sacred Heart, medals, missals, and many more features of Catholic life. When the people sang "Ora pro nobis" during the litany, my aunt misheard it as "Old rotten doughnuts;" when my mother was two or three, she wanted to "go swimmin'" but it came out as "I wanna go sinnin'"; Grandma thought these mistakes hysterical and they got incorporated into family folklore. So cutting off the tail feather part of the chicken - which looks just like an old Italian man's nose - was cutting off the pope's nose. It wasn't irreverent, it was just a part of daily Catholic life.

[MIKolbe]

[SaintOfVirtue]

[quote name='Nihil Obstat' date='02 July 2010 - 06:09 PM' timestamp='1278119342' post='2137187']
Good call. I guess it depends on specifically what you're saying. For instance, I've heard that something to do with the Virgin Mary is used as a curse.
[/quote]

The candle stick in Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" uses that phrase several times... quite disturbing.

[Nihil Obstat]

[quote name='SaintOfVirtue' date='06 July 2010 - 02:54 PM' timestamp='1278446060' post='2138566']
The candle stick in Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" uses that phrase several times... quite disturbing.
[/quote]
What phrase specifically? In French?

[IgnatiusofLoyola]

[quote name='Nihil Obstat' date='02 July 2010 - 08:09 PM' timestamp='1278119342' post='2137187']
Good call. I guess it depends on specifically what you're saying. For instance, I've heard that something to do with the Virgin Mary is used as a curse.
[/quote]

[quote name='SaintOfVirtue' date='06 July 2010 - 02:54 PM' timestamp='1278446060' post='2138566']
The candle stick in Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" uses that phrase several times... quite disturbing. [img]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/public/style_emoticons/default/mellow.gif[/img]
[/quote]

[quote name='Nihil Obstat' date='06 July 2010 - 06:44 PM' timestamp='1278459868' post='2138731']
What phrase specifically? In French?
[/quote]

Does this mean that, to protect my purity, I shouldn't see Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" because of something said by a [b]candlestick[/b]? And, possibly in French, a language I don't understand? What if I promise to cover my ears at the proper time?

Not that I was planning to see Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" anytime soon, but I've maintained my purity (whatever that means) in the face of much worse things than anything a candlestick is going to say in a Disney movie. If it were a beer mug or a shot glass, perhaps I'd be more wary. But, candlesticks have a generally excellent reputation--after all, we even use them in church. I've certainly never heard a candlestick curse. Perhaps this is simply a "rogue candlestick."

[truthfinder]

[quote name='Resurrexi' date='02 July 2010 - 03:51 PM' timestamp='1278107515' post='2137089']
I know in Quebec words like [i]chalice[/i] and [i]tabernacle[/i] are used in the same manner as certain four-letter words are in the United States.
[/quote]


Using such nasty swear words makes Baby Jesus cry, even in translation.






[img]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/public/style_emoticons/default/ohno.gif[/img]

Funny enough, using these in France probably won't get the same reaction (unless someone knows better)

[truthfinder]

[quote name='IgnatiusofLoyola' date='02 July 2010 - 05:39 PM' timestamp='1278113968' post='2137146']
Huh? Wow, I've never heard of anything like that, and can't imagine those words used that way.

Is there a way that you can give an example, without being too inappropriate? I can't even think of a context where those words could replace 4-letter words.
[/quote]


Crash course in Quebecois swearing: I'm putting it in hide, just for those who really don't want to read it, I tried to keep it as clean as possible.
[i][spoiler]
Chalice[/i] would be akin to sh--, but because of the religious nature, not a good thing to say.
Tabarnak is like f---, but tabarnouche is generally considered milder, why? I have no idea. Tabarnak is considered extremely vulgar, probably worse than f---. This one is probably the worst because you're taking the word for something indicates Something most holy, and then using it as the exact opposite. The more holy the thing or person you're using to swear, the more of an impact it has (that's my theory.) Sometimes other phrases can be used with these words which take down the vulgarness, but still, why anyone would think that using tabarnacle as a swear word was a good idea is beyond me.

With the Virgin Mary, the word for virgin in French is vierge, but it was turned into viarge (?, can't exactly remember) Think along the lines of Whore of Babylon; the word can be used to make fun of the virginity of anyone (or call it into doubt), but also is blasphemous against our Holy Mother.
There are plenty others that are not religious in nature, and generally deal with very disgusting sexual descriptions. So if a French person says "merde" just be thankful they're not blaspheming, or saying truly awful things.
[/spoiler]
And now I've polluted your pure minds, accept my apologies. The only reason I know these is that when learning a language, one must also learn what not to say.