It Means What?!

This meme first appeared on my Facebook page on March 21, 2019.

Back in high school (much further back than I care to acknowledge), a friend of mine was taking French as her foreign language. We were talking on the bus ride home, and she taught me what “merde” meant. Now, whether she learned this from her actual teacher or it was a whispered conversation among her classmates, I forget (I did say it was a long time ago, right?).

Years later, the movie “The Mask” featuring Jim Carrey opened in theaters. In one particular scene, he’s attempting to woo the object of his affection (Cameron Diaz) while wearing a beret, ascot, and striped shirt and using a fairly passable French accent. After a host of suggestive jokes involving croissants and vichyssoise, the police show up to arrest him. He mutters, “Merde…” before attempting to flee.

How Could I Forget?!

So I have NO IDEA why I was taken aback last year when I read an article detailing the supposed history of how “merde” meant, well, “poop” (this blog is family-friendly, so that’s the word I’m going with). That’s what this inspired this meme, originally published on my Facebook page on March 21, 2019.

Back in the days of ol’ France (clearly, I’m not a history teacher), patrons would arrive to the venue via horse and carriage to see a ballet performance. If there was an abundance of manure on the road in front of the building, it meant that there would be a packed house. So “merde” became a well-wish for an amazing performance in front of a full audience.

I have no explanation for how I failed to connect the two before then, but this face perfectly encapsulates my reaction to the moment I did piece it together.

I only recently learned that the appropriate response to “merde” is “oui.” Supposedly, saying “thank you” negates the well-wish. Huh…

We haven’t heard “merde” very much this year with all of the closures due to the pandemic. But one thing is for sure – our dancers can’t wait until they hear it again!

Work hard, have fun! – Danielle

For more dance meme fun, check out Welcome to the Circus!

To see where I got my info for this post, click here.