Help with a phrase

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Permalink Reply by lauris on June 9, 2011 at 4:38pm

"aille" is the subjonctive present of "aller", there is probably something missing. I guess the original phrase was something like : "Il faut qu'il / que j' aille prendre une verveine avec pépé"

"Verveine" is a plant that is used for some relaxing beverage (is vervain something that exist?).

"Pépé" is just a familiar form of "Grand-père"

 

So, if I translate your phrase with my asumption, it gives me :

"I/he need(s) to go have a vervain with grandpa"

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Permalink Reply by Neil Coffey on June 9, 2011 at 5:05pm

I am definitely not the world's plant expert, but I think it's called "verbena" in English: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbena

 

That said, I don't think I've ever seen it served in an English tearoom...

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Permalink Reply by Michael Hopper on June 9, 2011 at 5:13pm

Lauris/Neil,

 

Thanks for the repilies. Yes, vervain is a plant ok and yes, there is some more text which precedes the phrase, the whole thing is as follows:

il faut quand meme que Joe aille prendre une verveine avec pepe

 

What I am looking for is the meaning of the expression, the equivalent in English, i.e. what are the French getting at when they suggest someone needs to go and have a vervain with grandpa. It is clearly idiomatic so the question is what does it refer to?

 

Thanks,

 

Michael.

 

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Permalink Reply by lauris on June 9, 2011 at 5:31pm

Without any context, this phrase has no deeper meaning. It just means "Joe really has to have a vervain with grandpa".

But, vervain is oftenly associated with old people, and calm and boring activities.

For instance, a command joke in a bar :

"Je n'ai pas envie de bière, je vais juste prendre un coca

- tu ne veux pas une verveine aussi?"

It is used to point out that someone is acting old, or has some leashed behavior.

But in your phrase, it sounds weird.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Hopper on June 9, 2011 at 5:54pm

It begins to make sense to me now, it has been said at the end of a protracted business negotiation, by the purchaser about the seller, so I am thinking that it means Joe really needs to calm down a bit, come into the real world, something like 'wake up and smell the roses' perhaps??

 

Could it be used like that?

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Permalink Reply by Neil Coffey on June 9, 2011 at 7:29pm

I don't know about the "waking up" bit, but it does sound like they mean he needs to "calm down".

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Permalink Reply by Jack Johnson on June 9, 2011 at 10:22pm

It is a bit strane but it means :

"ouch, to have a tea with grandpa"

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Neil Coffey on June 10, 2011 at 1:47am

Jack -- it turns out (see above) that by "aille" they really do mean the subjunctive, not "aïe" -- the sentence was incomplete.

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