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Unctuous

(16 Posts)
loopylou Thu 26-Mar-15 20:37:17

Reminds me of DS when he spent a year in Austria during university course, working for a light aircraft manufacturer and learning German. He said he carefully asked his work colleagues if they'd had a good session of football but it somehow came out as asking if they'd had good periods hmm
Lost in translation obviously!

Ana Thu 26-Mar-15 19:54:22

And that...!

granjura Thu 26-Mar-15 19:52:30

Sound hilarious to me ;)

Ana Thu 26-Mar-15 19:50:10

It may sound appetising in French, but 'an unctuous pudding' said in a Hairy Biker accent just sounds disgusting!

granjura Thu 26-Mar-15 19:39:51

It does sound appetising in French, honest.

Ce yogurt est très onctueux - sounds delish.

Yes, it does which is why I wrote ALSO in capitals ;)

Nelliemoser Thu 26-Mar-15 19:27:42

O for heavens sake! That does not even sound appetising.
Unctous suggests unpleasantly slimy.

"Je suis pleine" is alsoa way of saying=pregnant isn't it?

granjura Thu 26-Mar-15 19:19:30

LOL- je suis pleine can ALSO mean I am drunk!

I made so many such mistakes, but t'other way round, when I first lived in London (45 years at the week-end).

amarmai Thu 26-Mar-15 19:16:56

Absent, I made the same mistake in French when asked by my host family if I wanted more food. I replied' Non, merci. Je suis pleine.' !

pompa Thu 26-Mar-15 18:51:25

Sounds like unctuous could describe Raymond Blanc (IMO), can't stand him.

absent Thu 26-Mar-15 18:50:50

Raymond Blanc can be forgiven for his misuse of the word in that case. It's always difficult when similar words in different languages have divergent meanings. Embarazada is one that I learned the hard way when I was first learning Spanish; I assumed that it meant embarrassed but, in fact, it means pregnant. blush

grumppa Thu 26-Mar-15 18:47:13

For me it only has a negative meaning in English. My French dictionary links it with extreme unction:- this food could kill???

granjura Thu 26-Mar-15 18:40:36

Not surprising coming from Raymond Blanc- as it is a direct translation of 'onctueux' meaning something like thick, smooth and delicious.

merlotgran Thu 26-Mar-15 18:37:18

I hate it. Just doesn't sound right when used to describe food.

Ana Thu 26-Mar-15 18:31:10

I agree, pompa!

I questioned the use of the word on a cookery thread not long ago, and was roundly put in my place - apparently they're all at it, Hairy Bikers included...hmm

absent Thu 26-Mar-15 18:28:59

Another piece of pretentious chef-speak. I suppose they mean rich tasting (positive) rather than oily or greasy (negative) but this is, at best, an archaic usage and very silly.

pompa Thu 26-Mar-15 18:18:06

Is it just me or is the word "Unctuous" being used by chefs, Hairy Bikers and now Raymond Blanc more often. According to my dictionary, it does
not seem appropriate to describe pleasant food.

1 Excessively flattering or ingratiating; oily:

2(Chiefly of minerals) having a greasy or soapy feel.