The wrong end of the stick
- Thread starter soph37
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prendre qqchose par le mauvais bout exists as an idiom in French, and I'd say it's pretty close in meaning to the English equivalent.
Les autorités parisiennes semblent avoir compris de travers.
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"Les autorités parisiennes semblent s'y être prises comme des manches"...
Also my favorite by far.prendre qqchose par le mauvais bout
Well... I didn't know 'prendre qq chose par le mauvais bout', so I checked it, and I only found this in the TLF:
Prendre une personne par le bon (ou le mauvais) bout. Tenir compte ou non de son caractère, de ses habitudes, de ses sentiments.
I would have suggested:
'comprendre de travers'
'entendre de travers'
'raisonner de travers'
Of course, we lose the metaphor of 'the wrong end'.
Prendre une personne par le bon (ou le mauvais) bout. Tenir compte ou non de son caractère, de ses habitudes, de ses sentiments.
I would have suggested:
'comprendre de travers'
'entendre de travers'
'raisonner de travers'
Of course, we lose the metaphor of 'the wrong end'.
The next entry in the TLF says Prendre, commencer une affaire ou un travail par le bon (ou le mauvais) bout. Débuter dans de bonnes ou de mauvaises conditions.Well... I didn't know 'prendre qq chose par le mauvais bout', so I checked it, and I only found this in the TLF:
Prendre une personne par le bon (ou le mauvais) bout. Tenir compte ou non de son caractère, de ses habitudes, de ses sentiments.
OK, I admit I failed to read the definition thoroughly.
But still now, it seems to mean 'start' something rather than 'take' to mean 'understand'. What do you think JDS?
But still now, it seems to mean 'start' something rather than 'take' to mean 'understand'. What do you think JDS?
As an American, I had never heard this expression before -which I, also, found to mean: s'abuser. Behold: http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/get+the+wrong+end+of+the+stick.
I was only familiar with the expression to get the short end of the stick, & I believe that this conerns un tirage au sort (and to suffer the lot of the loser, ie., 'the short stick').
-Please just ignore me if I'm missing something here.
not really 's'abuser', David. Rather 'se méprendre'.
Get the short end of the stick: tirer (à) la courte paille
Get the short end of the stick: tirer (à) la courte paille
Thanks 2x, Moon Palace.
you're welcome, David.
Yes indeedBut still now, it seems to mean 'start' something rather than 'take' to mean 'understand'. What do you think JDS?
. Prendre meaning s'attaquer = to start.Now holding the wrong end of a stick means you first picked it - are there examples of use, in English, where prendre par le mauvais bout could not apply?
Yes indeed
- Do you mean that we could not apply this phrase for this purpose?
- No, you are taking the wrong end of the stick. I mean this phrase can only be translated by 'prendre par le mauvais bout' when it will convey the idea of a start. (which it does not in this example, and saying 'non, tu prends la chose par le mauvais bout here would be real weird, wouldn't it? Here I'd go for 'tu comprends de travers').
Well - the difference of meaning is thin between You're holding the wrong end of the stick (present tense) and tu as pris les choses par le mauvais bout (past tense)
Well - the difference of meaning is thin between You're holding the wrong end of the stick (present tense) and tu as pris les choses par le mauvais bout (past tense)
Of course if you change the tenses you induce the same meaning.
I was focused on lexis and overlooked the tense manipulation.