Iliff-King phrasebook Iliff-King phrasebook

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definition

my aunt, having made a telephone call, is feeling very much better expression or saying

Mischievous mistranslation of the French expression Tant pis, tant mieux

Origin

Unknown, but has the feel of a Punch cartoon

Collector

Mum – 1960s
Pauline Iliff (Dixon) – mother of Mark, JM, G & Bel

Notes

In French pis is pronounced pee (and mieux m’yuh).

The phrase literally translates as “so much the better, so much the worse”. (In French, generally only the relevant half would be used.) People who like to appear sophisticated by using French terms while speaking English use it to mean something like “you win some, you lose some”

Submitted: 27/01/2022 by Mark ● Last updated: 22/12/2024 11:47 by Mark

any thoughts?

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