this post was submitted on 03 Dec 2023
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Today I Learned

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[–] [email protected] 188 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (7 children)

In French, baguette means "long stick". The bread name comes from this meaning, as it is a long, thin kind of bread :) We also call drum sticks "baguette", as well as anything wooden, long and thin, like a conductor baton or a magic wand!

[–] [email protected] 40 points 11 months ago

So basically, if you want to eat a baguette in Paris, make sure you're in the right store.

[–] [email protected] 38 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Yes in French we call it “Baguette de Pain” so Long stick of bread. And baguette magique is magical long stick.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 11 months ago (1 children)

“Baguette de Pain”

expected this to be a stick of pain.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago

I know that breadfull.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago (1 children)

You guys know there are more than just sticks out there right?

[–] [email protected] 15 points 11 months ago

Yes, there are baguettes too.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 11 months ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 15 points 11 months ago

Unfortunately people use the English word for it which sucks because this is correct and way better.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

We can use "perche à selfie", perche being a very long baton, itself being a big stick!

[–] [email protected] 20 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 17 points 11 months ago

Ceci n'est pas une baguette

(While I was playing around with the Bing image generator, it gave me this, which I thought was too amazing not to share):

[–] [email protected] 16 points 11 months ago (3 children)
[–] [email protected] 37 points 11 months ago (1 children)

They call it a baguette royale because of the metric system

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago

Now I'm hungry for quarters with cheese.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 11 months ago

I'd call it a "baton", because it's bigger

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago

Baguette un quartre?

[–] [email protected] 11 points 11 months ago

anything wooden, long and thin

So you're saying that Jacob Rees-Mogg is considered a baguette in France?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago

Please stop doing this.

[–] [email protected] 65 points 11 months ago (2 children)

And because they mostly just say "wand" in the Harry Potter films, the French dub always uses the shorter "baguette" which made it pretty funny for me as a child learning French.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Is the wand shop called a bakery?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago (3 children)

The French have like 5 different words for "bakery"

[–] [email protected] 15 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Boulanger (bread maker), pâtissier (cake maker).. what are the other 3?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago (1 children)

marché du pain, prêt à manger, chez ta mére

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago

That last one 😂😂

[–] [email protected] 11 points 11 months ago

But only one word for all long stick-like things... Go figure

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago

That's just more civilized. Only barbarians such as anglos mix up businesses that make bread to those that make pastry .

[–] [email protected] 16 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Wait, does the word "baton'' not exist in French? Because the in-universe French school is named Beauxbatons. Would Beauxbaguette have been more accurate?

[–] [email protected] 12 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Baton is also a similar word yeah, but maybe more reserved for bigger sticks like the ones you throw to your dog, baguettes are smaller more delicate.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

That's interesting, because for English-speakers, a baton is more closely associated with a delicate little conductor's baton, though I suppose those big twirly sticks with pompoms that cheerleaders throw are also called batons.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Is a police beating stick not also called a baton?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

police beating stick

Ahhh, the wonderful ambiguities of english grammar

[–] [email protected] 21 points 11 months ago (1 children)

As a woman, I read "magic wand" and I get horny.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 11 months ago

Baguette Hitachi

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago

Other funny things. Underwear is “slip” (pronounced like sleep) and bathing suit is “slip de bain”

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

Reason fuckin one million to not take the French seriously

[–] [email protected] 11 points 11 months ago (2 children)

They call tea "the". The what???

They have played us for absolute fools.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago

ptsd flashbacks intensify

[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Years of research and development and yet no practical use found for words having gender. They have played us for absolute fools!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

And worse, even native speakers don’t know them all. It’s 50/50 whether it’s un or une airplane, bus, trampoline…, depending of the speaker.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Am French, can confirm, gendered languages (there are lots of these!) would probably be better without them... But eh, languages in general are not known to be logical and practical. And English is not an exception!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Yeah English is really silly. I can only apologise for through / though / thought etc. The ough did used to make sense in pronunciation, but has long since fallen out of use.

Any good resources spring to mind for learning French btw? I’ve been smashing through Duolingo but it’s a 6/10 at best tbh.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago

Le Weight D'Shake

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago
[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (2 children)

You would think after 17 years they would have improved the Google Translate a bit more than they have.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Well, it actually translates to "baguette magique", so nothing to fix, here at least.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

For one, it’s not google translate. And for another the translation is correct. I actually took a look at Harry Potter with french dub as I couldn’t believe it either and they definitely called their wands "baguette". Also confirmed by other comments here.

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