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Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

écu de gueule

English translation:

What you took to be a shield was in fact a 2 CV door

Added to glossary by jmleger
Oct 10, 2011 14:57
12 yrs ago
1 viewer *
French term

écu de gueule

French to English Art/Literary Art, Arts & Crafts, Painting
I'm at a bit of a loss as to what this sentence might mean, and I believe my problem hinges on "écu de gueule":

Les vertus du châtelain seront d'autant plus remarquables que le seigneur fera de temps à autre la preuve de sa roture ; ce que vous avez pris pour un écu de gueule était une portière de deux-chevaux.

The sentence is from a rather satirical literary novel: my guess is that the author is making an analogy between vertu/écu de gueule and roture/une portière de deux-chevaux, but I still don't get it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Proposed translations (English)
4 +2 What you took to be a shield was in fact a 2 CV door
4 red coat of arms
3 what seemed to be an emblazoned portcullis
Change log

Oct 16, 2011 12:41: jmleger Created KOG entry

Discussion

B D Finch Oct 10, 2011:
Puns It looks like a pun to me. There is clearly a play on the fact that a 2CV is not a very aristocratic car.
Layla de Chabot Oct 10, 2011:
No puns here even if "écu de gueule" sounds a bit like "coup de gueule" ;)
A 2 CV door may look like a reversed shield...
And "faire preuve de sa roture" just means the lord is being humble.
jmleger Oct 10, 2011:
@cc in nyc And 2cv's with seat belts don't need to carry insurance, because they are considered backpacks.
Helen Shiner Oct 10, 2011:
@gflan Do you have any wider context? Such as the reason for, or actions surrounding, this comment? Is it literally being whisked past something hanging on a wall - i.e. you may have read it as a coat-of-arms or some such, but actually it was the door of my old 2CV, or something more specific/other?
cc in nyc Oct 10, 2011:
Agree with petitavoine and jmleger As context, I imagine that the author (or narrator) is escorting a visitor around a castle whose resident "seigneur" is a part-time car mechanic/hobbyist. Doors on old 2CVs were not very large or substantial, so might be taken (at first glance) in such a setting for a shield of some sort. [A 2CV once bumped into me on the sidewalk, resulting in a run in the back of my stocking. True story.]
Jocelyne Cuenin Oct 10, 2011:
de gueule (rouge) est un terme spécifique que le commun des mortels ne comprend pas. Si vous voulez rester dans le même registre, en anglais on a coat of arms/blazon *gules*. http://www.proz.com/kudoz/french_to_english/poetry_literatur...
jmleger Oct 10, 2011:
Definitely not To the Manor Born
Philippa Smith Oct 10, 2011:
I read it as the lord of the manor sometimes showing signs of actually being a 'commoner', for instance, what you (the visitor from the outside world, I suppose?) take to be a bit of noble heraldry is actually just the door of an old car (you could use "old car" rather than "2CV" - which is necessarily old - if you want to de-French it). I don't think there necessarily has to be anything more to it, other than a possible use of homonyms, "vertu/écu", which you won't be able to reproduce, but you could find some other pretty words!
jmleger Oct 10, 2011:
It means You show what a commoner you are by mistaking a car door for a nobility shield.
kashew Oct 10, 2011:
Maybe some play on words too? coup de gueule, locution
Sens 1 Dispute entre plusieurs personnes [Familier].
Sens 2 Expression d'un mécontentement émise par une seule personne [Familier]. Synonyme protestation

Proposed translations

+2
7 mins
Selected

What you took to be a shield was in fact a 2 CV door

Gueule in heraldry refers to the color red if I am not mistaken

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Note added at 9 mins (2011-10-10 15:06:54 GMT)
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roture means non-noble. Un roturier is a commoner.
Note from asker:
Thanks for your suggestions so far, but I understand the meaning of the individual terms (roture, ecu de geule, etc.), but I'm having trouble grasping the analogy, or at least, how to render it into something that an English reader would understand.
Thank you, your comments were the most helpful!
Peer comment(s):
agree cc in nyc
3 hrs
agree Layla de Chabot : a car door could only be mistaken for a shield (maybe from a little distance though)
6 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
9 mins

red coat of arms

gueule means red

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Note added at 11 minutos (2011-10-10 15:09:31 GMT)
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http://www.provence-ventoux-village.com/3.cfm?p=581-coat-arm...

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Note added at 17 minutos (2011-10-10 15:14:41 GMT)
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http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Couleur_(héraldique)
Note from asker:
Thanks Emiliano. I know that gueule means "red" here, but I'm still not sure what the author is getting at.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Layla de Chabot : "coat of arms" although meaning "surcoat" in some occasions, mainly refers to blazons, heraldry, and does not convey the image of a "shield" (which somehow looks like a car door) - that the "écu" does.
6 hrs
Something went wrong...
3 hrs

what seemed to be an emblazoned portcullis

was really the door of his Austin Morris.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Layla de Chabot : I don't find a portcullis very similar to a car door (apart from the shape)
2 hrs
It was a pun based on the rhyme (portcullis, Morris), while retaining the references to heraldry (emblazoned portcullis) and bottom-of-the-range cars.
Something went wrong...
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