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