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French word of the day - Tocard

The Local France
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French word of the day - Tocard
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond"

Encountered someone that you consider to be a fool, an idiot, a waste of space or a general dumbass? Well you obviously need a word to mutter about them.

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Why do I need to know tocard?

So that you can mutter it under your breath the next time you see someone wearing a plastic bag over their head on public transport to protect themselves from the coronavirus.

What does it mean?

Tocard (alternatively spelled toquard) is an insult to say that someone is an 'idiot', 'useless' or 'incapable of anything'.

If you call someone un tocard, you’re saying that they are un nul, un zero.

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Why now?

Well, since the spread of the coronavirus started to get some people in some parts of the world slightly over-pannicky, we thought it would be a nice occasion to learn another French insult (faithful readers will know we take this very seriously).

READ ALSO The nine very best French insults (for use when you're very, very cross)

 

How do I use it?

It's quite condescending, so don't say it too loud if you use it about someone you don't know.

But if you decide someone is being a fool, you could mutter Mais quel tocard, celle-là - But what an idiot, that one.

It's not just for virus-hit times of course, you can use it for any kind of common-or-garden foolishness that you encounter in daily life.

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