French Expression of the Day: Botter en touche
Both politicians and rugby players tend to be skilled with this expression.
Why do I need to know botter en touche?
Because you might want to use this expression to describe someone’s less than forthright response
What does it mean?
Botter en touche – pronounced boat-ay ahn toosh - translates to ‘kick into touch’ and is a term that rugby fans will be familiar with, but in non-athletic conversations, it means to ‘avoid or evade the question.’
'Kick into touch' is used in a rugby and non-rugby sense in English too, but the non-literal meaning has a slightly different sense in English.
In rugby botter en touche means to kick the ball into 'touch' or the sidelines of the pitch, which will cause play to be restarted. It's typically used to either try and get out of a difficult situation or to gain ground.
The verb botter, from the same root as les bottes (boots) means to kick or ‘boot the ball’.
However in English, ‘to kick into touch,’ in a non-sporting sense means to put something off or to cause an idea or project to be halted or abandoned.
In French, it is most commonly used to describe someone who is seeking to avoid a difficult or embarrassing question. In English, you might say this person is ‘beating around the bush’ or ‘dodging the question.’
Use it like this
L'avocat a posé plusieurs questions pointues au Président, mais celui-ci n'a pas répondu de manière explicite. Au lieu de cela, il a botté en touche. – The lawyer asked several pointed questions to the President, but he did not respond explicitly. Instead, he evaded the question.
S'il vous plaît, ne bottez pas en touche. Je voudrais que vous soyez honnête avec moi et que vous me donniez une réponse complète. – Please don’t dodge the question. I would like for you to be honest with me and give me a thorough answer.
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Why do I need to know botter en touche?
Because you might want to use this expression to describe someone’s less than forthright response
What does it mean?
Botter en touche – pronounced boat-ay ahn toosh - translates to ‘kick into touch’ and is a term that rugby fans will be familiar with, but in non-athletic conversations, it means to ‘avoid or evade the question.’
'Kick into touch' is used in a rugby and non-rugby sense in English too, but the non-literal meaning has a slightly different sense in English.
In rugby botter en touche means to kick the ball into 'touch' or the sidelines of the pitch, which will cause play to be restarted. It's typically used to either try and get out of a difficult situation or to gain ground.
The verb botter, from the same root as les bottes (boots) means to kick or ‘boot the ball’.
However in English, ‘to kick into touch,’ in a non-sporting sense means to put something off or to cause an idea or project to be halted or abandoned.
In French, it is most commonly used to describe someone who is seeking to avoid a difficult or embarrassing question. In English, you might say this person is ‘beating around the bush’ or ‘dodging the question.’
Use it like this
L'avocat a posé plusieurs questions pointues au Président, mais celui-ci n'a pas répondu de manière explicite. Au lieu de cela, il a botté en touche. – The lawyer asked several pointed questions to the President, but he did not respond explicitly. Instead, he evaded the question.
S'il vous plaît, ne bottez pas en touche. Je voudrais que vous soyez honnête avec moi et que vous me donniez une réponse complète. – Please don’t dodge the question. I would like for you to be honest with me and give me a thorough answer.
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