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> I’m native French speaker and do not understand what you mean with “avant la lettre”. That translates to “before the letter”, what do you mean? Metaphorical
by mistersquid 1mo ago
> I’m native French speaker and do not understand what you mean with “avant la lettre”. That translates to “before the letter”, what do you mean?
Metaphorical language, of which French is a rich source, often prevents native speakers from understanding. Literal translations are of no avail.
> avant la lettre : before the letter : before the (specified) word or concept existed [0]
[0] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/avant%20la%20lettre https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/avant%20la%20lett...
- dgellow 1mo agoTIL, I should have just googled it, I assumed it was a bad auto complete Thanks!
- BuyMyBitcoins 1mo agoAs a non-French speaker, I had assumed a native speaker would suspect that this was another instance of English taking something from French and mangling it into something worse.