French expression: Entre chien et loup

Comments

April 13, 2012 at 11:47 am

(1) CT says:

I would have thought it referred to how dogs are behaved and man’s best friend during the day and roam wild with the pack at night. Kind of like you turn from the man into the beast when the sun goes down.

April 13, 2012 at 2:01 pm

(2) Bevan Davies says:

Ms. Lawless,

I try to keep up with your wonderful French lessons as often as possible.

You may be interested to know that a French novel by Irène Némirovsky, Les Chiens et Les Loups, [The Dogs and the Wolves] was published in France in 1940 and reprinted in English in 2009. She was the author of Suite Française and other books. The expression you mention here is quite apropos for Ms. Némirovsky’s book, and I am sure that she meant to reference it in her title.

The superb translation was done by Sandra Smith, who is at Cambridge.

Thanks.

Bevan Davies
Kennebunk, ME

April 13, 2012 at 9:18 pm

(3) Dick Coleman says:

I can’t resist giving my own impression that it means dogs are day creatures, and wolves are night creatures. I don’t know if it is true, or thought to be, but that was my immediate reaction.
I love your blog and emails, I have subscribed for years.

April 14, 2012 at 3:00 am

(4) Clare Peniston-Bird says:

I thought that this was going to translate as “between a rock and a hard place” which just shows how easily one can “get the wrong end of the stick”.

Thank you as always for this wonderful site Laura.
Cordialement, Clare

April 14, 2012 at 3:48 am

(5) Mohammed says:

Hi,

I don’t know whether this expression can also depict someone in a difficult situation among many dangers, similar to the expression “between the devil and the deep see” because it uses dog and wolf which are wild animals so there is some fear addition to the dusk time.

Thank you

April 17, 2012 at 5:16 am

(6) hal says:

G’day,

Great expression, interestingly “au crépuscule” has moved into the English language as crepuscular, meaning creatures of the dusk, such as bats. Sadly like so many really excellent words it is not well known nor widely used.

hal.

April 23, 2012 at 2:44 pm

(7) Nonye says:

It’s wonderfully poetic. I love French.