-dar's on the blink, Mazza!
In this one class I had last semester we didn't really do much in the tutorials. We had "groups" that were supposed to be "discussing" "issues" but it was mostly a bit of a general gabfest, which was sort of unfortunate since I happened to have drawn a different time slot from anyone I knew. I ended up tagging along to a group of people who all knew each other and had had shared classes last semester as well, I was a bit of the odd one out but I tried to play it cool, join in the conversation when it was in my purview and keep quiet when they were obviously referencing stuff they had all done together/knew about each other. I managed to keep the faux passes (...fauxes pas? faux pas'?) down to a minimum for most of the semester, but alas.

About a month ago a girl, let's call her A, was drawing on the hand of a guy, let's call him B. She painstakingly wrote "I [heart]" in a pretty curlicued font, and the table was joking about what B was going to heart. Fairly innocuous conversation, it appeared, so I was participating. I wasn't even the one who brought up vaginas, I was just the stupid twat who said "Unless you don't heart vaginas, hur hur."

"Mm." He said, looking a little taken aback. The conversation moved on.

Five minutes later, me doodling on my notes as the others discuss an event they were planning:

A: "Oh, you have to bring your boyfriend, B, he's adorable!"
C: "Oh yes, I can't believe the rest of us still haven't met him!"
A: "Go on show them some pictures on your mobile!"

I tried very hard to sink into the table.
(Lieutenant Colonel Oblivious brought to you by intravenous sugar, Mon 1 Dec 2008, 12:45, 7 replies)

I cringe as I write this...
.... but I don't understand the second part.

Hang on, its just sunk in that B is gay !!!

Actually this assumes that he is gay, rather than bi...

I think I'll shut up now.
(paof2 Nude might not be rude, but rude could be nude..., Mon 1 Dec 2008, 12:54, closed)

faux pas
doesnt change - im not even sure it's proper French as I've never heard a French person use it.

Dictionary.com says it means 'false path' but Im not too sure. Ok, 'faux' means false and it's spelled the same in the single as the plural in the masculine with the feminine being 'fausse' and 'fausses' and 'pas' must be the root of the English word 'path' but again, I've never seen it used. Usually they use 'chemin' or 'route'. That is not to say 'pas' is never used.

In French, the verb 'falloir' is roughly equivalent to 'must' in English so I always thought it was an abbreviation of 'il ne faut pas' which again, roughly means, 'one mustn't'.

I am standing to be corrected.
(bazmorningstar efil4nat3b, Mon 1 Dec 2008, 12:59, closed)

lol the grammar police have fast cars
I have no idea what the origin of the term is, haven't really thought about it. I've only ever heard "pas" sued in french in the form ne [something] pas. I assume it's just one of those bastardized phrases that has no particular relation to the mother tongue anymore.
(Lieutenant Colonel Oblivious brought to you by intravenous sugar, Mon 1 Dec 2008, 13:09, closed)

nah, i betcha I get found out by an even bigger pedant before the day is out.
:)
(bazmorningstar efil4nat3b, Mon 1 Dec 2008, 13:19, closed)

You're right that it is the same in plural and singular
But I think my Dad once told me that it means falling over, in French, or something like that.

Although, this could well be wrong.
(The Kwyjibo A big, dumb, balding North American ape., Mon 1 Dec 2008, 13:50, closed)

Faux pas
"A false step"

Pas meaning to step
( rofl harris, Mon 1 Dec 2008, 14:02, closed)

as in
pas de deux, etc. A plural of it in French is determined by if it has "un" or "des/les" before it
Falloir is a modal verb, in english they are verbs that don't take "to" with them - should, must etc.
(micky2shoes has more shoes than feet, Mon 1 Dec 2008, 15:41, closed)