Video Transcript
Hi everyone, I hope you're doing well and having a great day. Welcome to this video where we'll look at a French expression in just a few minutes.
Today, we're going to look at the expression "se prendre un rateau."
Literally, "se prendre un rateau" means getting hit by a rake - you know, the garden tool used to gather leaves - right in the head.
And this expression actually comes from that image. You may have already seen it in cartoons - it's a bit of a recurring gag.
Someone is walking and steps on the end of a rake lying on the ground, causing the handle to swing up and hit them in the face.
Of course, this informal expression is mainly used figuratively.
"Se prendre un rateau" means that you tried to flirt with someone but didn't succeed. The person wasn't interested and shut you down. They're not into you.
You got rejected - "se prendre un rateau." It's a similar kind of pain, except it's not physical pain but heartache.
It hurts to "se prendre un rateau." Let me give you two examples so you can understand it better.
For example, if I'm walking down the street and a guy comes up to me, asks for my phone number, and I tell him "no thanks, I'm not interested, I'm already in a relationship" - he would say he "s'est pris un rateau" (got rejected), and I "lui ai mis un rateau" (rejected him).
Here's another story I read online. A guy went to his hairdresser to get a haircut, and they were laughing and having a good time together. So when it was time to leave, he asked her if she'd like to go for a drink.
He invited her out, and she told him she had just come out of a very long relationship and didn't want to start seeing other guys.
So he writes online that he got rejected ("s'est pris un rateau") by his hairdresser.
Often when you "se prendre un rateau," it's because the other person isn't really attracted to you, so they'll make excuses, like "I'd rather we stay friends" or "I don't want to ruin our friendship."
If it's someone you know. Or, as I mentioned, they might say "I just got out of a relationship" or "I'm already seeing someone" - even if sometimes it's not true.
That's it for this informal expression "se prendre un rateau."
I hope you enjoyed this video and most of all, that you won't "se prendre un rateau" from the person you like.
I wish you a wonderful day and don't forget - if you liked the video, give it a thumbs up, and if you haven't subscribed yet, subscribe and turn on notifications so you don't miss any of my videos.
See you very soon!