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Does Tintin curse too?

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laloga
Member
#11 · Posted: 31 Dec 2007 03:21
I don't have my copy on hand right now....but towards the end of Flight 714, as the gang is waiting for the spaceship to rescue them, Tintin has to rescue Calculus from a cave filled with toxic smoke. Kanrokitoff (sp?) tries to call him back via telepathy, and in the next moment expresses great shock. The Captain asks what happened, and Kanrokitoff says something to the effect of " He told me to go to… And such a nice boy, I was thinking!"

Perhaps I am reading too much into this, but it seems as though Tintin very definitely told this fellow to go to he**, and for very obvious reasons that particular word was left out of the text.

Of course, this is in my English copy. I am not sure how the original French text would compare.

Just a thought. Peace out, y'all.


Laloga in sunny Florida.
tintinagalog
Member
#12 · Posted: 31 Dec 2007 07:25
Hello laloga!

Tintin said so? Hmm... wish I could hear him scream that "go to he**" stuff on his anime, and see how he looked like, hehehe...

Also in Flight 714 episode of Nelvana's Tintin, I heard him saying to the crooks, "Cowards! Murderers...!" then he was suddenly shocked to discover his nemesis Rastapopoulos alive and kicking.
John Sewell
Member
#13 · Posted: 10 Jan 2008 01:23
Of course, this is in my english copy. I am not sure how the original French text would compare.

ISTR that in French, the phrase translates directly to English as "Go to the devil." "Go to hell" works fine as a less clumsy English version, but I like the way they left the last word (obvious as it is) to the imagination.
Captain Chester
Member
#14 · Posted: 12 Jan 2008 00:34
tintinagalog

Tintin mentioned "Shocks!" (or "shucks," whatever it is) in Tintin and the Lake of Sharks as he entered the cave.

The Lake of Sharks was not written by Herge, so it kind of does not count, at least not in my opinion.

CC
dreamdust
Member
#15 · Posted: 22 Mar 2009 09:28
How Tintin's sayings really started:

Tintin (as a ten-year-old): "Oh, cr-"
Tintin's mother: "Excuse me?"
Tintin: "Er - crumbs. Yeah, crumbs."
Amilah
Member
#16 · Posted: 22 Mar 2009 18:36
Tintin : Rastapopoulos, we were aware that you were a scoundrel, we had yet to learn you also were a lout.

Haddock (thinking but not daring) : Well said !

Rastapopoulos : ARRRRRRRGH !! *starts jumping around crushing spiders*


This is the only occurence of Tintin verbal violence I can remember. I don't speak english fluently enough to measure it, but I'm under the impression that the official english translation (swine, and a dirty one at that) is a bit stronger, though.
jock123
Moderator
#17 · Posted: 23 Mar 2009 00:02
dreamdust:
How Tintin's sayings really started

"Oh crumbs!" isn't a phrase that is original to the Tintin books; it is (or was) in common usage as a very mild expression of surprise. It might have had an origin as you suggest, as so many similar phrases do ("Cripes!", "By jimminy!", "Jimminy Cricket!" etc.), but it was already circulating at the time.
Amilah:
I'm under the impression that the official English translation (swine, and a dirty one at that) is a bit stronger, though.

It’s forceful in English, but not in any sense swearing or "strong" in that sense - it actually sounds like what posh boys in stories of boarding-schools might say (think Tom Brown's School Days) it questions his honour, and suggests he isn't a gentleman, as it were, without resorting to swearing.
Amilah
Member
#18 · Posted: 23 Mar 2009 16:54
I see. So it still conveys the same vaguely strange, out-of-place, or too old-fashioned feeling as in French? The chosen French word ("malotru", that my dictionary translates as "lout/ boor/ yob", is a word an old lady would use) makes the scene very strange, and both Haddock's satisfaction and Rastapopoulos' vexation involuntarily funny. It makes this dialogue stand out as very peculiar, and strangely fascinating, to my eyes.

The "pig" aspect of "swine" struck me as a bit more brutal, but that's probably because the French equivalent ("porc") is quite violent.
Jelsemium
Member
#19 · Posted: 13 Dec 2011 22:36
"Shucks" is an expression of disappointment, bashfulness or annoyance. It's generally used in place of actual swearing.

I've noticed that while Tintin generally keeps his comments clean, his thoughts can apparently get more heated. For example, in Black Island, after he knocked himself out, his thought balloon had various symbols that are used in comics to indicate swearing.

In Flight 714, his thoughts are made clear when Mik tries to order him to abandon Prof. Calculus. Mik is shocked by Tintin's language. "And I was thinking he was such a nice boy!"

I'd like to know what Tintin says in French where the English version has him saying things like "Great snakes!" or "Crumbs!"

Moderator Note: If you look up the page, you’ll see that laloga mentions the same dialogue from Mik. As for the French alternatives to “Great snakes!”, etc., then that has been discussed over on this thread (which would be the better place to contribute further comments on that topic):

What is the meaning of Sapristi!?

By the by, the origin of “Great snakes!” itself has been investigated here:

"Great snakes!": where did the expression come from?

The Happy Tintinologist Team
Ginger_Tuft
Member
#20 · Posted: 15 Dec 2011 07:58
I don't think “Great Snakes!” and “Crumbs!” count as curses, nor “Blistering barnacles!” either, not like some of the dirtier words I know.

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