But actually, these kind of streets are never named "cul-de-sac" in French, but "impasse".
The word "cul-de-sac" is still used, but never to officially name these streets.
You know, they can't realize, because they can't speak our language...
Cul-de-sac literally translates to ass-of-a-bag. Would they ever call any alley of theirs butt-of-a-bag? It's gross.
You'll never hear that term from my mouth.
Maybe, but I first saw them in 1979, before there was an official EU.
Ah, I just looked it up. I thought maybe it was an EU thing, but apparently, it's a Vienna Convention on Road Signs thing, which most of Europe (and some other countries around the world) has signed on to. It mandates that all stop signs say "STOP." The Vienna Convention on Road Signs was created in the 1960s.
__________________ "I guess the only time people think about injustice is when it happens to them."
~ Charles Bukowski
You know, they can't realize, because they can't speak our language...
Cul-de-sac literally translates to ass-of-a-bag. Would they ever call any alley of theirs butt-of-a-bag? It's gross.
You'll never hear that term from my mouth.
Impasse is more poetic and stylish.
I'm sure too, mousquet, that you are horrified by how English speakers even pronounce "cul-de-sac." Or at least you find it funny.
__________________ "I guess the only time people think about injustice is when it happens to them."
~ Charles Bukowski
Ah, I just looked it up. I thought maybe it was an EU thing, but apparently, it's a Vienna Convention on Road Signs thing, which most of Europe (and some other countries around the world) has signed on to. It mandates that all stop signs say "STOP." The Vienna Convention on Road Signs was created in the 1960s.
You know, they can't realize, because they can't speak our language...
Cul-de-sac literally translates to ass-of-a-bag. Would they ever call any alley of theirs butt-of-a-bag? It's gross.
You'll never hear that term from my mouth.
Impasse is more poetic and stylish.
I think the meaning is more along the lines of "bottom" than "ass" or "butt". Not an expert but that was my impression...
You know, they can't realize, because they can't speak our language...
Cul-de-sac literally translates to ass-of-a-bag. Would they ever call any alley of theirs butt-of-a-bag? It's gross.
You'll never hear that term from my mouth.
Impasse is more poetic and stylish.
François Rabelais would chuck the impasse in a second. Like him, I stick to cul-de-sac.
Elle avait de tous petits tétons, Valentine, Valentine...
I live on a cul-de-sac and the sign at the top of my street reads: Dead End.
Salt Lake has a lot, especially in the areas south of the urban central neighborhoods (as they're not nearly as suburban). My street was built in the 1940s but you've got some that are older, a direct result of the wide blocks being split in half. This has created a significant amount of narrow streets, with some that do not go all the way through. Though, there's also regular streets that aren't as narrow that are tradtional cul-de-sacs. One is Haxton Place off of South Temple just east of downtown:
But here are some more traditional in the Central City neighborhood:
Those are streets that end halfway, or some of the way, through the block. Maybe at one time they were all the way through or there was land that blocked the street from going all the way through, but they are VERY common in Salt Lake's Central City neighborhood. Most these streets are kind of hidden off the main streets people typically think of when discussing Salt Lake. But you'll know they exist because they'll have a DEAD END sign out front:
Then there are the dead ends likely a result of the geography. Salt Lake's eastside and north and northwest neighborhoods are built on sizable hills and it's not unique to have a street end because of a sizable geographical structure at the end:
Then you have streets that just end at the freeway - these are mostly on the city's westside:
Then you have stuff like this and I don't know what the deal is here:
I know. You got way more Salt Lake than you ever could want. Tough luck. There are plenty more that I did not post. So, consider yourself lucky.
It means ass. It's a cognate of "culo" in Spanish.
"Besa mi culo." = "Kiss my ass."
Yup, it's the same in Italian.
I'm thinking it's one of those terms that had a slightly different meaning back when the French were colonizing Quebec. Back then the usage may have been more akin to "bottom" - Quebec kept the meaning while European French may have evolved to the current meaning. Again, I'm no expert but seems logical.
I grew up on this one (Hoffman Place) in Philly; just north of it on the other side of a plaza is Marshall Place, also a cul-de-sac. Both Hoffman and Marshall Places cut Marshall Street off from the South and North, respectively.
I'm thinking it's one of those terms that had a slightly different meaning back when the French were colonizing Quebec. Back then the usage may have been more akin to "bottom" - Quebec kept the meaning while European French may have evolved to the current meaning. Again, I'm no expert but seems logical.
No. There is no difference in the meaning of "cul" between France and Quebec. It means "ass" in both places. That's what everyone would think of immediately when you say it.
It would only mean "bottom" in a secondary, figurative usage.
Similar to referring to something like "the ass-end of a bus" in English.
But actually, these kind of streets are never named "cul-de-sac" in French, but "impasse".
The word "cul-de-sac" is still used, but never to officially name these streets.
In Quebec, we use both "cul-de-sac" and "impasse" on street signs.
But you wouldn't have a street named "cul-de-sac Céline-Dion" here either.
The "generic" in a street name is always "impasse".
Here is a street near where I live which is a "cul-de-sac" in the American suburban sense. It's called "impasse" but there is also a green informational sign that says it is a "cul-de-sac". (Which is kinda redundant when the street's actual name is "impasse", if you ask me.)
Here is a street near where I live which is a "cul-de-sac" in the American suburban sense. It's called "impasse" but there is also a green informational sign that says it is a "cul-de-sac". (Which is kinda redundant when the street's actual name is "impasse", if you ask me.)
Toronto has a ton of these for some reason. Some of them make sense, like those terminated by cemeteries and train tracks, but I've otherwise never been able to get a clear answer on the history of why we've got so many dead ends. Some others that come to mind:
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