But whose meaning has nothing to do with money

CHALLENGE #12

For this third post on Quebec expressions, I wanted to find a theme and be less general than in the first or second posts explaining French expressions from Quebec.

So today we are going to look at three expressions that talk about money, but whose meaning has absolutely nothing to do with money.

In Quebec, we use expressions a lot to express our emotions and ideas. You don’t have to use them so frequently, but you will need to understand them if you really want to engage with people.

Expression #1: Virer sur un 10 cents

First of all, you need to know that “virer” in Quebec French is a synonym of “tourner” (turn) or “retourner” (turn over). So, “virer de bord” would mean to turn over something or a significant turnaround in our ideas. 

Literally, “Virer sur un 10 cents” means “to turn around on a dime”.

If you look at Canadian coins, you will see that the 10 cents ($0.10) is the smallest coin; smaller than the $0.05 and the $0.01. So it’s this coin that would be, figuratively speaking, the hardest to turn around on. It would be something spectacular.

“Virer sur un 10 cents” means adapting (or accepting change) to a situation very quickly, with great flexibility and without warning.

Examples of how I use it in my life:

• This expression was used at least a million times during the pandemic. For example, when talking about my children’s school, I often say “The school was incredible! When we realized it was going to last, “ils se sont virés sur un 10 cents” and within 48 hours, the online school was fully functional.”
• This expression is also sometimes used to emphasize the resilience and adaptability we admire in someone. For example, I might say: “Ha yes! Marie is so great! No matter what happens to her, she’s always able “de se virer sur un 10 cents”! I don’t know how she does it!

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Expression #2: Changer 4 trente sous pour 1 piastre

It’s an expression only used in Quebec, since it’s directly linked to our history.

First of all, the vocabulary of this expression:
Sous: a sous is a cent, or $0.01.
Piastre: this is the old name for the dollar, and today the word is used in informal language, a bit like saying “bucks” to talk about money in English.

But I can hear you now saying that 4 x 0.30 = $1.20… not $1!

That’s right! That’s because we are talking about an exchange rate between two currencies. When the Canadian dollar (known as the piastre) was introduced in the 19th century, it replaced other currencies accepted in Canada. Thus, it took 4 x 30 French sous to equal one Canadian piastre.

The meaning of this expression is “to make a change that brings nothing”. It’s a change that brings neither gain nor loss, so that our reality remains the same. When people exchanged 4 French thirty cents for a Canadian piastre, their fortune remained exactly the same.

Examples of how I use it in my life:

• This expression is often used to say that something isn’t worthwhile. For example, if I’m talking to a friend who’s unhappy at his job and I ask him if he’d consider trying to change jobs, he’ll say, “No, that would be changing “4 trente sous pour une piastre”. My problem isn’t my employer, it’s my whole field. If I want to be happier at work, I would have to change my career altogether.”
• This expression is also used to demonstrate that we have no preference between two options. Several years ago, my cousin and I were planning a trip to the Cinque Terre in Italy. After some research, given the time of year we wanted to take this trip, I mentioned to him that Portugal might be more interesting. He replied, “You know for me, that would be changing “4 trente sous pour une piastre”; I’ve never been to Europe so either way, it will all be new!”

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Expression #3: Ça prend tout mon petit change

It’s also used in the form “ça me prend tout mon petit change” and in the past tense, “ça m’a pris tout mon petit change“.

First of all, as we saw in the post on false friends, the word “change” in Quebec French is an anglicism meaning coins. If we’re talking about “petit change”, we’re talking about coins with little value, such as $0.01, $0.05 or $0.10.

The expression is an analogy meaning that to accomplish something, we had to use all our resources (financial in the expression). We say that something “prend tout notre petit change” when we have to go beyond our fears or stress to accomplish something.

Examples of how I use it in my life:

• The expression is often used to declare our love, because we are always a little afraid of being turned down. Many years ago, I was truly in love with my best friend. One evening, it was the perfect time to tell him how I felt. But honestly, “ça m’a pris tout mon petit change” because I was so stressed! Not only is it always stressful to have this conversation, but I was also afraid of losing him as a friend if it wasn’t reciprocated. The two hours prior, I was rehearsing in my head how I was going to tell him and preparing myself for all his possible responses. You want to know what happened? He didn’t believe me, he thought it was a joke… 🙄
• In my early twenties, I worked in the sales department of a hotel. I was part of the team responsible for renting out the halls for meetings, weddings and so on. Management would ask one of us to be on hand on public holidays, in case anyone took time off to do the rounds of the hotels. It had been over a year and no one had ever shown up, and since we never work weekends, we wondered why anyone would be needed on holidays. There were three of us in the team, and by mutual agreement, we decided to talk to the General Manager. Despite the fact that I was the youngest member of the team, I was designated as the one who would best make our point, and therefore the one to bring it up at the next team meeting. Although it may seem trivial today, at the time “ça m’a vraiment pris tout mon petit change”! Not only did I hear nothing of what was said in the meeting before and after I spoke, but while I was speaking, my pressure dropped and once again “ça m’a pris tout mon petit change” to keep talking and not pass out! Today, I’m laughing, especially as we’ve had our civic holidays!

Your challenge: identify which expression goes with which situation

Here are three situations in which we could use the three expressions in this post. It’s up to you to decide which one goes with each situation. The answer can be found on our Facebook page.

Situation #1

My new neighbor seems to be single. I really like him, but I don’t know if I can find the courage to say more than “Hello” when we meet in the elevator. My friends tell me I’ve got nothing to lose, but I’m so shy!

Situation #2

After receiving my acceptance letter for university, I immediately applied for a room in the student residence. Although I had been told that the administration had reserved one for me, I’ve just learned that it was a mistake on their part. As we are only two days away from the first day of school, I was very stressed, but fortunately my uncle quickly agreed to let me stay with him until I could find an apartment.

Sitation #3

My boss has just offered me a transfer to the company’s new branch. I don’t know if I should accept, because in my opinion, there are just as many pros and cons to making this change. For example, the branch is closer to my home, so less time in transit, but I think I have a better chance of getting a promotion by staying here. I don’t know, I think in both options I would have as much to gain and lose at the same time.

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