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French · Insults (Aimed at a Person)

Tête de nœud !

tet duh NUH · /tɛt də nø/

Dickhead / knucklehead

3/5 Watch your audience

genuinely rude; friends only, never at work

Literally

"Knot head (slang: 'nœud' = penis tip)"

Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.

How to use it

"Nœud" is old slang for the glans, so this is basically "dickhead" — but it lands more comic than vicious, closer to "numbskull." Good for someone being stubbornly stupid. Rude enough to keep out of the office, not so rude it starts a fight.

Heard in the wild

Il a encore oublié les billets, cette tête de nœud.

He forgot the tickets again, that dickhead.

Where it lands

France (universal)

Quick answers

What does "Tête de nœud !" mean?
In French, "Tête de nœud !" means "Dickhead / knucklehead". Literally it's "Knot head (slang: 'nœud' = penis tip)". "Nœud" is old slang for the glans, so this is basically "dickhead" — but it lands more comic than vicious, closer to "numbskull." Good for someone being stubbornly stupid. Rude enough to keep out of the office, not so rude it starts a fight.
Is "Tête de nœud !" offensive?
It's genuinely rude — a 3/5 (Watch your audience) on the Punch-o-Meter. Fine among friends, never at work or with people you've just met.
How do you pronounce "Tête de nœud !"?
Say it "tet duh NUH" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: tɛt də nø.

Related in French

Con KOHN Idiot / dumbass — the single most useful insult in French Ta gueule ! ta GUHL Shut up! / Shut your mouth! Connard ! kon-AR Asshole / bastard Enculé ! ahn-koo-LAY Motherf***er / bastard (one of the hardest personal insults) Salope ! sa-LOP Bitch / slut (aimed at a woman) Fils de pute ! fees duh POOT Son of a bitch

The same idea, elsewhere

Via concepts like "You idiot".

how to say "You idiot" →

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