French · Sports & the Stands
Hors-jeu, mon cul !
or-ZHUH mohn KOO · /ɔʁ.ʒø mɔ̃ ky/
Offside, my ass!
3/5 Watch your audience
genuinely rude; friends only, never at work
Literally
"Offside, my ass"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
"Mon cul" ("my ass") tacked onto any claim you're rejecting with contempt — the exact English "my ass." Perfect for a dubious offside flag, but it generalises: "en réunion demain, mon cul" = "in a meeting tomorrow, my ass." Coarse, funny, friends-and-stands register.
Heard in the wild
Hors-jeu ? Hors-jeu, mon cul, il était bien lancé !
Offside? Offside, my ass, he was clearly onside!
Where it lands
France (universal)
Quick answers
- What does "Hors-jeu, mon cul !" mean?
- In French, "Hors-jeu, mon cul !" means "Offside, my ass!". Literally it's "Offside, my ass". "Mon cul" ("my ass") tacked onto any claim you're rejecting with contempt — the exact English "my ass." Perfect for a dubious offside flag, but it generalises: "en réunion demain, mon cul" = "in a meeting tomorrow, my ass." Coarse, funny, friends-and-stands register.
- Is "Hors-jeu, mon cul !" 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 "Hors-jeu, mon cul !"?
- Say it "or-ZHUH mohn KOO" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ɔʁ.ʒø mɔ̃ ky.
Related in French
L'arbitre, enculé ! lar-BEETR ahn-koo-LAY The ref's a f***ing bastard! (stadium chant) Il joue comme une merde ! eel zhoo kom oon MEHRD He's playing like garbage! On les a niqués ! ohn lay za nee-KAY We destroyed them! / We smashed them! Allez les Bleus ! a-LAY lay BLUH Go France! / Come on France! Putain ! poo-TAN Damn! / F***! / The all-purpose intensifier — punctuation, really Bordel ! bor-DEL What a mess! / Chaos! — also 'what the hell' as an intensifier
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "No way".
- German Quatsch! Nonsense! / Rubbish! / No way!
- Greek έλα ρε Come on! / No way! / You're kidding — disbelief, protest, or delight depending on tone.
- Italian Dai! Come on! / Come off it! / Please!
- Japanese マジ Seriously / for real / no joke
- Korean 헐 Whoa / no way / I can't even — the all-purpose stunned noise.
- Polish no co ty! No way! / Come on! / You can't be serious.
- Portuguese Porra nenhuma! Bullshit! / Like hell! / Not a damn thing
- Russian Офигеть! Wow! / Holy cow! / No way!
Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.