Linguist Forum
General Linguistics => Linguist's Lounge => Outside of the box => Topic started by: waive15 on December 02, 2020, 05:58:12 AM
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Hi,
Hercule
Hercule is French for/of Hercules.
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Hercules
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Hercules
https://www.etymonline.com/word/Hercules#etymonline_v_9178
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Poirot
"Poirot's name was derived from two other fictional detectives of the time: Marie Belloc Lowndes' Hercule Popeau and Frank Howel Evans' Monsieur Poiret, a retired Belgian police officer living in London.
..."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercule_Poirot
Poirot is pronounced without -t. So it sounds like poireau (in French) which is leek.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/poireau
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/leek
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Peter Ustinov about Poirot/poireau/leek
https://vimeo.com/432614547
01:02 minute
The best Peter Ustinov Hercule Poirot film (for me) is Evil under the Sun (1982). There is plenty of Mediterranean sun, great costumes/outfits, Cole Porter's music and of course Poirot's french accent (+ french phrases).
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In "my first foreign language", there is/was the expression "Big leek" which means Big Nothing/I don't care(="Big deal")/...
It doesn't matter how smart Poirot is for the British he is an outsider, a foreigner, a French (pardon, a Belgian, but who cares) i.e. he is a Big Nothing. He is called Hercules Parrot or Mr. Porridge or ... ("There goes the most insufferable man in the world." Daphne Castle, Evil under the Sun)
porridge (n.)
https://www.etymonline.com/word/porridge#etymonline_v_18485
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Patrick Redfern: ... If Giuseppe Verdi had been an Englishman, his name would have been Joe Green.
Hercule Poirot: Yes, I suppose it would.
...
Hercule Poirot: Joe Green... It's rather more amusing than at first I thought.
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Hercule Poirot... It's rather more amusing than at first I thought.