être en butte

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French

Etymology

XVIth century. a butte was a mound upon which archery targets were placed for shooting practice, hence figuratively, to be there is to be exposed to danger.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɛtʁ ɑ̃ byt/
  • Audio (Lyon):(file)
  • Audio:(file)

Verb

être en butte

  1. (figurative) to be exposed to, be subject to, be the butt of
    • 1887 [1643], Pierre Corneille, Polyeucte martyr, Hachette, acte I, scène 1:
      Aux plus âpres tourments un chrétien est en butte.
      A Christian is the object of the most bitter torments
    • 1966, Georges Brassens (lyrics and music), “Le grand chêne”:
      Il advint que lassé d’être en butte aux lazzi,
      Il se résolut à l’exil.

      "And so finally, tired of being the butt of jeers,
      He resolved himself to exile
    • 2019 November 7, Raphaëlle Rérolle, “« Beaucoup de gens, à Paris, sont moins bien logés que mes vaches » : le désarroi du monde agricole face à l’« agribashing »”, in Le Monde:
      Dans le Puy-de-Dôme voisin, en revanche, un couple d’apiculteurs pratiquant surtout la vente en ligne a été en butte, l’été passé, à l’hostilité d’habitants très remontés contre les déjections d’abeilles, accusées de salir leur linge.
      In neighboring Puy-de-Dôme, on the other hand, a couple of beekeepers engaging mainly in online-sales was the target, last summer, of the hostility of very adamant locals against bee excrement, which they accuse of having soiled their laundry.

References