[Eggy]

Sorry to bring this here but I didn't know where else to go.

What does "bete et mechant" mean? I see it used a bit but can never translate it.

[gaijin]

Erm, stupid and spiteful

Its hard without the context mate....they can be translated differently given the context.

[gaijin]

Yeah, now that I think about it, you often see when describing animals. I remember clearly now.

Yeah, they put it on kennels etc. Like beware of the dog etc....Telling you they will bite you.

It literally is translated as stupid and aggressive but kinda means they are vicious towards other people.

Its one of those idiomatic expressions that can be attributed to host of things. The commonest example - is - on kennels and Warning signs like I said. Like, Attention! - Chien 'bete et mechant'!!!

That said, it can refer to things that describe actions which are aggressive in nature, like - c'etait un crime bete et mechant qu'a montre la culpabilite de l'homme en question.

I remember this cropping up in my French exams when we did an essay on the death penalty. Its often used as a pyschological term to describe people.

Hope this helps.

[Pierre-Henri]

As Ganu said, its meaning depends of the context :

1) First meaning is an insult, something like "mean and ugly".

2) However, with time, the meaning somehow softened, and it became an idiomatic expression. Something you could translate by "bloody simple".

[gaijin]

Originally Posted by Pierre-Henri

2) However, with time, the meaning somehow softened, and it became an idiomatic expression. Something you could translate by "bloody simple".

Oh, never knew that.

I would use it more in the context of a person's state of mind. Kinda like rabid or vicious (indeed like a dog)

That's the only context I've ever seen it in....

[iougs]

hara-kiri, le journal "... et ..."

exactly-

[Pierre-Henri]

Originally Posted by ganu

Oh, never knew that.

I would use it more in the context of a person's state of mind. Kinda like rabid or vicious (indeed like a dog)

That's the only context I've ever seen it in....

This meaning is popular, not the kind of things you usually read in newspapers.

Par exemple : une tactique bête et méchante = a bloody simple tactic (something rash and crude).

[Eggy]

That's what I was thinking it meant. I did find bete translated to animal once. Seeing it in sentances I figured it meant what was described I just wanted to be sure. I assume it's more slang than anything.

[Nanbawan]

Originally Posted by Eggy

I assume it's more slang than anything.

I'd rather say colloquial language, neither "bête" nor "méchants" are genuinely rude terms.

[blackjack]

Originally Posted by Eggy

That's what I was thinking it meant. I did find bete translated to animal once. Seeing it in sentances I figured it meant what was described I just wanted to be sure. I assume it's more slang than anything.

"Bete" as a noun translates most often to "Beast." Hence, animal.