In the program "Historically yours", Stéphane Bern looks at the roots of a phrase from everyday life.
Friday, he takes us to the discovery of the expression "to lead a patachon life", which designates an existence of pleasures and debauchery.
Stéphane Bern suggests every day, in
Historically yours
with Matthieu Noël, to discover these expressions that we use on a daily basis without necessarily knowing their origin.
Monday, he tells us about the roots of the expression "to lead a patachon life".
"An existence of celebration, pleasures and debauchery: such is the life of the patachon. You have to go back to the Ancien Régime to find the origin of this word. At the time, the patache was a river boat that collected water. gabelle, a very unpopular tax on salt, but there is no connection between these rather quiet barges and the bustle of the patachon.
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In the 19th century, the patachon went up and down
At the end of the 19th century, the meaning of the word 'patache' changed dramatically.
It no longer refers to river boats but to the diligence of the poor.
It subsequently extends to any low-cost and uncomfortable means of transport.
The driver of the patache, the patachon, is therefore always up and down the hill, going from taverns to taverns, drinking more than is reasonable, and allowing himself to err on the side of conduct that is easier to assume since he is far from home.
The expression 'to lead a patachon life' is only used in France.
In Brazil we say 'fall into the gap' and in the Netherlands, land of the tulip, we use the expression 'put the little flowers outside'. "