Uh-oh: ne pas demouler le fromage

confusing French cheese

Damn my incredibly slack attitude during high school French class. Because now this fancy French cheese came in the mail, and I don’t understand the directions. Specifically, this one important-sounding line:

Ne pas démouler le fromage

Do not demolish the cheese?

Unfortunately, my French dictionary fell into the hands of Special K when he started dating a French woman. But luckily, there’s always the Internet.

Babel Fish translation: not demouler the cheese
WorldLingo translation: not demouler the cheese
Langenburg.com: not demouler the cheese
LangToLang: nothing

Thanks a lot, Internet.

Seriously, what should I do with the cheese? Should I put it in the fridge? It’s starting to smell.


10 Responses to “Uh-oh: ne pas demouler le fromage”  

  1. Gravatar Icon 1 Sassy J

    Beck–in these moments I use www.freetranslation.com. They translate it as “Not to remove from the mould cheese.” A little transposition would yield: “don’t remove the mould from the cheese”–i.e. eat the rind baby; it’s part of the flavor. Try that concept on your American tasting audience. I volunteer to be your mould-eating guinea pig.

  2. Gravatar Icon 2 The freedom date

    Hmmmm…. it looks ‘tres delicieux’ as Special K would say.
    It actually means : do not eat if you are American, give it asap to any French you know.
    I am the only one you know, right ?

  3. Gravatar Icon 3 Special K

    Bonjour Becky,

    I would like to clear up something for the audience at large. I made an attempt to give you a french dictionary before I moved to my country estate. It may not have been the dictionary you gave to me but who’s keeping track?

    Stinky cheese, it may smell like feet but it tastes good.

    I respectively disagree with Freedom Date, we Americans should eat the cheese and she can have velveeta.

    Can you explain how this cheese was mailed to you? Did it fit easily through the mail slot?

    Special K

  4. Gravatar Icon 4 Becky

    Obviously, Freedom Date is trying to pull a fast one, as is Special K by attempting to give me a substandard French dictionary.

  5. Gravatar Icon 5 Dana

    i am coming over
    have the cheese ready
    i neither care how it got there nor what demouler means
    i intend to eat it immediately upon arrival
    have wine too–not beer –yuk.

  6. Gravatar Icon 6 very metal

    quelle horror!**

    **that is about all the french i know, so i figured this was as good a time as any to put it to use

  7. Gravatar Icon 7 Becky

    Dana, there will be plenty of wine. It’s on: 12/10.

    Sassy, thanks for the link. I will use this translator during my next French cheese crisis.

    Mr. Metal, it’s a well-known fact that all you Texans are haters of the French. Quelle horror!

    Special K, the cheese was delivered to the soulless office park because a) I didn’t want it to be shoved through the mail slot, and b) I didn’t want to pick up stinky cheese at the ghetto post office.

  8. Gravatar Icon 8 Mags

    *ahem* Emerging from deep lurk to grab my French dictionnaire, which says that “démouler” means “to take from the mold.” I think it means don’t take it out of the box. I’m only at the tail end of a beginning French class, but shouldn’t it be “Ne démouler pas le fromage?” I’m very confused now.

    P.S. Enjoy your weblog!

  9. Gravatar Icon 9 Becky

    Thanks, Mags, and welcome to non-lurkdom.

    To cover all the bases, I’ll keep the cheese in the box and eat the mold.

  10. Gravatar Icon 10 SansFromage

    démouler
    (a) to remove a statue from the mould; (Cookery) to turn out

    http://www.french-linguistics.co.uk/dictionary/

    Bon Appetit!