At 02:27 AM 7/10/2003 +0200, I've got a LASER, Earthman! wrote:
le 10/07/2003 00:52, Leonard R. Cleavelin à leonard@cleavelin.net a écrit :
In American English, "maillot" is pretty much used only in reference to women's one piece bathing suits (that's the only context in which I've ever seen the word used), though the online Merriam-Webster dictionary (http://www.m-w.com) does give alternative meanings of "tights for dancers or gymnasts" or "jersey".
Trouble is "Maillot Jaune" is a Tour de France expression (the leader of the Tour wears it, like the maillot à poix (spotted) is the mark of the best "climber" ("meilleur grimpeur")
Well, I don't see the "trouble"; the "Maillot Jaune" is obviously French sports jargon, and should be best rendered into English as "Yellow Jersey". For that matter, Merriam-Webster does give "jersey" as one of the meanings. A similar usage in the U.S. is the "Green Jacket" that is given to the winner of the Masters Tournament in golf.
I may not be a bike fanatic, but there are still a few things you know in the country of the "petite reine" (bicycle) :)
Maillot in french can be a bathing suit (no sex involved ;), a tee, a sport cloth here it's a yellow bicycle Tshirt (quite logical isn't it? ;)
No more or less logical than English. Especially English as spoken by our not-playing-with-a-full-deck U.S. President. :-) Best, Len Cleavelin -- There is one word in America that says it all, and that one word is "youneverknow." --Joaquin Andujar