Among the words that takes on a funny twist in translation
is ‘Gourmand’.
In English, people use this interchangeably with ‘gourmet’ –
an epicurian lover of food.
In the original French, it’s not a noun, it’s an
adjective. ‘Un homme gourmand’ is indeed
‘a man who loves food’, but the suggestion is that (how do we put this
delicately) quality is not so important as is quantity.
It’s not a compliment.
