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While checking spelling I came across something I either never noticed before or have long forgotten. The phrase double entendre is in the English dictionary but not the word entendre alone. Is it incorrect then to use entendre in English without the qualifier double? I hereby, and humbly, submit this for the "tsuwm treatment"! 
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I think it is a sly insult to the French, to suggest that only they are guilty of duplicitous hidden meanings.
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Good one, Dr. Bill, you foxy one, you! 
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Pooh-Bah
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Then there is the all-too-common null entendre.
BTW, there is a French word for a pun across two languages, but damned if I can remember it...anyone?
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I remember reading somewhere that the French don't actually use the expression double entendre themselves. Whether because they take it for granted or because they have never indulged in the practice and so never needed a name for it, I couldn't say.
Bingley
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W'ON, a good question. In "double entendre" the whole phrase, that is both words, is French and is usually, in my experience, pronounced as such - (dooblah not dubble). I can't see any real denigration in the phrase, so I can't see why we English would try to poke fun at the French with it - if we could we would, I assure you! But you are right, the word "entendre" is not used alone in English. Borrowing of phrases and words from other languages seems to follow no logic.
The phrase "single entendre" is used sometimes to denote a more obvious sexual connotation.
Rod
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this isn't in response to your query, WO'N, but i thought it'd be a nice segue to a question that i'd been pondering but never bothered to post on.
double entendres are an endless source of fascination for me (and aren't there a lot of names for them? amphibolous, dilogical, etc? hi, c!), so you can imagine my delight when i stumbled across the term "illocutionary" a while back, defined as "pertaining to or describing an utterance that, reflecting the speaker's emotions, conveys more or something other than its literal meaning, such as a question implying dissatisfaction".
is there another, more common, term for this common verbal phenomenon? 'sarc(h)asm' doesn't seem to describe it adequately, since it's not really as specific.
oh, and what on EARTH have you all been smoking lately? i return from a week or so away and find some of the strangest threads i've ever seen. sheesssh.
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Double entendre is like resume . Non-existent in "that" hi F language. Well, resume exists but it means something else: synopsis.
And caradea, don't go away again without letting us know. We smoked a lotta weird stuff in your absence.
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Illocutionary isn't really the same as double entendre.
The illocutionary force of an utterance is shown when for example we all understand that a question like "Have you got a pen?" is actually a request to borrow a pen rather than a simple question about whether you happen to be in possession of one.
Bingley
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resume exists (in French) but it means something else: synopsis
AnnaS. Doesn't résumé mean synopsis in US? It does in UK.
And "double entendre" had the same meaning in French when it was borrowed into English, but is now obselete.
Rod
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Rod, my bad. I shouldn't assume for all English! Résumé in US English means C.V. The former is used more in the corporate world; the later, in academia. And thanks for the clarification on 'double entendre.'
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Résumé in US English means C.V.
It can mean C.V. in UK English too, and presumably comes from "a summary of my career", but it is often used to mean summary or synopsis in other contexts as well.
Rod
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So submitting Archer's c.v. in application to the judiciary will lead to summary judgment? unless it's winter, when he would claim protection of the Santa Clause OK, your honour, I'll go quietly now, there's no need for the strait jacket...
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Re: "a question like "Have you got a pen?" is actually a request to borrow a pen rather than a simple question about whether you happen to be in possession of one."
Not in my house-- we all ways treated such questions literaly--we would reply "yes, i do" and want for the "can I borrow it?" or if they questioner was very slow, look at them surprized and say "Oh, did you want to borrow it? I'm sorry, i thought you were taking a survey!"
if friends called up and asked "is Emily home?" we would reply "Yes"-- "Was there anything else you wanted?"-- and after a moment-- they would realize they had to ask "Can i speak to her?"
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Oh, boy, another opportunity to talk about H.P. Grice and his cooperative maxims. I strongly believe in the maxim of relevance. and I believe our society depends upon it quite heavily. I do realize, however, that many cultures and subcultures are much more literal, blunt, straight-forward (or whatever other adjectives you'd like to add). For example, in the Deaf community, (for you, J) people are more like Helen's household where being exact and literal is beneficial. Though, Helen, I have to add that even when they would realize they had to ask "Can i speak to her?", you could still answer that they can, for they haven't yet asked if they may. 
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I had not thought of the problem that of troy discussed as a double entendre, though it is obviously the most common form of it. It could also apply to the problem on one's first date, when it is stupid to ask for a kiss, which not only requests information that one's face will not be slapped, but requires implied admission that it would be agreeable to the recipient.
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Actually, my kids would hear me say "Yes she/he is." and come running over to the phone and pull it out of my hands.. I used the can/ may I after they were trained to ask-- So if a caller had learned not so ask "is Emily home? but asked "Can i speak to Emily"-- then we started on "Yes, you seem to have mastered speech, I suspect you can speak to her as well as you speak to me..." she thought i was the meanest mother in the world to subject her friends to this sort of interegation.
And we always wanted to meet her friend Me-ann, too, as in "Me-ann Connie are going to the library.. "-- and she learned to say "Connie and I ..."
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Since I never heard of H. P. Grice before, I found a site about his maxims. I chickened out very quickly however. Anyone interested can take a look at this URL: http://www.ling.su.se/staff/hartmut/griceil.htm
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AnnaS...do you ever use Curriculum Vitae instead of resumé? English people in Québec will use only Curriculm Vitae or the shortened versions, Curriculum or C.V.
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bel, everyone I know at home uses résumé. Until I read it on this board, I had never even heard of c.v.
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BelMarduk asks: do you ever use Curriculum Vitae instead of resumé? bel, I used it in Brazil! But in the US, I've only seen it used in academic/professional (like doctors) circles. And some academic folks I know have both: the CV describes their education and publications, and the résumé their job experience.
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I maintain both a resume and a CV. My resume is a very terse, compiled version documenting primarily my education and work experience. My CV is a much longer document detailing all recent publications, presentations, and special achievements. (all this is the US)
I use my resume for professional and business situations. I reserve my CV for collegiate, academic, and governmental situations.
Many of my friends and associates also use the two in similar fashion. I suppose we ride the fence of the two groups.
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Some job hunting book I was reading pointed out that there are differences between resume (note that most publications leave off the accents) and C. V. (as Brandon pointed out), and they should not be used interchangeably, but often are, resulting in confusion for job applicants. (Does the employer really want to see your C. V. when you apply for a job at a gas station?) I think that's one of those distinctions that will soon be lost, especially if, for example, the anglos in Québec use only C. V.
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