Quand on est étiqueté mouton noir, c »est fou ce qu« on a le dos large.
The « c »est fou ce que » part in the sentence above has me puzzled. How does this construction differ in meaning from saying « c »est fou que » as below?
Quand on est étiqueté mouton noir, c »est fou qu« on a le dos large.
Answer
Quand on est étiqueté mouton noir, c »est fou ce qu« on a le dos large.
The « C »est fou ce qu »on » can be translated to: « It »s crazy how we »ve…. »
Quand on est étiqueté mouton noir, c »est fou qu« on a le dos large.
Is not really a valid construct. It could be translated as « it »s crazy that we »ve… ».
Comments
- Why does the "ce que" translate into "how" in this case, considering that "ce que" usually means "what"? Thanks.
- That's called polysemy.
- Like for many idioms, it's best not to dwell too much on the "why".
- @DaWaaaaghBabal Hi. So the phrase "c'est fou ce que" as a whole is like an idiom that shouldn't be considered separately? If so, does this example sentence mean something like "It's crazy how we get blamed unfairly"?
- The idiom avoir le dos large means être capable d'encaisser, (being able to endure many difficulties). It could be translated to "be blamed unfairly", like in this case, but it depends on the context.