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System D

en.wikipedia.org

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Re: System D

#41

Post by jeffrallen »

jet_32951 wrote: post #37
clbrmbr wrote: post #32

Now I finally know what my Swiss mother-in-law says when the normal tablecloth is dirty and we need to improvise. I thought “oh it’s like Plan B”, but never got why it’s D…. Now I get that D is a euphemism for “out of the shit” (démerde).

Could be but my understanding is the D stands for débrouiller (se débrouiller = take oneself out of the fog). Kind of like the American "National Awareness Day" where people are encouraged to extract their heads and take note of the people in their surroundings.

I learned the term while learning french, working for Médecins sans Frontières Suisse. It was most definitely translated as démerde, not débrouiller.

Re: System D

#42

Post by [deleted] »

pazimzadeh wrote: post #33
notfed wrote: post #31

> In recent literature on the informal economy, System D is the growing share of the world's economy which makes up the underground economy... This just seems like word salad to me. What am I missing?

All of the 'underground' things desperate people do to stay alive, i.e. prostitution

[deleted]

Re: System D

#43

Post by jszymborski »

I might be dense, but I really have little idea of what System D _actually_ is in practice after reading this.

Can anyone ELI5 what it is in practice? What are some of the ideas that allows one to débrouiller, etc... ?

Re: System D

#44

Post by acyou »

I read this as "Get er done", ok in food service, maybe comes with long term consequences elsewhere.

Re: System D

#45

Post by themoonisachees »

clbrmbr wrote: post #32

Now I finally know what my Swiss mother-in-law says when the normal tablecloth is dirty and we need to improvise. I thought “oh it’s like Plan B”, but never got why it’s D…. Now I get that D is a euphemism for “out of the shit” (démerde).

As a french person: it is in fact much like "plan B" but in a more "this wasn't part of the plan, in fact the plan calls for specific things that we are going to improvise" way.

I mean to say that when we say "systeme D", it has its meaning on its own, separate from what the words signify. It is also used when talking about alternate means of acquiring objects, such as bargaining (in the commerce sense) or repurposing trash.

Re: System D

#46

Post by [deleted] »

notfed wrote: post #31

> In recent literature on the informal economy, System D is the growing share of the world's economy which makes up the underground economy... This just seems like word salad to me. What am I missing?

[deleted]

Re: System D

#47

Post by sfrigon »

jszymborski wrote: post #43

I might be dense, but I really have little idea of what System D _actually_ is in practice after reading this. Can anyone ELI5 what it is in practice? What are some of the ideas that allows one to débrouiller, etc... ?

Well I was raised in French and my dad would use this expression from time to time. (I didn't read the whole wiki page, I'm just answering based on my experience)

It meant "being resourceful" & ingenious. Don't always expect someone else to help you in order to achieve something, or don't just give up at the first problem you encounter.

e.g. Something is heavy to lift and you expected someone stronger to be there to help you. Well you can borrow a lift, you can call someone else and lift it together, try to come up with some kind of lever, etc

Another example: Don't wait for someone to explain something you don't understand, when you could be looking it up by yourself on the internet (sorry that one was an easy joke ;) )

Re: System D

#49

Post by Galanwe »

jszymborski wrote: post #43

I might be dense, but I really have little idea of what System D _actually_ is in practice after reading this. Can anyone ELI5 what it is in practice? What are some of the ideas that allows one to débrouiller, etc... ?

> Can anyone ELI5 what it is in practice? What are some of the ideas that allows one to débrouiller, etc... ?

Broadly speaking, it refers to one's capability of being smart in a "handy man" field.

Your tire is flat and you have nothing to fix it? Take a toothpick and hot glue. That's system D.

You have a bottle of wine but nothing to open it? Put the bottom in your shoe and rub it against the wall. That's system D.

Nowadays you can use *system D" for any subject where you demonstrate the capability to overcome problems not using "book" solutions.

The term got it's roots during and after the war in France, where you had to be able to find these kind of solutions in a country where everything was broken.

Re: System D

#50

Post by SllX »

cdot2 wrote: post #23
EntrePrescott wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

fun fact: Thermidor - after which Sauce Thermidor and derived dishes like Lobster Themidor are named, is a month in the French Republican Calendar, specifically: the second month of summer, going approx. from mid-July to mid-August.

Even more fun fact. "Thermidor" as well as the other months on the Republican Calendar don't have any root word. They were made up whole cloth and intended to sound like Greek or Latin.

Even more fun fact: 9 Thermidor Year II is also when Robespierre was ousted and his reign of terror ceased. He would be executed the next day.

This Republican calendar is also a source of headaches for students studying the French Revolution because while it didn’t stick, it stuck around long enough to matter and for historians to need to deal with it in primary sources.

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