How would you construct a so called not-joke in french, where you say the "not" in the end to create irony.
E.g.: The sky is red, not!
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3I've never understood the grammar in no-jokes, is a sentence like that even correct: "The sky is red not"? Whatever, I think what you are looking for is adding "... ou pas". "Tu es vraiment adorable... ou pas".– DestalCommented Apr 13, 2017 at 11:25
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True. I would punctuate it thus: "The sky is red... Not!" This reflects the pause (which can be of highly variable length!) better and we only have to call "Not" an interjection negating whatever went before rather than integrate it into an otherwise correct sentence. :) Also, minor nuance note: in that context I'd suggest "Anyway" or "In any case" instead of "Whatever" (which as an interjection carries something of the sense of "Je m'en fiche")– Luke Sawczak ♦Commented Apr 13, 2017 at 14:16
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Incidentally, in my experience this structure is mostly used by children born in the '90s, primarily for insults (the first thing is a compliment, followed by "Not!"). I'm not sure it's a "joke" so much as that the humour comes from the surprise, but I see that it does have that moniker anyway... but (a) I'm not sure "The sky is red" is likely to occur in one, and (b) any answers should take into account that register!– Luke Sawczak ♦Commented Apr 13, 2017 at 14:23
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1First of all, this is not a joke. It is merely youth "dialect" AmE. It is also quite recent (last ten years??). And as such, I don't see a structural way of translating it. A suggestion: Le ciel est rouge, c'est ça. If used with the right tone, it actually means the sky is not red at all.– LambieCommented Apr 13, 2017 at 18:55
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@Lambie This comment is an excellent answer; what keeps you from making a full fledged answer of ti?– LPHCommented Jun 7, 2019 at 18:23
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2 Answers
Ou pas is idiomatic but leaves some uncertainty not present in the English "Not!"
An alternative expression can be Eh bien non ! often simplified in spoken French to Eh ben non ! or Et ben non !
Le ciel est rouge… eh ben non !
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5Je ne perçois pas le côté comique de tout ceci (autant en anglais qu'en français), mais ça me semble en effet plus près de l'original. En souhaitant qu'aucune vague de not-jokes ne déferle en Francophonie... Commented Apr 13, 2017 at 14:45
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2@Feelew Commentaire très pertinent. ... Eh ben non !! (Kidding, of course.)– Luke Sawczak ♦Commented Apr 13, 2017 at 15:01
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1So, are these meant to poke fun at people? C'est délicieusement amusant... Eh ben non! (Half-kidding, of course). Commented Apr 13, 2017 at 15:17
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3@Feelew I will report your sarcastic comments to a mod! Eh ben non ! ;-)– jlliagreCommented Apr 13, 2017 at 15:21