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When two people say the same thing at the same time what do people say in France? In English it’s “Jinx!”

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My kids and their friends say:

Chips !

then, if that was simultaneous again:

Double chips !
...
Triple chips !

and so on until one wins.

When more than two people say the same thing at the same time, one might also say:

Chips personnel !

to win the "contest".

The loser has to stay mute until his/her first name is pronounced by anyone.

Here is a reference: https://warriors-en-savates.skyrock.com/1309936278-La-Loi-du-Chips.html

A "micro-poll" shows that this expression is known by young people between 11 and 20 years old in both Paris area and Brittany but mostly unknown by older people.

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    C'est \tʃɪps\ ou \ʃips\, je veux dire le début du mot, et on prononce le s à la fin ?
    – user19187
    Commented Jun 9, 2019 at 23:27
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    I am 26 in east of France, and we still say Chips. Sometimes it lets me have a quiet evening with my boyfriend not allowed to talk :)
    – Lyzvaleska
    Commented Jun 10, 2019 at 8:05
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    @suiiurisesse That's the same word as the French one for "crisps". The final \s\ is always pronounced. A leading \t\ is generally not, but might be heard in double chips to ease pronunciation.
    – jlliagre
    Commented Jun 10, 2019 at 8:27
  • @jlliagre Haha, j'ai du regarder au dictionnaire pour crisps que je ne connais pas, contrairement à l'adjectif crispy etc.
    – user19187
    Commented Jun 11, 2019 at 4:01
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In my extended family, we say

Les grands esprits se rencontrent

(I've never heard of "chips" in the other responses.)

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I don't know if there is an "official" word for this situation.

But, your question reminds me, when i was a child, we used to say "Chips" simultaneously.

So, if our "Chips" was originally a distortion of your "Jinx"... This is very funny.

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  • Where are you located? Never heard of that myself...
    – Laurent S.
    Commented Jun 9, 2019 at 13:47
  • Never used it myself, but my sons (teenagers, in Belgium) use it indeed as well.
    – Greg
    Commented Jun 9, 2019 at 15:19
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    Mes enfants utilisaient le terme "chips" lorsqu'ils étaient scolarisés dans le Sud Ouest de la France. Leurs cousins qui habitent dans l'Est de la France ne connaissaient pas cette expression.
    – user20580
    Commented Jun 10, 2019 at 6:02

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