What's the meaning of the French idiom "La famille Bloggs"? In the dictionary it's translated as "the Bloggs family" but really I still can't get it... I only know that expression "Joe Bloggs" which means an average or ordinary man & everyone know "blog" for sure which is the website or to have or write a blog soOooo please help me... Thanks🌸
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1I searched for "la famille Bloggs" or even "la famille Blogs" and found nothing relevant. Where did you pick this one? Also this is good practice to give a link to the stuff you are refering to because not everybody evolve in the same scene.– WinstonCommented Mar 21, 2021 at 12:35
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I'm a native french, and I never hear such an expression... where did you encountered it?– OznOgCommented Mar 21, 2021 at 12:47
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1In oxford dictionary for essential vocabulary in the relationships part....La famille, family (La famille Bloggs, the Bloggs family) : that's what's written 🤷🏼♀️– ZukoCommented Mar 21, 2021 at 12:52
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And I searched too everywhere but also found nothing...that's why I am asking here 😅 & I don't have a link cause it's Oxford dictionary from the store– ZukoCommented Mar 21, 2021 at 12:54
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5What don't you get in “The Bloggs family”? That's the name of a (virtual) family.– TotoCommented Mar 21, 2021 at 13:08
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2 Answers
In oxford dictionary for essential vocabulary in the relationships part... La famille, family (La famille Bloggs, the Bloggs family) : that's what's written 🤷🏼♀️ – Zuko
The chiefly British name Bloggs is used here as a placeholder name (like a type of pantonyme) to help you phrase a family name with the name family. It means la famille [Nom de famille], the [Family name] family, or la famille X, the X family where X is a family name. For instance : « La famille Tremblay [the Tremblay family] est très nombreuse [i.e. very big] ».
Generally, the British Joe Bloggs is the same average Joe as Joe Blow and some cousin to the anonymous John/Jane Doe, some of which have travelled up north etc.
In French you will have French types of names whether it's Jean Dupont, Tartempion or related, Monsieur Tout-le-monde, or some other but using X is arguably better and more neutral if you want to avoid any dismissive tone and actually don't mean average but rather any of a specific type, as is the case here with your Oxford dictionary entry.
This is not about an idiom but rather Bloggs is just a British English placeholder (family) name (from the name Joe Bloggs) for whatever family name.
Apparently Bloggs has nothing to do with blogs, the web sites you were refering to in your answer. I found this on Wikipedia, about Joe Bloggs origin: "The name Bloggs is believed to have been derived from the East Anglian region of Britain, Norfolk or Suffolk, deriving from bloc, a bloke. In the UK, a "bloke" represents the average man on the street." (Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Bloggs)
So "The Bloggs family" would refer to an average family. I would propose a French adaptation, but it is dependent upon the context. You could use "une famille lambda".
"lambda" is appended to any word you want to mean you take a typical ordinary normal one and use it in the latter explanation. This is borrowed from mathematics language and just adds a reference to something. "une famille moyenne" works too.
Another possibility, closer to the Joe Bloggs use, would be: "La famille Test" Because here everybody will understand this family is actually a function.
Wait. I just realized I took it the wrong way. Are you sure it is French in origin? Because in my opinion this is an ENGLISH idiom, not a French one.
