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I found this exchange on Quora

Est-ce que les kangourous entrent dans les maisons en Australie ?

Et puis, il n’y a pas que les kangourous qui essayaient de s’incruster…

I'm wondering what sort of register "s'incruster" belongs to.

Is it somewhat humorous, like "sneak into" in English (when talking about kangaroos)?

Thanks!

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  • Familier. Prolonger à l'excès son séjour chez quelqu'un de façon inopportune : Il s'est incrusté et est resté tout le week-end ! To stick around, colloquially.
    – Lambie
    Commented Jun 22, 2022 at 18:15

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S’incruster quelque part, c’est entrer quelque part sans y être invité. To gatecrash somewhere.

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    You may also be invited for one or two nights... not 3 months.
    – Alexis Wilke
    Commented Jun 21, 2022 at 22:03
  • It is not gatecrash. Sorry.
    – Lambie
    Commented Jun 22, 2022 at 18:05
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The expression is slang, but not really humourous although it can be used in such a context.

Actually, it is often used as a negative. Say a friend just got dumped and he needs a little support and after 3 months he's still living in your spare room:

« Il s'est incrusté dur là! »

The idea is that someone entered somewhere and stayed when not invited to do so for so long. In this case, “dur” (hard) suggests that he stuck around.

The first meaning of incruster is inlay (as in art, as in digging a small hole to place a jewel on a crown).

"sneak into" is certainly a good translation for an animal, especially since in such cases it is not likely to bother you on purpose (unintentional) and also those animals are probably not going to stay for long.

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    sneak into is more like "s'introduire".
    – XouDo
    Commented Jun 21, 2022 at 18:29
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    @XouDo Il y a aussi "sneak into your business", qui peut être vu comme étant proche de "s'incruster".
    – Alexis Wilke
    Commented Jun 21, 2022 at 18:43
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    The other "guest" was a koala.
    – jlliagre
    Commented Jun 21, 2022 at 23:18
  • @AlexisWilke Ah oui, dans ce sens là, ce serait plutôt s'immiscer dans les affaires de quelqu'un, se mêler des affaires de quelqu'un.
    – XouDo
    Commented Jun 22, 2022 at 7:30
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    to stick around [too long] He really stuck around there.
    – Lambie
    Commented Jun 22, 2022 at 18:16

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