This French phrase sadly has nothing to do with a tasty piece of fruit.
Why do I need to know prendre une prune?
Because your French friend might use this phrase as a warning.
What does it mean?
Prendre une prune – roughly pronounced prahn-druh oon proon – translates as ‘to take a plum’.
You may literally do this while grocery shopping at la marché (the market), but there is another time you might figuratively ‘take a plum’.
Prendre une prune is also a colloquial expression for receiving a fine or penalty. Officially, fine translates as amende or contravention, while penalty would be sanction.
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For example, you could say J’ai entendu dire que tu avais pris une prune pour avoir stationné illégalement (I heard that you were given a fine for parking illegally.)
While this phrase has been used widely since the 20th century, its origins date back to the 12th or 13th century.
At the time, the word prune was also used to describe an ‘object of no value’. Other plum-related expressions began to form, such as ne pas vaut une prune (to be worthless).
As for why plums were seen as worthless, according to Le Figaro, legend has it that the Crusaders returned to France with Damascus plum trees, which (allegedly) angered the king, who said, “You only went there for the plums!”
Later on, une prune also became a synonym for coup (a physical blow or punch), so it is unclear whether prendre une prune was originally meant to describe taking something worthless or taking a hit to the wallet.
Use it like this
J’ai pris une prune ce week-end. C’est ma faute. Je sais qu’il ne faut pas rouler à plus de 30 km en traversant un village. – I was fined this weekend. It was my fault. I know you’re not supposed to drive more than 30 km through a village.
Tu ne le sais peut-être pas, mais dans cette ville, tu peux prendre une prune si tu portes qu’un maillot de bain. Il faut s’habiller en quittant la plage. – You may not know, but in this city, you could be fined if you only wear your bathing suit. You need to get dressed when leaving the beach.
