# Stop calling it a menage!



## Mondy (20 February 2011)

I hope I won't be in trouble for repeating a topic across fora, but I thought my question belonged here as well. So, in a nutshell:

Why do people insist upon calling the place for schooling horses a 'menage'?

Here is the definition for 'menage' from Oxford English Dictionary: A domestic establishment, or its members collectively; a household, a home. In later use also: the parties involved in a romantic or sexual relationship regarded as forming a domestic establishment; the relationship itself.

Ie. 'menage' is NOT a riding arena, which, if one desires to be fancy, can be called a 'manege'.

I am so tired of people affecting a bogus prestige by using words they don't even know the meaning of. 

I thought the fashion for dropping French words in with every second breath waned post-Chaucer in the fifteenth century. Apparently ridiculous affectation has a loooong afterlife in the equestrian community.

Summary: 'Manege' NOT 'menage', NOT 'menage' but 'MANEGE'.

That is all for now.


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## meardsall_millie (20 February 2011)

Or perhaps we could not give two hoots about what we call said 'area for working horses' and just get out there and concentrate on riding them?


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## OneInAMillion (20 February 2011)

its only if you write it it looks different, to say it sounds no different, however i will not be taking FH to a menage!!


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## FrodoBeutlin (20 February 2011)

Mondy said:



			I thought the fashion for dropping French words in with every second breath waned post-Chaucer in the fifteenth century. Apparently ridiculous affectation has a loooong afterlife in the equestrian community.
		
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LOL 

Agree completely, it really really annoys me too.


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## Festive_Felicitations (20 February 2011)

It really really annoys me when it is pronounced 'men-ARge' in a nasal Australian accent....


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## MistletoeMegan (20 February 2011)

GDBO


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## spookypony (20 February 2011)

I don't know how it is in France, but in Québec, "ménage" refers to your household cleaning, etc. "Manège" is the school for horses. I've often wondered why forummers appear to prefer housework to schooling, and to what uses they put their horses during this cleaning.  

OneInAMillion, they should actually be pronounced quite differently: (horribly anglicised approximation here) may-nah-ge vs. mah-neh-ge. Unfortunately, leaving out the accents (which I also do for convenience of typing on a keyboard set up for English) obscures this difference! Ah well, no harm done!


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## MrsMozart (20 February 2011)

One of those words that I can never remember how to spell 


When've I've called it a school, a lot of horsey people look down their noses.


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## spookypony (20 February 2011)

Why look down noses? I usually call it a school or maybe an arena.

I had a silly moment last year...what I would call a "padded vest" appears to be called a "gilet" here. So, being aware of the British tendency to hopelessly mangle any French words encountered (must be a holdover from the 100 years war or something  ), I took a stab at pronouncing it "gill-ett"...that sure back-fired...


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## wonkey_donkey (20 February 2011)

Who cares . . . . life is too short !!  lol


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## MrsMozart (20 February 2011)

Lol. I have no idea SP 

I usually just refer to it as the school, unless it's one of the big beasties, in which case I call it the arena.


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## pillion (20 February 2011)

mmmmm.....we call it all sorts, but will have to call it a Menage from now on, as it seems to iritate


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## Capriole (20 February 2011)

how funny 

I will never be able to call it anything other than a menage from this point on


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## friesian80 (20 February 2011)

Does it really matter what ppl call it, I would nevr let such a minor thing bother me, as someone else has already said 'life is too short'.

Id be concentrating on what I was doing within the school not how ppl were pronouncing it


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## gonebananas (20 February 2011)

friesian80 said:



			Does it really matter what ppl call it, I would nevr let such a minor thing bother me, as someone else has already said 'life is too short'.

Id be concentrating on what I was doing within the school not how ppl were pronouncing it 

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totally agree. if people know what your on about who cares


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## Dormouse (20 February 2011)

Magdalen College..... says it all.... Balliol people wouldnt have this issue I am sure 

I just call it an arena personally


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## Nic (20 February 2011)

Stop calling it a menage!
		
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Erm how about no


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## Mike007 (20 February 2011)

My last horse obviously thought of it as the "Drop Zone".


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## MrsMozart (20 February 2011)

Mike007 said:



			My last horse obviously thought of it as the "Drop Zone".

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roflmao 

Sorry, shouldn't laugh


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## cptrayes (20 February 2011)

I'm with the OP, if only because I wouldn't give a Frenchman the satisfaction of hearing a Rosbif mangle one simple word of his language, or have him laugh as I tell him that I ride in a household.


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## MrsMozart (20 February 2011)

The only French people I know are used to my cr*p pronounciation and no longer give a rats ar$e . They'll have a good laugh and move on


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## TarrSteps (20 February 2011)

I can't be asked to care but I'm surprised how many people seem to want to use a incorrectly. Odd. And it does sound pretentious. 

I actually dislike 'school' a I think it has connotations of tests and forced learning and contributes to hour many people have a really reluctant attitude towards schooling here. I know that sounds silly but I've been struck by it.


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## kit279 (20 February 2011)

MrHappy said:



			Magdalen College..... says it all.... Balliol people wouldnt have this issue I am sure 

I just call it an arena personally 

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Lol...


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## Sleighfarer (20 February 2011)

It really annoys me, too. Alistair Appleton said it on Escape to the Country the other day. Tsk.

And I don't quite understand why people are so proud of the fact they are using the wrong word


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## nikkimariet (20 February 2011)

Shmeh. Barth or Bath. xoxo


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## diggerbez (20 February 2011)

Mondy said:



			I hope I won't be in trouble for repeating a topic across fora, but I thought my question belonged here as well. So, in a nutshell:

Why do people insist upon calling the place for schooling horses a 'menage'?

Here is the definition for 'menage' from Oxford English Dictionary: A domestic establishment, or its members collectively; a household, a home. In later use also: the parties involved in a romantic or sexual relationship regarded as forming a domestic establishment; the relationship itself.

Ie. 'menage' is NOT a riding arena, which, if one desires to be fancy, can be called a 'manege'.

I am so tired of people affecting a bogus prestige by using words they don't even know the meaning of. 

I thought the fashion for dropping French words in with every second breath waned post-Chaucer in the fifteenth century. Apparently ridiculous affectation has a loooong afterlife in the equestrian community.

Summary: 'Manege' NOT 'menage', NOT 'menage' but 'MANEGE'.

That is all for now.
		
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i cannot believe that anyone cares enough to post this?? i have serious apostrophe OCD but i wouldn't come on here posting about it.... i think that its quite pretentious to harp on about things like this TBH... just because you are good at grammar doesn't give you a right to talk down to others....


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## Hoof Hearted (20 February 2011)

I think its a daft word anyway & don't care how it's pronounced. I do prefer to see it spelled correctly though


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## imr (21 February 2011)

I'm glad she did post...because it really annoys me when people use menage, especially estate agents and the like using it in pretentious brochures. IMO its a slightly pretentious word anyway and I don't really use it but if you are going to, use the right one....

I do think it is a little odd that some people seem to be so proud of using the wrong word though. I can understand why people might not realise what the correct word is due to the widespread use of the wrong one, but once you have been told wouldn't you use the correct spelling ?! Why would anyone be proud of using the wrong word/bad spelling etc??  Inverse snobbery anyone ?


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## BYR (21 February 2011)

Just call it an arena then no one is confused  but does it really matter?!


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## MerrySherryRider (21 February 2011)

I'm a little perplexed, why is using the term menege an affectation of bogus prestige ? I thought it was a commonly used term as is much of the terminology used in equestrianism ? Arena/school/menege... whats the difference ? Quite like Drop Zone though....


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## Niraf (21 February 2011)

Thank you. I am often appalled and annoyed by the grammar, spelling and general slapdash ways of posting. I know that this is not a grammar or spelling forum, but surely posters  take pride in their language and take a little time to read through their posts ? 

I am an English speaking South African and the standard of English in this country is shocking, with even newspapers and TV news broadcasts revealing spelling and grammatical errors. However, for much of the population, English is not their home language. When I read postings on a forum where the majority of people post in English, presumably their home language, I expect to see a higher standard of English than that to which we are exposed here.


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## olop (21 February 2011)

I call it a school - then I cannot be told off for calling it something wrong then lol


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## combat_claire (21 February 2011)

imr said:



			I'm glad she did post...because it really annoys me when people use menage, especially estate agents and the like using it in pretentious brochures. IMO its a slightly pretentious word anyway and I don't really use it but if you are going to, use the right one....
		
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I can never remember remember which is which so err on the side of safety and always write arena in my sales particulars and valuations. It saves a whole heap of problems as the client thinks you are inviting him to a menage-a-trois!


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## flintmeg (21 February 2011)

olop said:



			I call it a school - then I cannot be told off for calling it something wrong then lol 

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Same here! lol


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## Rosiefan (21 February 2011)

Well I thought until now that menage was right, probably because it seems to be pronounced/spelled like that much more often than the correct way - in England at any rate. Given that English is a living language, it's just a matter of time before menage becomes correct .
Also, I quite like the association of menage with menagerie - an enclosure full of wild animals - frequently an accurate description of what goes in the school at my lot's yard - lol.
A manege can be translated as a merry-go-round too - the french original of the Magic roundabout was Le Manege Enchante (sorry, don't how to an e with either an acute or a grave accent )


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## YasandCrystal (21 February 2011)

Lol I am loving this 'light' post, personally when people call it a 'menage' I laugh and can't help thinking of the term 'menage a trois', must be my juvenile dirty mind!


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## j1ffy (21 February 2011)

diggerbez said:



			i cannot believe that anyone cares enough to post this?? i have serious apostrophe OCD but i wouldn't come on here posting about it.... i think that its quite pretentious to harp on about things like this TBH... just because you are good at grammar doesn't give you a right to talk down to others.... 

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You missed an apostrophe there DB 

I'm impressed that this thread has made it to 4 pages TBH!  Personally, I call it school or arena as I went to a spit and sawdust riding school from a young age and  never could get my head around "manege"!


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## diggerbez (21 February 2011)

j1ffy said:



			You missed an apostrophe there DB 

I'm impressed that this thread has made it to 4 pages TBH!  Personally, I call it school or arena as I went to a spit and sawdust riding school from a young age and  never could get my head around "manege"!
		
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haha oh yes!


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## kerilli (21 February 2011)

well, i tend to call it an arena, because that comes from the Latin, for 'sand'.  
I hope that makes you happy, OP.
but sometimes I call it 'the school'. occasionally i slip up and call it the 'manege' (i try to manage my horse in the manege, never the 'menarge'). 
Do you get upset about non-U words too, about 'toilet' instead of lavatory or loo, 'serviette' instead of napkin, that sort of thing.
I bet Chinaman drives you crackers, because a chinaman is a left-hand bowler's googly... one should say 'a Chinese', obviously.
Of course, then we get into whether it is pretentious to call my trainer a "trainer", as opposed to an "instructor"...

gotta love the English language...
you might like these:


The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.--James D. Nicoll, 1990, in the Usenet group rec.arts.sf-lovers
and
there's an old saying, that the English language was a result of Norman men-at-arms trying to chat up Saxon barmaids, and no more legitimate than any other result thereof...


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## diggerbez (21 February 2011)

kerilli said:



			well, i tend to call it an arena, because that comes from the Latin, for 'sand'.  
I hope that makes you happy, OP.
but sometimes I call it 'the school'. occasionally i slip up and call it the 'manege' (i try to manage my horse in the manege, never the 'menarge'). 
Do you get upset about non-U words too, about 'toilet' instead of lavatory or loo, 'serviette' instead of napkin, that sort of thing.
I bet Chinaman drives you crackers, because a chinaman is a left-hand bowler's googly... one should say 'a Chinese', obviously.
Of course, then we get into whether it is pretentious to call my trainer a "trainer", as opposed to an "instructor"...

gotta love the English language...
you might like these:


The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.--James D. Nicoll, 1990, in the Usenet group rec.arts.sf-lovers
and
there's an old saying, that the English language was a result of Norman men-at-arms trying to chat up Saxon barmaids, and no more legitimate than any other result thereof...
		
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haha kerrili that's brilliant


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## TarrSteps (21 February 2011)

kerilli said:



			Do you get upset about non-U words too, about 'toilet' instead of lavatory or loo, 'serviette' instead of napkin, that sort of thing.
		
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Ah, but those words are correct, just not "acceptable in polite company".  Or at least that's the case here, as there are "polite" words - slang and not - here that would not be considered so in other English speaking countries.  To give the OP fair play, he/she was getting his/her knickers in a twist over incorrect usage, not impolite usage.  

It does make me laugh though, as when people get horse terms wrong on television or in other media, everyone has a fit about it.  What's wrong with being right?


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