tuile

roof tile

noun TWEEL Rare

Origin: from Latin tegula

Also means

mishap

Usage Note

Tuile literally means a curved or flat roof tile (tuile romaine, 'Roman tile'). Colloquially, une tuile means a sudden piece of bad luck or an unexpected setback — equivalent to 'a blow' or 'a bummer' in English. This figurative sense is very common in informal spoken French.

Examples

"Quelle tuile, j'ai raté mon train !"

Natural Translation

What a bummer, I missed my train!

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