Provençal expression

Faire pache

Character

Literal translation

to make a pact

Meaning

to strike a deal

Explanation

Pache means an agreement in the commercial sense or a pact, a word directly related to the French pacte with which it shares its Latin root; faire pache thus means exactly to strike a deal, to seal an arrangement between two parties, with no gap between literal and used meaning. The expression is said in contexts of negotiation, trade, or even reconciliation between people settling a dispute by agreeing on shared terms. The local pronunciation, transcribed faïré patché, shows a palatalization of the ch cluster typical of the Provençal variant concerned, distinct from what standard French would expect. The register is neutral to familiar, fit for a serious transaction as much as for an informal arrangement between neighbors or children making up after a quarrel. The expression illustrates how Provençal keeps terms inherited directly from the common Latin stock shared by Romance languages, here without particular mediation or shift in meaning.

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Other expressions on the same theme

Faire Sant-Michèu/Sant Miquèuto move house Faire un àrri/un nàrrito place a boule badly, in pétanque Faire un chapleto cause a massacre Faire un estampèuto cause a scandal Faire uno bouano manieroto do someone a good turn, a friendly gesture Faire uno cagadoto make a blunder