Literal translation
to remain a fool
Meaning
to be left dumbfounded, sheepish
Explanation
This expression means to be left dumbfounded, sheepish, and describes the state of someone frozen, caught by surprise or embarrassment after an unexpected turn of events. The verb resta carries the senses of to dwell, to remain, to tarry, and couioun designates, in familiar Provençal, the fool or simpleton, though the word is not always meant literally here: it describes less genuine stupidity than a crestfallen look, the fixed posture of someone who no longer knows what to say or do. To remain a fool thus means standing there, mouth agape, before a situation that has defeated every expectation, whether a disappointment, a revelation, or a stroke of bad luck. The register is clearly familiar, sometimes blunt depending on context, and the phrase is often used in the first person to recount one's own mishap with self-mockery. It belongs to the rich Provençal vocabulary built around couioun, which has produced many derivatives naming jest, foolishness, or deceit, a sign of the word's lively popular currency.