Why do I need to know tenue d’Adam? Because when it gets really hot you might hear people discussing it. What does it mean? The phrase tenue d’Adam – pronounced as tay-noo-dah-dam – literally translates as ‘Adam’s outfit’. But really it means to be naked – referring to the Biblical story of Adam and Eve who were naked in the Garden of Eden before the incident involving the forbidden fruit. The female version is therefore tenue d’Eve – Eve’s outfit. There is a, somewhat less
common, version that is gender neutral – tenue de paradis terrestre, earthly paradise outfit. If you want to talk about being naked, you refer to being en tenue d’Adam/Eve – in Adam/Eve’s outfit. This is a somewhat poetic way to describe being naked – perhaps similar to the English ‘birthday suit’. The more standard way to refer to nakedness is nu/e, while a more crude and slangy option is à poil, which roughly translates as butt-naked or bollock naked. Use it like this Télétravailler en
tenue d’Adam ou d’Ève, caméra éteinte et fenêtres abritée des regards, ne relève pas du droit pénal – Working from home in your birthday suit, with the camera off and the windows shielded from view, does not constitute a criminal offence. (This extremely useful information via French media Le Parisien) Mon voisin tondait la pelouse en tenue d’Adam – My neighbour was cutting the grass in his birthday suit À 11 heures du matin, elle était en tenue d’Eve – She was totally naked at
11am
tenue d'Adam, tenue d'Eve, tenue de paradis terrestre, birthday suit, French phrase of the day, nudity in French, nu/e, à poil, Le Parisien