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French Phrase of the Day: Faire du stop

Why do I need to know faire du stop? Because this isn't an instruction. What does it mean? Faire du stop - roughly pronounced fair do stop - might sound like a command, but in reality, this combination of French and English means 'to hitchhike'. The official word for hitchhiking in French is l'autostop , which originated in the early 1940s, combining the prefix auto (for cars) with the English word 'stop'. A hitchhiker would thus be an autostoppeur (or autostoppeuse ), though the French translators of 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' opted instead for Le Guide du voyageur galactique (The traveller's guide to the galaxy ). Advertisement However, faire du stop is the colloquial phrase you are more likely to hear if you ever find yourself on the side of the road with your thumb up. There are several different ways to talk about hitchhiking in French. You can also say lever le pouce (to raise the thumb), and if you visit Quebec in Canada, you would say faire du pouce (to do the thumb). Hitchhiking emerged in France in the late 1930s, at a time when only one in every 20 people had a vehicle. The practice was a popular option for people who could not afford bus or train tickets. Like in other countries, the practice also became popular, particularly in the 1950s, amongst young people either looking to run off or travel. While hitchhiking has declined in France, it is still something you will see from time to time, especially if you visit a ski area where free navettes (buses) run from the town up to the station. There's also the more modern version - the French start-up Bla Bla Car is a way of arranging a ride share in advance from someone who is driving to your destination, although in this case you will be contributing petrol money. Use it like this Ce n'est pas grave si on rate le bus, on peut faire du stop. - It doesn't matter if we miss the bus. We can just hitchhike. J'ai fait du stop de Marseille à Paris. C'était un voyage formidable, mais parfois un peu angoissant. - I hitchhiked from Marseille to Paris. It was a great trip, but a bit anxiety-inducing at times.