Alexandre Astier’s Favorite Word Revealed: He Loves Using It Everywhere!

Well-known for his love of clever wordplay and quirky expressions, Alexandre Astier has crafted a language and iconic lines in his series Kaamelott. Some phrases have even entered everyday speech, such as “C’est pas faux” (That’s not wrong) or “On en a gros” (We’re fed up).

As fans eagerly await the first installment of the second part of Kaamelott, set to release on October 22, the director participated in a conference aired on the Axolot YouTube channel last March. During the event, hosted by Patrick Baud, Astier shared his fascination with a specific word that he loves to use everywhere.

A Not-So-Common Word

“I couldn’t do without ‘décarrer’,” Astier humorously remarks. “I use it often because ‘décarrer’ can’t be replaced by anything else. It’s not ‘get out’. It’s not the same. It’s funny because the actors tease me on set because I don’t want them to replace one word with another,” he continues.

I use it often because ‘décarrer’ isn’t replaceable by anything else. ‘Décarrer’ is not ‘get out’.

“Well, that’s not entirely true because if the word they choose works, I won’t say anything. But if it’s worse, if it’s just laziness or a forgetfulness, they know I will say: Excuse me, it’s not ‘De’, it’s ‘En’. And they tease me about it,” the artist shares.

“They laugh because they know me now. When writing, I bother to choose this word over another because if it doesn’t make the same number of feet… It’s like music,” highlights the actor, emphasizing the importance of the sound of words.

What Does ‘Décarrer’ Mean?

For the record, the verb ‘décarrer’ is real and was not invented by Alexandre Astier. It’s a colloquial term, mainly used in French slang, especially in some southern regions of France or in working-class environments. It means ‘to leave, to go away, or to scram’.

For instance, in Kaamelott, the author used it in Book II, The Peace Dialogue: “Get your troops out of my land or I’ll burn your country down. Is that simple enough vocabulary?” thus spoke Arthur Pendragon. And you, do you use ‘décarrer’ in everyday life? Feel free to discuss!

In any case, we’ll see Alexandre Astier and his team in the first part of the second installment of Kaamelott, hitting theaters on October 22!