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poorboy

weena

Senior Member
français (de France)
Bonjour,

dans une romance qui se passe en Angleterre au 19e siècle, on peut lire :
"Emily stepped to the poorboy and unlocked a small drawer where she had deposited his watch earlier in anticipation of their meeting."
Puis quelques chapitres plus tard :
"She tossed her gloves onto the poorboy and poured herself a tumbler of whiskey."

Je n'arrive pas à trouver ce qu'est ce "poorboy". Pourriez-vous m'aider svp ?

Merci !
Bonjour

Pour lancer la discussion avec nos amis anglophones, je trouve
(Fatboy : pouf, semble hors sujet)
Lowboy : console, guéridon, table basse (c'est l'idée qui m'est venue tout de suite pour ce poorboy.)
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Un "lowboy" (a low chest or table with drawers and supported on four legs) a justement des tiroirs.

Le WRD ne donne qu'une traduction :

lowboy n(small chest of drawers)commode basse nf
I don't think this usage of "poorboy" is a standard term. If the book was written in the 19th century, it could conceivably be a forgotten, historical regionalism. If the book is modern historical fiction, it could also be the author's invention or misnomer.

However, it's not too hard to understand. Tallboys, highboys, and lowboys are all different types of dressers (furniture with drawers). By analogy and from the context provided -- drawers, a top surface low enough that she can place her gloves on it -- we can get a general idea of this piece of furniture, which sounds like some sort of lowboy. Perhaps in calling it a "poorboy" the implication is that the smaller/lower chest of drawers is for someone couldn't afford a taller one? I don't know.

The only usage of "poorboy" that I'm familiar with is a U.S. regionalism from New Orleans, where it refers to a type of sandwich, and is also spelled po'boy. That meaning is evidently irrelevant here.
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Mais ton meuble ressemble plus à une console basse (petite table) qu'à une commode (meuble à plusieurs tiroirs les uns au-dessus des autres et petits pieds).
Je ne pense pas qu'il puisse s'agir d'une commode ou d'un chiffonnier (qui, étant plus haut que large, serait plutôt un boy). C'est une table basse à un ou plusieurs petits tiroirs plutôt qu'à grands tiroirs faisant toute la largeur du meuble comme pour une commode. La traduction proposée par le dictionnaire pour lowboy n'est donc pas vraiment appropriée à mon avis.

On pourrait éventuellement parler de coiffeuse.
Oui, si la table est suffisamment profonde ; si elle est peu profonde, j'appellerais ça une console. Une table basse me fait uniquement penser à une table de faible hauteur devant le canapé.
Serait-ce ce que poorboy sous-entendrait par rapport à lowboy, ce dernier étant probablement plus cher en raison du miroir ? 👁 Smile :)
The problem is that we can't find any actual usage instances of "poorboy" outside of this thread. As I mentioned above, we might guess the author is implying a less expensive piece of furniture, but less expensive compared to what, we don't know. 👁 Smile :)


For what it's worth, the Wikipedia page doesn't really say that lowboys had mirrors. Instead, it notes how they were often used as dressing tables, and then adds the comment about how a dressing table that has been equipped with a mirror may also be called a "vanity." 👁 Smile :)
Thank you all for your enlightening answers!
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