French word

démerder

Pronunciation

IPA/demɛʁde/

Meaning

  • verbmanage

Example

Il faut se démerder.

You have to manage.

Illustration for démerder (manage)

More examples

Il s'est bien démerdé pendant le voyage.

He managed well during the trip.

Core concept

A person stuck in a messy problem who gets out through a quick workaround.

Common phrases

  • se démerder

    manage

  • se démerder tout seul

    manage on one's own

Similar words

se débrouiller: To cope with problems and make things work through one's own ingenuity.
s'en sortir: To overcome a crisis or hardship through effort and practical ingenuity.
se tirer d'affaire: To manage to get out of a difficult situation without outside help.
s'arranger: To do what is needed to ensure that matters turn out well.

Definition in French

Réussir à s'en sortir d'une difficulté en improvisant ou en trouvant une solution par soi-même.

Word origin

Démerder is a colloquial formation from merde with dé-, and the reflexive form se démerder came to mean getting oneself out of a difficult situation.

Usage tips

  • The word is vulgar or very informal, so se débrouiller or s'en sortir is safer in formal situations.

Other meanings

  • get byverb
  • cope with ___verb

Opposites

Word lists with this word