In #1114, we looked at the basic meaning of une poque (dent) and poqué (dented).
A reader of OffQc called Larry asks about poqué used in a different sense, a sense not covered in #1114. This time, poqué isn’t used to describe a dented car or apple, but people. His example, taken from La Presse:
Fugueurs en série
Ils sont jeunes, ils sont poqués, mais ils ont soif de liberté
People described as poqués are considered vulnerable, disadvantaged, troubled, “dented” (in a figurative sense) by the events of their life.
For example, children described as poqués might be neglected by their parents, or abused by them. Adults described as poqués might be homeless, or maybe dealing with addictions or mental health problems.
From the Usito dictionary, this example from La Presse:
« Plusieurs accumulent les échecs. D’autres ont sombré dans la délinquance. Ils sont trop dangereux ou trop poqués pour vivre en société. »
The quote talks about how many of the people in question have had a series of failures, and others have fallen into crime. They’re described as being too dangerous or too vulnerable (trop poqués) to live in society.
I found more examples online. This next one is from L’Itinéraire. The quote talks about a film director who only produces films dealing with social issues, highlighting her interest in vulnerable people (les poqués) and people living on the fringes of society (les marginaux).
Elle est aussi une cinéaste conscientisée, qui ne tourne que des films à caractère social, témoignant d’un intérêt marqué pour les poqués et les marginaux. (source)
Again in La Presse, Patrick Lagacé writes about how a particular reform to welfare (le BS, from bien-être social) would affect the most vulnerable of the vulnerable: [la] réforme du BS visait […] les plus poqués des poqués. (source)
Getting back to Larry’s example above, without knowing anything more about the article, we can understand that it deals with run-aways (fugueurs) who are troubled (poqués) in some way.
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Five books to choose from in the OffQc bookshop to improve your knowledge of vocabulary, expressions and contractions used in Québécois French.
