écorcher

Senses

1. 1.

   to skin; to flay

   to remove the skin or outer layer from something, especially an animal

2. 2.

   to graze; to scrape

   to injure lightly by rubbing against a surface

3. 3.

   to mangle; to butcher (a language)

   to speak or pronounce a language badly or inaccurately

4. 4.

   to overcharge; to fleece

   to demand an excessive price from someone

Examples

• "Le boucher écorche la volaille avant de la cuire."

  The butcher skins the poultry before cooking it.

• "Il s'est écorché le genou en tombant."

  He grazed his knee when he fell.

• "Il écorche l'anglais à chaque fois qu'il parle."

  He murders the English language every time he speaks.

Usage

Écorcher is a common transitive verb used literally for removing skin (culinary or anatomical context) and figuratively for poor language skills. The reflexive form s'écorcher means to scrape/graze oneself. Colloquially, "écorcher les oreilles" (to grate on the ears) means to sound unpleasant.