🦤 “Faire dodo” and the Dodo: A Weird Word with a Weirder History

🪶 A sleepy French toddler, a silly English insult, and Alice in Wonderland?

What do they have in common?

The word dodo.

This blog was inspired by a fascinating article I read on the BBC titled “It’s just a weird, weird bird: Why we got the dodo so absurdly wrong.” 

The article explored how the poor dodo bird — extinct since the 1600s — became a symbol of foolishness and failure, when in fact it was simply the victim of human misunderstanding and environmental destruction.

Reading it made me think of another side to the word — the charming French expression faire dodo, used to mean “go to sleep.” And from there, my mind spiraled to Alice in Wonderland, where the Dodo appears as a bossy but comical character who organizes a “Caucus Race” with no real point.

This strange little word — dodo — appears across languages, cultures, and literature... but always in ways that reveal more about us than about the bird itself.

🦤 The Bird Behind the Word

The dodo was native to Mauritius, an island in the Indian Ocean. It was a large, flightless bird, and by the time Europeans arrived, it had no natural predators and no fear of humans — a tragic combination. Within a few decades, it was extinct.

But the legend of the dodo was just beginning. As the BBC article explains, colonial observers misunderstood the bird’s behavior and physiology, assuming its awkward appearance meant it was stupid. Over time, that reputation stuck — helped along by illustrations, poems, and of course, Alice in Wonderland.

In Lewis Carroll’s story, the Dodo leads a pointless “race” where everyone runs in circles and wins nothing. It’s funny, but it also reflects how the dodo was seen as absurd, even in fiction.

📚 English vs. French: A Tale of Two Dodos

• In English, calling someone a dodo means they’re behind the times or not very bright. “Don’t be such a dodo!” is something you’d say to someone making a foolish mistake.

• In French, faire dodo is a gentle, loving phrase for bedtime, especially with children. It likely comes from baby-talk based on the verb dormir (to sleep).

Isn’t it fascinating that the same word — dodo — emerged with such different emotional tones in two languages?

🌍 From Mauritius to Meaning

Words like “dodo” remind us how language can carry history — including history we’d rather forget. The reputation of the dodo was shaped by colonial power, misunderstanding, and mythology. Europeans saw what they wanted to see, and the bird couldn’t speak for itself.

And that’s not unique to the dodo. Think of:

• Turkey 🦃: Misnamed because Europeans wrongly believed it came from Turkey.

• Buffalo 🦬: American bison mistakenly called “buffalo” by early settlers.

• Macaque 🐒: A word with roots in colonial trade routes and complex linguistic transfers, still carrying social baggage today.

These words — like the dodo — reflect not only animals, but the lens through which colonizers interpreted the world.

💭 Final Thought: The Dodo Lives On

The dodo is long gone, but its legacy lives in our words.

In English, it reminds us of how quickly reputation can replace reality. In French, it lives on as a peaceful lullaby. And in Alice in Wonderland, the Dodo keeps running in circles — perhaps like us, trying to make sense of a word that never quite made sense to begin with. 🌀

Maybe the dodo wasn’t so weird after all. Maybe we’re the ones who got it absurdly wrong.

As an English teacher in Vincennes, I love helping learners explore how language connects to culture and history. If you're looking for a more meaningful way to learn, I offer private lessons in English and English courses with CPF in Vincennes — including fully online formats for those who prefer E-learning. Let’s make English learning smart and surprising.