porc-épic

"Porc-épic" is the french word for porcupine, a little animal that you don't care about until the day you step on it (and since then you know it's not a pleasant feeling).

You know, I'm French and for you I went looking for a (true) definition of porc-épic in a french newspaper (Le Parisien) :
"Porc-épic est un nom vernaculaire ambigu désignant en français certains rongeurs qui se répartissent en deux familles, les Hystricidae, les porcs-épics de l'ancien Monde et les Erethizontidae, ceux du nouveau Monde."
Don't worry, I translate :
"Porc-épic is an ambiguous vernacular name for certain rodents that are divided into two families, the Hystricidae, the porcupines of the Old World, and the Erethizontidae, those of the New World."

Etymologically, it is assumed that porc-épic is an alteration of "porte-espic" (spikes-bearer); but this is refuted by the concordance of the Romance languages in comparing this animal to a pig (porc is literally pig in french).

"Oh non, j'ai marché sur un porc-épic, il va falloir amputer"
"Oh no, I stepped on a porcupine, we'll have to amputate"

"Ce cochon est épique"
"This pig is epic." (in french, "porc-épic", porcupine, is pronounced as "porc épique", epic pig)

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