silvester55 Apr 25, 2011:

@ Kashew another definition : curbstone broker=courtier de trottoir , celui qui n'a pas un bureau fixe .

silvester55 Apr 25, 2011:

@ KASHEW it's not my fault ! LOL .if you think curbstone has too many interpretations , go take a look at " repas populaire" , LoooooooooL

Marion Feildel (X) Apr 25, 2011:

@ Silvester Yours was a good example of curb-stone reaction.

silvester55 Apr 25, 2011:

@ K my first answer was :réaction impulsive , irréfléchie .that was the first impression I got from the sentence .But I found no reference to that ANYWHERE !!!! but then , a " réaction de novice , de débutant "
means a non pro bahaviour .

kashew (asker) Apr 25, 2011:

@ Sly - Curbstone is OK For all the kind answerers, I must explain a bit more! A US secretary (President's man) is talking about their ambassador's solicited reaction to a very serious situation, so I don't think his comments would be called amateurish etc.
Why does curbstone have so many different interpretations?
The basic, straightforward one - immediate - seems the most likely.
Is there a French idiom for that, I wonder?

silvester55 Apr 24, 2011:

do you have any doubts about " stone " orthograph ? could it be another word ? cause i found an expression with a word close to " stone"