topo

briefing

noun toh-POH Rare

Origin: Greek 'topos' (place, topic)

Also means

rundown

Usage Note

Topo is informal French for a briefing, summary, or rundown of a situation — short for topographie in its original sense but now used loosely. Faire le topo means 'to give the lowdown'. It is also used in climbing to mean a route guide or topo d'escalade. The word is masculine and strictly informal; compte rendu or résumé serve in formal contexts.

Examples

"Il nous a fait le topo de la situation en deux minutes."

Natural Translation

He gave us the rundown of the situation in two minutes.

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