French Word of the Day October 2003
Sent: Friday, October 31, 2003 8:41 AM
des fringues = slang for clothes
not to be confused with
(un) flingue = slang for gun
Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2003 10:13 AM
The answer is
3/ au temps pour moi! (OTAN=NATO, for those who were wondering)
Rumor has it it comes from the musical world, when a musician would stop the orchestra because he made a mistake and ask everyone to "go back to the time when he made the mistake".
Today's word (long overdue):
Merde! = shit! Very useful indeed.
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 9:00 AM
Which is right, and means "my mistake!" ?
1/ ô temps pour moi!
2/ autant pour moi!
3/ au temps pour moi!
4/ OTAN, pour moi!
Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2003 8:47 AM
(un) sous-entendu = a double-entendre
For extra bawdiness, add grivois or salace as an adjective.
Sent: Monday, October 27, 2003 7:27 AM
(un) lapsus = a slip of the tongue
un lapsus révélateur = a Freudian slip
Sent: Friday, October 24, 2003 8:01 AM
To be a little more precise: enfreindre is only used in "enfreindre la loi" (AFAIK) and doesn't mean "break", which would translate to "casser".
E.g. Il a cassé son jouet = he broke his toy
C'est un casse-pieds = he's a pain in the neck (he's a foot-breaker)
If you want to be meaner and a lot less polite you can also say casse-couilles but you didn't hear it from me.
Sent: Thursday, October 23, 2003 7:59 AM
(la) loi = the law
E.g.
la loi du silence = the code of silence
la loi du plus fort = survival of the fittest
enfreindre la loi = to break the law. J'enfreins/tu enfreins/il enfreint/nous enfreignons/vous enfreignez/ils enfreignent (another one of these verbs that give children nightmares)
Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2003 7:06 AM
craindre = to fear, to be afraid
One of those verbs that are impossible to conjugate ("que vous craignissiez?!?!"). All I know is:
ça craint! = it sucks!
Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 2003 8:48 AM
Translate in French. A one-word translation of any of these wins a prize.
homesick [LM] I'm feeling homesick = J'ai le mal du pays
shallow (for a pool) [LM] Peu profond, or pas profond. For a person, we can use superficiel
cheap (as in "not expensive") [LM] Pas cher / bon marché
[LM] Any explanation as to why the French do not deem necessary to have a word for "cheap" or "shallow" is more than welcome.
Sent: Monday, October 20, 2003 8:52 AM
To be more precise:
(une) malédiction = a curse, a spell, as in Pirates des Caraïbes, la malédiction du Black Pearl - Pirates of the Caribbean : the curse of the Black Pearl
(un) juron / (un) gros mot = a curse, a swearword
Sent: Friday, October 17, 2003 8:36 AM
(une) malédiction = a curse
Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2003 2:32 PM
(un) patron = a manager / a boss
Since today is National Boss Day (http://www.calendar-updates.com/Holidays/US/boss.htm), repeat after me:
Bonne fête patron ! :-|
You may also want to add subtle references to:
(une) augmentation = a raise
(une) promotion = a promotion
le treizième mois = a bonus equal to a month's salary (the "thirteenth month")
Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2003 7:54 AM
Subject: RE: French album of the day
Rue Oberkampf. 2-CD compilation filled with various musical styles (reggae - house - ambient - ...) supposedly representative of the eclectic nightlife around the eponymous Parisian street.
http://www.hitsquick.com/music/cdx/725215
http://www.hitsquick.com/music/cdx/723993
Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2003 8:23 AM
(un) bougre = something like guy/bloke. Not to be confused with bourge (short for bourgeois)
E.g. ça n'est pas un mauvais bougre = he's not a bad guy
bougre d'imbécile! or bougre d'idiot! = you bloody idiot! - Slightly old-fashioned and not that insulting. Gotta love it.
Sent: Monday, October 13, 2003 8:42 AM
Top 5 one-syllable French words:
Zut! = Damn!
Ouais! = Yeah!
Nan! = Nah!
Ptet... (peut-être) = Maybe....
Hein ? = Uh ? What ?
Sent: Friday, October 10, 2003 8:24 AM
Here are a couple of French acronyms. Can you tell what they stand for/mean ?
SAMU: Service d'Assistance Médicale d'Urgence (EMS)
EDF: Electricité de France / Equipe de France (French Electricity Company / National [Soccer] Team)
CQFD: Ce Qu'il Fallait Démontrer (What had to be proven - conclusion of a logical reasoning)
RER: Réseau Express Régional (Regional Express Railroad - oooh it matches the French acronym)
HLM: Habitation à Loyer Modéré (Low-rent apartment)
QI: Quotient Intellectuel (IQ)
Sent: Thursday, October 09, 2003 8:24 AM
Guignol: main character of a traditional French puppet show
Faire le guignol: to clown around
Arrête de faire le guignol!: Stop acting silly!
See http://leguignol.free.fr/france/fr.htm
Sent: Wednesday, October 08, 2003 8:42 AM
How to be a good French Consultant. Repeat after me:
(un) changement de paradigme: a paradigm shift
transcender: to transcend
(la) conduite du changement: change management
Exercise: translate: "Seule l'approche intégrée fournie par l'élaboration d'une stratégie opérationnelle permet de développer un changement de paradigme basé sur une vision consolidée de la conduite du changement'" in proper Consultant English.
[LM] Only the development of an operational strategy can provide the kind of integrated approach that enables a paradigm shift based on a consolidated vision of change management.
Sent: Tuesday, October 07, 2003 8:38 AM
Subject: RE: French album of the day
Mylène Farmer: she's been around for a while, made quite a few kinky videos and has reached cult status thanks to numerous #1 hits in the 80s. The French Madonna, you could say :-|
Sent: Monday, October 06, 2003 8:59 AM
(une) anguille = an eel
Il y a anguille sous roche = there's something going on ("there's an eel under the rock")
Sent: Friday, October 03, 2003 6:44 AM
Un bon dessin vaut mieux qu'un long discours: a picture is worth a thousand words (literally "a good drawing is better than a long speech")
Sent: Thursday, October 02, 2003 8:57 AM
Today, a pun - because 1/ I'm feeling lazy 2/ I think it's funny 3/ I get to chose
Les dirigeants marseillais ont préféré recruter en Tchéquie qu'à Rio
No translation because 1/ I'm really feeling lazy 2/ it wouldn't make sense anyway
Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2003 8:48 AM
(un) sac = a bag
se faire prendre la main dans le sac = to be caught red-handed
see also: prendre quelqu'un sur le fait = to catch someone in the act
E.g.: il s'est fait prendre la main dans le sac or il s'est fait prendre sur le fait = he was caught red-handed
posted by Mandor at 5:27 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home