French Word of the Day September 2003
Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2003 8:52 AM
(une) bosse = a bump
rouler sa bosse = to knock about
il a la bosse des maths = he has a flair for math
Sent: Monday, September 29, 2003 9:57 AM
(un) poisson = a fish
noyer le poisson = to evade an issue (literally "to drown the fish")
Sent: Friday, September 26, 2003 8:36 AM
ranger = to tidy, to arrange
Un homme rangé = a man who settled down
Sent: Thursday, September 25, 2003 8:28 AM
kif: originally a synonym for marijuana, then evolved to a variety of slang words associated with pleasure:
C'est le kif! = It's great!
Je kiffe! = I love this!
See also kif-kif = the same
C'est kif-kif! or C'est kif-kif bourricot! = It's all the same! (a bourricot is a donkey - don't ask me)
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2003 8:11 AM
The official answer to yesterday's quiz is:
a - Des objets jaune citron
Attached is a bon point for those who had the correct answer. Compound color adjectives (either noun-adjective or adjective-adjective) are invariable. A good way to test this is to consider a feminine noun and see if it "sounds" correct:
une voiture verte pomme -> doesn't sound good
une voiture vert pomme -> OK
Today's word:
(un) beauf: a redneck / abbreviation for beau-frère = brother-in-law
<<>>
Sent: Tuesday, September 23, 2003 9:03 AM
Some color adjectives are made of an adjective followed by a noun. E.g.:
jaune citron: lemon yellow
bleu ciel: sky blue
vert pomme: apple green
etc.
Which is the correct plural for such adjectives ?
a - Des objets jaune citron
b - Des objets jaunes citron
c - Des objets jaune citrons
d - Des objets jaunes citrons
Since I have absolutely no idea what the answer is, this is a democratic vote, the majority gets to decide how I will spell this for the rest of my life
Thanks for your help
Sent: Monday, September 22, 2003 8:47 AM
(un) blaireau = a badger
Also an insult:
Espèce de (gros) blaireau! = You moron!
(c) BBR 2003
Sent: Friday, September 12, 2003 9:02 AM
(un) coude = an elbow
e.g.: ils se serrent les coudes = they stick together
lever le coude = to drink a bit ("to raise one's elbow")
Sent: Friday, September 12, 2003 8:56 AM
Subject: RE: French album of the day
NTM (an acronym for Nique Ta Mère which I won't translate here :-) is a hardcore Parisian hip-hop band. After a couple of issues with justice (to be expected when you beat up a stewardess) the band split up and started to different projects (B.O.S.S. and 4 my people) also worth listening to.
Sent: Friday, September 12, 2003 8:46 AM
Synonyms for coward:
un lâche
un trouillard
un froussard
un couard
une poule mouillée ("a wet chicken")
une fillette ("a little girl")
Sent: Friday, September 12, 2003 8:42 AM
(une) vache = a cow
la vache! (slang) = expression of surprise
Sent: Friday, September 12, 2003 8:24 AM
or = gold
E.g.:
il roule sur l'or = he's rolling in money
le silence est d'or = silence is golden
Sent: Friday, September 12, 2003 8:17 AM
(un) jeton = a token / a chip
(un) faux-jeton = a hypocrite ("a fake token")
avoir les jetons = to be scared
Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2003 8:33 AM
(un) canard = a duck / slang for newspaper
E.g. un canard laqué = a roast duck
ça ne casse pas trois pattes à un canard = it doesn't break three legs to a duck, meaning it's nothing to write home about
Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2003 8:35 AM
(un) œuf (pronounced "uf") = an egg
E.g.
un œuf à la coque = a boiled egg
un œuf dur = a hard-boiled egg
des œufs brouillés = scrambled eggs
un œuf au plat = a fried egg
tuer quelquechose dans l'œuf = to kill something before it's born, i.e. to prevent it from flourishing (e.g. a child's talent for sport)
Sent: Tuesday, September 09, 2003 8:57 AM
faire la tête = faire la gueule (slang) = bouder (baby talk) = to sulk
Sent: Monday, September 08, 2003 1:25 PM
(un) coup = a knock / a blow
Lots of expressions with coup:
un coup fourré = a dirty trick
un coup bas = a blow below the belt
faire les 400 coups = to raise hell
un coup de barre = a sudden fatigue
E.g.
J'ai un énorme coup de barre = I'm suddenly extremely tired
Sent: Friday, September 05, 2003 9:12 AM
sans fil = wireless
E.g. un téléphone sans fil = a wireless phone
Sent: Thursday, September 04, 2003 10:36 AM
Subject: RE: French album of the day
Les petits humains (the artists formerly known as Caméléon), i.e. the tiny humans. Not quite yet mainstream, but hopefully soon (mark my words). Some tracks are downloadable here:
http://www.lespetitshumains.com/
They're recommended by Jean-Jacques Goldman:
http://www.jjgoldman.net/?page=coupcoeur
Sent: Wednesday, September 03, 2003 8:43 AM
halluciner = to hallucinate. May be a neologism for "avoir des hallucinations" which seems to be the correct way to say it. Slang for "I don't believe it!"
J'hallucine! = I don't believe this!
Tu verrais sa voiture, t'hallucines! = If you saw his car, you wouldn't believe it!
Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2003 12:57 PM
Franglais. More about Franglais in the news:
posted by Mandor at 5:26 PM
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