French Word of the Day July 2004
Sent: Friday, July 30, 2004 8:33 AM
ça le fait! = although it literally means "that does it", it's actually a silly way to express enthusiasm and/or agreement
Sent: Thursday, July 29, 2004 8:19 AM
(un) pot (the 't' is silent) = a jar, a pot / slang for drink
allons prendre un pot = let's go have a drink
Sent: Wednesday, July 28, 2004 9:06 AM
(une) tartiflette = a winter meal: layers of potatoes and Reblochon cheese with a cream and bacon sauce, cooked in the oven:
Perfect after a day on the slopes.
Sent: Tuesday, July 27, 2004 7:53 AM
une explication de texte = a detailed study of a literary extract, usually from multiple points of view (history, style, meaning, rhythm...). A typical school assignment...
Sent: Monday, July 26, 2004 8:26 AM
un blaireau / des blaireaux = badger(s)
Also an insult
Quel blaireau! = What a moron!
Sent: Friday, July 23, 2004 8:11 AM
Today, some ridiculous, old-fashioned swearwords:
sacrebleu! saperlipopette! fichtre! diantre! sapristi! = good grief!
Sent: Thursday, July 22, 2004 7:10 AM
(un/une) m'as-tu-vu = a show-off. Can also be an adjective. Literally a "have-you-seen-me"
Quel m'as-tu-vu celui-là! = What a show-off!
Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 2004 8:32 AM
(une) poire = a pear / slang for "face"
couper la poire en deux = to split the difference (literally to cut the pear in half)
il s'est pris un ballon en pleine poire = he got hit by a ball right in the face
j'ai été une bonne poire = I've been a sucker, I've been too nice and taken advantage of
une poire Belle-Hélène = a stewed pear with ice-cream (usually vanilla) smothered in warm chocolate sauce...
Sent: Tuesday, July 20, 2004 8:20 AM
bâbord = port
tribord = starboard
the d's are silent
Sent: Monday, July 19, 2004 7:24 AM
(un) opinel = a famous brand of knives with retractable blades, easily recognizable by their wooden handle. Has almost become a common noun.
Sent: Friday, July 16, 2004 8:15 AM
l'accent circonflexe = a circumflex accent. In French, can be used on any of the 5 vowels as I will now brilliantly demonstrate: â ê î ô û.
Also affectionately called chapeau (hat) for obvious reasons. E.g. e chapeau = e accent circonflexe = ê
It indicates either:
· a slightly different pronunciation. E.g. infâme (revolting), where the a is deeper than in infamie (infamy)
· the disappearance of a letter (most frequently 's'). E.g. une fête (a party), which used to be feste
Finally, it can be used to make the distinction between two words that would otherwise be spelled the same. E.g. sur (on top of) vs. sûr (certain)
Sent: Thursday, July 15, 2004 8:10 AM
a deadline = une heure limite / une date limite / un délai
To me délai refers to the time remaining before a deadline, not to the deadline itself. So I'm not sure we do have a one-to-one translation. But I'm probably wrong.
I missed a deadline = j'ai dépassé la date / l'heure limite
I have a tight deadline = j'ai un délai serré
Sent: Wednesday, July 14, 2004 8:06 AM
(une) bastille = a fortress. Probably not used as a common noun anymore
Happy Bastille Day!
Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2004 7:34 AM
un cochon / une cochonne = a (male/female) pig, literally and figuratively
il ira loin, si les petits cochons ne le mangent pas = he'll go far, if nothing gets in his way ("if piglets don't eat him alive")
un cochon n'y retrouverait pas ses petits = it's a mess ("a pig couldn't find it's piglets here")
on n'a pas gardé les cochons ensemble = don't get so familiar with me! ("we didn't grow up looking after pigs togethers")
cochon qui s'en dédit! = let's shake hands on it! ("he who retracts is a pig!")
Sent: Monday, July 12, 2004 9:01 AM
Hergé = George Remi's pseudonym - it sounds like his initials reversed, RG
If you want to be picky, Hergé was actually Belgian. Author of such wonderful comic books as:
· Tintin, of course. The adventures of the journalist, his dog Milou and sidekick Capitaine Haddock, who fight evil characters (Rastapopoulos! Général Alcazar!) all around the world.
· Jo, Zette et Jocko: lesser known trio comprised of two kids and a monkey. The mere titles of their adventures are a good indication of the exoticism of these comic books ("L'éruption du Karamako", "Le
· Quick et Flupke: the adventures of two mischievous kids who love to play tricks and always end up in bad situations
Sent: Friday, July 09, 2004 8:05 AM
vendredi = Friday
...and a couple of bonus ones, again to make up for a quiet week:
(une) foutaise and (une) baliverne = nonsense, almost always plural as far as I can tell
C'est des foutaises! = This is nonsense!
BALIVERNES! = NONSENSE!
Sent: Thursday, July 08, 2004 6:29 AM
jeudi = Thursday
And a French band to make up for the total lack of originality this week. Ironically, I can't think of any better way to describe it than Brit pop:
http://www.amazon.fr/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0001WE73I/qid%3D1089204070
Sent: Wednesday, July 07, 2004 8:36 AM
mercredi = Wednesday
Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2004 8:36 AM
mardi = Tuesday
Bon Mardi!
Sent: Friday, July 02, 2004 1:44 AM
lundi = Monday
Sent: Friday, July 02, 2004 1:41 AM
(une) démission = a resignation
Sent: Thursday, July 01, 2004 7:57 AM
(un) pif = slang for nose / intuition, hunch
au pif = by chance, roughly (when estimating)
E.g. au pif, je dirais qu'il est 17h = I'd guess it's roughly 5PM
il a un gros pif = he's got a big nose
Also, Pif is the name of a famous dog that appeared in numerous comic magazines for about 40 years, until the early 90's. Pif Gadget was the most famous format, a weekly comic book not only narrating the adventures of Pif and sidekick Hercule, but offering a "gadget" with each issue (plastic toys, tools for practical jokes,...)
http://www.pif-collection.com/
Today, after more than 10 years, Pif Gadget is back in book stores!
posted by Mandor at 5:32 PM
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