French Word of the Day March 2005

Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2005 10:18 PM

là où le bât blesse = this is the painful part I don't know what a bât is, exactly.

Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2005 10:10 AM

(un) ragoût = a stew ragoûtant(e) = appetizing. Almost always used in negative form: ce n'est pas très ragoûtant = it looks rather unappetizing

Sent: Monday, March 28, 2005 4:22 PM

à la bonne franquette = expression to designate something informal on dejeune ensemble, à la bonne franquette ? = let's have lunch, nothing fancy

Sent: Monday, March 28, 2005 11:34 AM

la mort = death

C'est pas la mort! = It's not that big a deal!

la mort dans l'âme = with a heavy heart

Sent: Friday, March 25, 2005 8:23 AM

I concur with this assessment http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=25&story_id=18360

Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2005 7:44 AM

casanier / casanière = stay-at-home Il est très casanier = he's a real stay-at-home

Sent: Wednesday, March 23, 2005 7:35 AM

sourd / sourde = deaf (the 'd' is silent in the masculine form) ce n'est pas tombé dans l'oreille d'un sourd = it didn't fall on deaf ears

Sent: Tuesday, March 22, 2005 6:20 AM

(un) buisson = a bush faire l'école buissonnière = to play hooky

Sent: Monday, March 21, 2005 7:44 AM

(une) chiotte = slang for toilets, mostly used in the plural form Je vais aux chiottes = I'm going to the restrooms

Sent: Friday, March 18, 2005 12:21 AM

For people interested in finding out how SMS is changing the way French is written, here's an article, with a great link to an automatic French-SMS converter. http://fr.news.yahoo.com/050314/295/4bb8c.html E.g. tu fé koi dem1 ? = tu fais quoi demain ? = what are you doing tomorrow ? = what are u doing 2morrow ?

Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2005 7:12 AM

(une) puce = a flea A couple of interesting uses: ma puce = affectionate term (honey, dear etc). Why, I have no idea. mettre la puce a l'oreille (de quelqu'un) = to cause someone to think (literally "to put a flea to someone's ear"). E.g. ça m'a mis la puce a l'oreille = that set me thinking un marché aux puces = a flea market. Doesn't this one translate nicely?

Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2005 6:50 AM

(une) clé (also spelled "clef" with a silent 'f') = a key un porte-clés (or porte-clefs) = a key ring

Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2005 7:34 AM

(le) pinard = slang for wine (the 'd' is silent)

Sent: Monday, March 14, 2005 8:46 AM

exténué(e) = exhausted Je suis exténué! = I'm exhausted!

Sent: Friday, March 11, 2005 12:05 AM

bâcler = to rush something off E.g. un travail bâclé = a sloppy job

Je vais te le bâcler, ce rapport = look how I'll dash this report off

Sent: Thursday, March 10, 2005 9:05 AM

(un/une) pote = a pal (a mate, for the British crowd). Colloquial. Je viendrai avec des potes = I'll bring friends

Sent: Wednesday, March 09, 2005 8:52 AM

(la) haine = hatred Also the title of a 1995 French movie by Mathieu Kassovitz, depicting a day in the life of three youngsters in a multi-ethnic Parisian suburb. It caused a stir at the time, for its depiction of what the suburbs had become synonymous with (unemployment, racism, violence...), of police activities, and its shocking ending. It went to win the Best Director award at Cannes http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113247/

Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2005 11:08 AM

(un) pont = a bridge. Also designates extended week-ends, that include days between a holiday and a week-end. Je fais le pont = I'm making a long week-end of it Il m'ont fait un pont d'or = they offered me a lot of money to take the job

Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 8:54 AM

(une) pêche = a peach avoir la pêche = to feel great (literally to have the peach) La pêche ? = Feeling good ? J'ai la pêche! = I feel great!

Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 7:11 PM

la douleur = pain

la douloureuse = slang for check/bill (depending on which side of the Atlantic you live in). Literally, "the painful"

Sent: Wed 3/2/2005 6:56 PM

Today, a consulting term:

un calendrier de lancement = a roadmap (literally a launch schedule)

Sent: Wednesday, March 02, 2005 6:50 AM

(une) cagoule = a balaclava, a hood

Les temps sont durs, et sous mon imper toujours une cagoule

On sait jamais, si y a danger comme dans les rues de Kaboul

Dontcha - Street Lourd on the eponymous hip-hop compilation (http://www.fnac.com/Shelf/article.asp?PRID=1602695)

(times are tough, so I always carry a mask under my raincoat

you never know, if it becomes dangerous like the streets of Kaboul)

Sent: Tuesday, March 01, 2005 10:48 PM

abasourdir = to stun
être abasourdi = to be stunned