Pleurnicheur

pleurer = to cry, to weep, to lament
e.g. il pleure pour un rien = he cries at the slightest thing

pleurnicher = to whine, to snivel
e.g. arrête de pleurnicher! = stop whining!
un pleurnichard (the 'd' is silent) or pleurnicheur / une pleurnicheuse = a cry-baby

Which leads me to today's news: French workers are cry-babies. You have to love the illustration there.

(thanks Corina for the link)

Béarnaise

While one would expect Sauce Béarnaise to originate from Béarn, a small area in the Pyrenées, it was actually created around Paris in the 19th century.





Quite simple on paper, this sauce made with egg yolk, butter and herbs is actually quite difficult to get right. If you want to give it a try, here is a recipe. It's simply divine with beef...

Peine

la peine has a number of meanings:
1/ sorrow, grief, e.g.:

• avoir de la peine = to feel sad
  
• faire de la peine (à quelqu'un) = to hurt someone
• ça me fait de la peine (de...) = it hurts me (to...)

2/ effort, trouble, e.g.:

• c'est peine perdue = it's a waste of effort
• se donner la peine or prendre la peine (de...) = to take the trouble (to...)
• ce n'est pas la peine (de...) = there's no point (in...)

3/ difficulty, e.g:

• sans peine = easily
• avec peine = with difficulty
• avoir de la peine (à...) = to have difficulty (doing...)

4/ punishment, sentence, e.g. :

• une peine de prison = prison sentence
• pour la peine, tu feras la vaisselle = as punishment, you'll do the dishes