French Word-A-Day

le french flair

 
French Charm. No photo of the star rugby player (see today's story...) for you. I hope a photo of a beautiful French woman will do. I met Estelle during my latest photo périple through the town of Montfaucon. At the bakery, Estelle serves chocolate eggs, jelly beans, Tic-Tacs, Hollywood gum, and melt-in-your-mouth money... enough friandises to fill the kids Easter baskets on Sunday! Merci beaucoup, Estelle, for letting me take your photo!

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le flair français

: (in Rugby) french flair: a French style of play renowned for its paradoxical combination of rugged physicality and inspired grace. --Wikipedia

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A Day in a French Life... by Kristin Espinasse 

Last night I was invited to a private club in Marseilles to dine on saumon à loh-zay and listen to an English rugby-man speak en français. Only, as I sat savoring dish after delectable dish, I remembered a lesson my Dad always taught me: nothing is free in life and when one forks down French chocolat like there's no tomorrow... you can be sure "tomorrow" or "Payback Time", will come!

"Payback Time" for me will come soon enough. Next month I will rendre service for that fancy feast. Luckily, I won't have to do dishes or faire la plonge to pay for my meal... a little translation work will take care of the tab. 

En fait, if I was invited to last night's Sport & Business Club meet-up, this was in order to prepare for a stint as interpreter for the club's next speaker: American boxer "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler.

As I listened from the audience to the current speaker, Rugby World Cup winner Jonny Wilkinson, I became increasingly uneasy about my "skills" at interpretation. First off, Mr Wilkinson's French seemed perfect to me (I later learned that he had only recently begun French lessons...). He had no need for an interpreter, but held his own during the discussion.

Indeed, I had a hard time keeping up during the Q&A session where currently the English speaker was being asked about the phenomenon known as "French flair".  I missed the first part of his response, but when Mr Wilkinson mentioned something about mites, my ears perked up, and I wondered what did bugs have do with French elegance? Indeed, what did flair have to do with football?

And then it hit me: Mr Wilkinson wasn't talking about "mites," instead he was mouthing the French word for myth,which, when properly pronounced, sounds like "meet"—something I'd "interpreted" as "mite")!

Now I am really nervous about my ability to translate for Marvelous Marvin next month. My gaffe went quietly unnoticed, but what if I had verbalized such an embarrassing interpretation?

I left the dinner a little disturbed. On my way down the stairs I passed Jonny Wilkinson, who was talking to one of the organizers. I thought about this being my chance to say hello....  Instead, I continued on in self-doubt: 

"Well, what could you possibly say to him?" I argued, "Nice to 'mite' you"?

I no longer trusted myself to speak so much as English to the eloquent Anglophone whose French shone like moonlight over the Rhône, not far from where a lagging language learner soon returned home.

:: Le Coin Commentaires ::

This forum is open to your comments about today's word or story. You may also pose questions about France, the French language and similar topics. By helping each other, we enrich this community by educating and inspiring one another in all things French. Click here to comment.

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French Vocabulary & Audio File Download Wave

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le flair français = French flair
un périple = a tour, journey
une friandise = a sweet (candy)
le saumon = salmon
loh-zay (pronunciation for "oseille" (f) = sorrel
rendre service = return the favor
faire la plonge = to do the washing-up
en fait = in fact
un invité / une invitée = a guest
en français = in French

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Photo taken in Les Arcs-sur-Argens.

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se reposer sur ses lauriers

Resting on one's laurels. (Note: I didn't have a picture of a laurel, so how about anemones instead? Let's rephrase things now to "easing up on one's anemones"

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se reposer sur ses lauriers

    : to rest on one's laurels

A Day in a French Life... by Kristin Espinasse

I did not bring my husband his cup of kawa this morning. Instead, I crept up the spiral staircase with its dusty red tommettes, made a swift kro-shay at the top of the cage d'escalier, and ran like a thief on a twilight getaway.

There, at the end of the hall, in a spring-cleaned office, I sat down at a tidy desk and willed myself to cast out culpability and put all guilt to rest. I looked around at my treasure, this room of one's own, and let myself get lost in the bliss of Alone.

Leave me ALONE! Isn't that what we so often yearn to say at the end of any given day? But there is no room for selfishness in a world full of need. So we try our best to put Ego aside and say "Yes" to others and dedicate ourselves to deed after good deed. 

But in the early hours of the morning... before anyone else is awake, a peaceful parcel is ours for the taking, and there we claim our moment of calm and drive in our victory stake.

 

...Only sometimes we linger too long on our lauriers...

He can get his own coffee this morning! I decide, allowing my meditative moment to meander on and on... Nursing my coffee like Nefertiti, I sit back in my office chair and click open my calendar...

Monday, March 29th... !!!

Double-quick dare-dare, I ditch Nefertiti—and any other newfangled notions about nursing time—and hightail my hide back to the coffee machine in time to make my husband his café with cream. Next, I climb the stairs in rhythm with the French words of Joyeux Anniversaire!

:: Le Coin Commentaires ::

Will you help me to wish Jean-Marc Joyeux Anniversaire? Thanks for leaving him a message here. 

Happy Birthday Chief Grape. We love you.

French Vocabulary and Audio File

(check back this afternoon, via this link, for the audio file.)

le kawa = (synonyme for) coffee
la tommette = red (often hexagonal) floor tile
kro-shay (pronunciation for "le crochet") = sudden swerve, detour
la cage d'escalier = stairwell
les lauriers (mpl) = laurels
dare-dare = double-quick
joyeux anniversaire! = happy birthday!

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bapteme

 
Around the time I met my husband... Il y a vingt ans. We've been following each other's dreams ever since. Read on in today's column (photo of Jean-Marc. His picture is taped to my computer screen).
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le baptême (baa-tem)

    : baptism

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le baptême de l'air = first flight, first ride in an airplane
le baptême de l'eau = first swim, sail... first time in the water
le baptême du feu (baptism of fire) = first combat
la robe de baptême = christening robe

Note: le baptême was word of the day on August 15, 2008

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:: A Day in a French Life... by Kristin Espinasse ::

The brook below is pocketed with pluie and the mallard ducks are hiding out. A storm is brewing outside my window and it is a good thing, I think, that Jean-Marc finished planting yesterday... given the hue of the horizon: deep grumpy gray.

Hier, the sky was bright in patches and the sun shone down across the barren field below and cast clouds across the campagne.  If you were a canard colvert or some such feathered friend flying over France, the field would have been just another peaceful patch along a cozy country "quilt". But down below, where three men toiled and soiled, peace gave way to parched...

With over 4000 baby vines to be planted there was no time to stop and refuel let alone refresh oneself. Thirteen varieties of white grapes were going into the ground at an alarming, no-time-to-hesitate rate. By the end of the day all plants would be laid. No machines were used, just six hands to manoeuvre or "man work" the earth.  Jean-Marc was thirsty, but stoicism won out: the future "father" wanted to get his infant vines planted in time for nature's baptême (rain was just around the coal gray corner).

Like the mallards that return each spring to have their ducklings, our farmer-Frenchman is helping the earth to give birth. Jean-Marc will have to wait another year and a half to take his babies home... but that doesn't stop the proud père from dancing over the newly planted loam.

***Video of Jean-Marc and équipe!***

These guys ROCK! Do not miss the following video (click over to the site if you are reading via email).

Note: those "sticks" that are being planted are actually baby vines topped with red sealant. The vines will soon push through, just as one man's dream continues to do.

I think the words in the video go so well with my husband's dream:
One love.. you've got to share it... it leaves you darlin' if you don't care for it.

:: Le Coin Commentaires ::

The comments corner is now open! Talk about today's story or share one of your own. Can't think of anything to say? Here are some ideas: what city do you live in? (my Dad's favorite question). What is your favorite French word? How old are you? (One of my Mom's favorite questions!)  Click here to comment.

French Vocabulary & Sound File

Download MP3 or Download WAV

il y a vingt ans = twenty years ago
la pluie = rain
hier = yesterday
la campagne = open country
le canard colvert = mallard duck
le baptême = baptism, christening

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