canard

No canard photos on file for you today. (I locked myself out of my "photos on file"... when my computer crashed last March.) I hope this "Croatian Door" will satisfy your appetite for a slice of Mediterranean life. Don't miss a dozen more slices in this Saturday's Cinema Verite photo gallery!

canard (kah-narh) noun, masculine

    : duck

faire un canard = to hit a false note
faire le canard = to keep quiet
mon petit canard = (term of endearment) my pet
le canard laqué = Peking duck
le canard boiteux = lame duck
le canard froid/vilain = (pejorative for) newspaper

Le Canard enchaîné (French: The Chained Duck or The Chained Paper) is a satirical newspaper published weekly in France. Founded in 1915, it features investigative journalism and leaks from sources inside the French government, the French political world and the French business world, as well as a large number of jokes and humorous cartoons. It is one of the most respected and oldest French newspapers, despite its often humoristic tone. You can subscribe to this journal. --Wikipedia

...know of any other "canard" terms or expressions? Please share them with us in the comments section.

Audio File: Listen to Jean-Marc pronounce these French words: Download PM3 file
Au lieu de discuter, l'employée du restaurant aurait du faire le canard!

The Ultimate French Verb Review and Practice : Master the essential building blocks of French-language fluency

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

On our way to Croatia we took the exit near Antibes, so that our kids might have a break from the long car ride, in time to cool down at a popular water park. As we approached the ticket line, we were met by an unusual scalper: a woman, in a bikini, carrying a toddler on her hip. A few more children were in tow of the bikinied scalper, who explained that her friend hadn't shown up and now she was stuck with an extra ticket. We could have her ticket, she explained, for a sizable discount.

Even though we were dealing with a mom -- I was still suspicious. Turns out the ticket was legitimate and, on seeing the price menu to get into the water park, I realized the favor she had done us and immediately felt ashamed for having jumped to conclusions, yet again.

Bon,* we were supposed to be in vacation mode--and not guilt mode--and so I eventually turned my attention to Max and Jackie, who, soon enough, were barreling down the slippery water-park slides, building up an appetite.

At noon, Jean-Marc and I left our chaises-longues* and headed for the snack bar to get some sandwiches. Once again I was surprised to see the price menu. I'm afraid I must be like those people who are still stuck in the last century, still expecting a Coke to cost under a Euro and a sandwich, under 5. En tout cas,* it is interesting how the water-amusement park prices are similar to airport prices: once they trap you "inside" the park, where you are stuck with your stomach, you have no other option but to pay the price!

While I kept my complaints to myself, the man in line next to me was becoming increasingly vocal about his récriminations*; although price wasn't the issue for him: time was.

"Ça fait une demi-heure depuis que j'ai commandé des frîtes!* What's so difficult about making fries?" he wanted to know. "You dump some frozen potatoes into hot oil. How hard is that?"

Unlike the employees back home, in the States, the woman behind the counter argued back. By now, my husband was commiserating with the disgruntled, hungry man. On hearing the employee respond defensively, Jean-Marc, feeling the customer was in the right, remarked "the least she could do is 'faire le canard'."

"Oui," the disgruntled man agreed, "Elle pouvait faire le canard!"*

Meantime, my mind began drawing up colorful images of what it might mean to faire le canard or "do the duck". I pictured so many quacking canards, in chorus, but this didn't seem to be the right translation, for why would Jean-Marc suggest that the manager do something she was already doing (quacking)?

Jean-Marc explained that "faire le canard" meant the opposite: it means to "se taire". The woman, instead of arguing back, ought to have "shut her beak".

It was clear the manager was no duck. With two commiserating Frenchmen on either side of me and one self-righteous employee (who had just stomped off to see about those fries), the atmosphere was tense. I turned to "Monsieur Frîte":

"Maybe the employees are being trained?" I said, offering an explanation for the 30-minute wait.

"Trained in America!" he remarked, sourly.

Did I hear him correctly? Wasn't that an insult? I thought about getting my own feathers ruffled. It seemed odd that Mr Fry would say that to me, l'américaine (surely he had heard my strong accent?), especially after my husband had stood up for him. 

Besides, he was wrong about American culinary training: if those short-order cooks had been prepped in America, wouldn't Mr. Fussy Fry be seated, eating his frîtes by now?! I also had a mind to share with him a famous American service adage: The customer is always right. All the more evidence that the équipe* was not trained in America!

In the end, I decided not to get ruffled feathers--for, in the years that I have lived in France, I have never (or rarely) been intentionally dissed by a Frenchman. I told myself that his comment was not to be taken personally, that Mr French Fry was peeved, not prejudiced. In any case, I didn't want to jump to any more conclusions. Therefore, instead of trying to reason any further, with French Fry, I opted to take my husband's advice and "faire le canard." (Something I might have done, too, back at the ticket line, when the mama-scalper had offered us the discounted ticket.) When in doubt, do the duck!

***
Comments, corrections--and stories of your own--always enjoyed and appreciate. Thanks for responding in the comments box.

~~~~~~~~~~~French Vocabulary~~~~~~~~~
bon = right (conviction)
la chaise-longue = deck chair
en tout cas = in any case
la récrimination = gripe, grumbling
Ça fait une demi-heure depuis que j'ai commandé des frîtes! =
It's been a half-hour since I ordered fries!
elle pouvait faire le canard = she might shut her beak!
l'équipe (f) = (lunch) crew

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Comments

[Sarah Barette]

If I remember rightly, from my early days in France running a bar restaurant, a 'canard' can be a lump of sugar which you dip into your coffee, or calvados, and then pop into your mouth - which makes you go 'mmmmmmm'. Correct me if I'm wrong! Sarah

[Punch]

Froid de canard - Damp, cold weather. This may relate to the type of weather during duck hunting season, but I am not sure.

[Cynthia in the French Alps]

Wouldn't you know the French would have so many uses for canard (kinda like the Eskimos having hundreds of words for snow). I can see I have a lot to learn when it comes to French. But I loved this story. And Im not sure I could have kept my mouth shut regarding the unkind remark about American customer service, because in my experience living in France, we have that down to a science compared to the French.

[Christine Dashper]

Of the many things I learn when I read this lovely post Kristin,is that I should never take the French language literally! So many uses for the word 'canard'!

Have a great day.

[Mar Hampla]

"Vendre un canard à moitié" - to half-sell a duck

[Monique]

"La Danse Des Canards:)"

[Bill Schubart]

Je croyais qu'un canard avait le meme sens en francais qu'en anglais. Cest a dire une histoire fausse.
Bill

[Nick Q.]

"ne pas casser trois pattes à un canard"
That is, to be nothing special.

[Jeanne]

My husband was in a play in HS back in the 60's and his name was Mort Canard - Dead Duck! Yet another use of the word canard.
Jeanne

[Fred Caswell]

Robert, you might want to read my question to you at or near the bottom of Wednesday's Comments Box.

I am an 82 year old with a philosophical mind. Yes. I have 4 adult children, 8 grands, and 2 great-grands. After our 4th child going on 49 years ago, my deep concerns about human over population caused me to have surgery that made sure I could not father any more kids. Would you care to share your response to the growth of human earthlings?

[Jill]

I have heard people say tongue in cheek "a vicious canard" meaning a lie. It was always said in a joking fashion. When I saw that was the word of the day, I was sure I was going to see canard used in that way!

[Pat Cargill]

Le canard de Groucho...anyone remember his show way back when--the 50's/60's-- "You Bet Your Life" (je pense) - and the duck came down with the magic word du jour? Ah, Groucho, the master--great, good laughs. The original "bad boy" of comedy.

"Pouquoi un canard?"...another useful expression for numerous situations, difuses or softens le moment or takes the nonsenscial and caps it off with more of same--unless I am mistakenly co-opting it for my own use?

[Hendon]

Fifty year ago in my Wasp family a canard was a children's treat, a lump of sugar dipped in an after dinner demitasse. We were told that the grownup version was sugar diped in rum.

[Sheila Bosworth Lemann]

Is there any other language in which the article that precedes a noun changes the meaning of the noun? As in, "faire UN canard"= to hit a false note; "faire LE canard"= to keep quiet. And verb tense can change the meaning of the verb, as in "Elle ne voulait pas me dire" (imparfait of vouloir) meaning "She did not want to tell me" vs "Elle ne vu pas me dire" (passe compose) meaning "She refused to tell me." Also, "originAL" means original, unless you're referring to original sin, in which case the spelling in French changes to "originEL". French is not simply challenging, it can be daunting. Neanmoins, je l'aime bien.

[Diane]

And then, of course, there is that "old canard" that "the moon is made of green cheese"!

[Merrie Dail]

Catching up on postings. In August, every year cicadas here seem to lament, 'too soon, too soon' as summer begins to languish and fall is just as surely around the corner. Yet while struggling to dress for fall, your puppies were born, I took my grandson for his first boy haircut and our lab Maisie has been busy mothering the tiniest of chatons. 'Too old' for little boy's bug box and feeding kitten with an eyedropper; then again, juxtposed against my husband's halting Parkinsons, the reigning chaos of new life seems worthy of celebration - the rest is details.

Fred Caswell - do you hail from New England?

[Michael Armstrong]

What a timely article! I was talking to a mom today whose daughter's elementary teacher said she was afraid that her daughter had "selective mutism." Our perception was that if this is a syndrome then it is one that many of us could benefit from!

[Laura]

I'm glad othter posters alluded to this b/c I wasn't sure if this was an old fashioned/out moded term. My mother, who came of age during WWII when times were tough, would talk about "boire un canard" which ment placing a lump of sugar in some wine or eau de vie as a desesrt or to warm up "quand il faisait un froid de canard quand le Mistral souflait" Sante/Cheers!

[Luci]

I understand the topic of today's post, but I DO take issue with M. Frites "trained in America" remark.

It's always difficult to appreciate the hand that feeds one. as in coming to the aid of France in 2 WW's. Hence the need to make America the butt of one's annoyance (as M Frites did above).

I love France and the language but sometimes the French themselves leave a lot to be desired. M. Frites showed poor manners at the very least and an incredible amount of pomposity by his pejorative remark.

Kristin, I understand that you felt the need to "faire le canard," but I don't. Hopefully, you won't encounter too many more rude Frenchmen.

Now that I've said what I felt I needed to, je vais faire le canard moi-meme.

[Newforest]

Hi Kristin!
Ce mot “canard” a déjà “fait couler de l'encre”... et je prends la relève.

---> "Ça ne casse pas trois pattes à un canard"
Bearing in mind ducks with 3 legs don't exist, if something did break the 3 legs of a duck, it would be totally exceptional, unheard of, quite miraculous.... so, the expression, being in the negative, means:
Il n'y a rien de remarquable, rien d'extraordinaire, rien d'exceptionnel/ C'est tout à fait banal / C'est très moyen”.
Synonym → Ça (ne) casse pas des briques!
---> In English: There is nothing to write home about.

---> “Ça glisse comme sur les plumes d'un canard.”
= ça ne laisse aucune trace / ça me laisse indifférent.
---> In English: It's like water off a duck's back

---> “Il ne faut pas prendre les enfants du bon dieu pour des canards sauvages.”
= Il ne faut pas prendre les gens pour des imbéciles.
Why would a 'wild duck' be considered as stupid? I do not know!
---> In English: You should give people credit for some intelligence.

---> marcher en canard / comme un canard
= marcher avec la pointe des pieds vers l'extérieur
= marcher “à la Charlot” (like Charlie Chaplin)
If you walk like a duck, you end up waddling ---> to waddle = se dandiner

---> “un canard”
= une fausse nouvelle, un bobard, un canular....
---> In English: a hoax, a fib

---> In the duck family:
the father is → le canard
the mother is → la cane
the daughter is → la canette
the son is → le caneton / le canardeau

(to add to a previous list grouping animal sounds)
Verbs expressing the sound made by ducks: cancaner, caqueter, nasiller
---> In English: to quack
In French, the onomatopy representing the sound is “coin-coin”. Do the French really hear something “nasal” (oin oin)? Possible, so, no surprise one of the 3 verbs expressing the sound made by ducks is “nasiller”, which means to speak with a nasal voice, to have a nasal quality.
Substantives: le cancan, le caquètement, le nasillement.
Is it far-fetched to see (or rather to hear!) a connection with the 'French cancan' type of music???
Interesting to know that “les cancans” = gossiping... which makes the link between "un canard" and a newspaper more obvious!
By the way, Kristin, I couldn't imagine the use of "froid" and "vilain" for a newspaper... On the other hand, “froid” (cold) is part of the expression “un froid de canard” (when it's freezing cold and the ducks can no longer dive in the water as it is frozen -
and “vilain” (ugly) came immediately to my mind as part of the title of one of Andersen's tales (Le vilain petit canard / The ugly duckling)

If anyone feels like reading Andersen's “The ugly duckling”, in French, here it is, online:
http://www.contes.biz/conte-107-Le_vilain_petit_canard.html

Bon dimanche!

[Newforest]

About the link I gave above:
I haven't listened to the tale online yet. I hope the voice is pleasant! At least, you've got the text at your disposal.

[Newforest]

Hello again!

---> “Faire un canard”, in music = faire une fausse note, un son discordant, = faire “un couac”! You most probably do “plein de couacs” if you can't sing in tune or can't play an instrument very well!
---> In English, this type of “canard” / “couac” is quite simply 'a wrong note'... with no duck involved! I can't think of an English equivalent to “faire un canard” or “faire un couac”, (a bum note? a sick note? … adjective + note... mmm... not sure and not so colourful). I looked in my dictionary and found “a jarring note” - again, adj + note. Oh well!

---> I may not enjoy “un canard” in music, but I certainly love “un canard” when it means a lump of sugar dipped in strong black coffee. I also love to slowly crunch “un petit canard à la menthe” = a lump of sugar with a couple of drops of peppermint oil mixed with alcohol. I haven't had any for a long time so, next time I go to France, I'd like to buy “un petit flacon d'alcool de menthe Ricqlès” . Un “canard à la menthe” is excellent for digestion, travel sickness, for “remontant” → 'pick-me-up' … It is tonic, refreshing and very enjoyable!

---> “Faire LE canard” . Yes..... = se taire, ne pas protester! It's as if you mentally bend your head, dive into the water and disappear, instead of arguing, quarelling and irritating everyone. By the way Kristin, you felt it was odd that Mr Fry threw his remark to 'you'. After all, didn't he notice your accent and knew you were “Américaine”?
Yes, he might have noticed your accent which made him realise you were not French, but I doubt his ears were sufficiently trained to make him able to recognize the difference between a Canadian, an American, a British or an Australian accent! So, without wanting to soften what you thought was a rude remark, I believe that what he said was not directed to you, “l'Américaine”! I hope all the American readers won't take Mr Fry's unfair remark too much at heart! Here too, in England, the customer is (in principle) always right, but there are always irregularities and unfairnesss, and like in French Grammar, we have to deal with “exceptions qui confirment la règle”.

Hope les petits chiots and Mum Braise are doing well.
Wishing to all of the Espinasse family a very enjoyable Sunday!

[Newforest]

Sorry... Just realised the link I gave you for "The vilain petit canard" (Andersen) is ONLY a text (it's in French and you can print it if you want)...
- Bon! après tout, c'est mieux que rien!
- Oh well, after all, it's better than nothing!

[Lydia Zuidema]

I am looking for a story about "football americain" for my French III students. Does anyone have a suggestion? I need it by 28 August. Thank you.

[Newforest]

Hi Lydia,

We cannot / shouldn't do your proper work but, saying that, here are a few points that might help you.

Wikipedia in French and in English may give you a few references and technical words related to the game.
If the STORY must be in French (or partly in French... or lead to some new vocab in French, you will find some good help here:
http://www.fffa.org/
Worthwhile exploring this very good website provided - in French - by "La Fédération Française de Football Américain".

As for the story, you could simply invent a situation where a French student is watching a match / or participating to a match for the first time...
Amazement, confusion... misadventures... fun!

Encore quelques jours, donc pas de panique!
Bon travail!
et bonne présentation!

[Chris]

I think everyone has experience dealing with someone who if not a short order cook, is short on manners and short on temper. lol... You guys make me laugh. "do the duck" will now be used going forward.

By the way, five years ago it cost me 6 euros for a small glass of coke in Paris (on Champs Elysees) When I asked for ice, they looked at me crazy. They finally brought me 3 cubes. (still laughing about that too) (I thought about how we take for granted the large sizes we serve back home at every fast food location, 24oz., 32oz., 48oz., and 64oz. packed with ice and any flavor under the sun.) (and many have "happy hours" specials for their 32oz. for .99 cents.) It is pretty crazy... I hope these giant sizes of drinks never carries over to europe. Please stay at 16oz.

A bientot.
Chris

[Lydia Zuidema]

Thanks for the great ideas. Lydia

[Newforest]

Lydia,
So pleased to hear that the few ideas are helping you. I guess you are now right in the middle of your preparation.
Enjoy the research, the story... and have a great time with your French III students!

[Mary Gilbert]

On our first trip to Paris, I encouraged my husband to participate in the carnet purchase in the Metro. He practiced for a minute and promptly walked up to the window and said "Un canard, s'il vous plait." I about split with laughter but the cashier just looked bored...it's one of our favorite memories.

[Hans Gruber]

The comment form MR. Fries was not a quip against Americans but that he "wondered if the employees were being trained "far away" (America)and it took them this long to get trained and travel back..not logical but an angry quasi-analogy. Also note that is part of French culture (and other euro countries) that just because one is paying (as a customer) it does not invalidate social rules of politeness dealing with other citizens- as opposed to America in which "the customer is always right" and often the customer is rude and belligerent at the expense of employees and the latter must put up with this humiliation or be reprimanded by employer.