tintouin
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
So many different shapes and sizes in a bed of soucis... Some wrinkled, others plump-petaled. More, in today's story column.
tintouin (tehn-twehn) noun, masculine
: worry, bother; din, racket
et tout le tintouin = an all the rest
Le copiste avec ses innombrables incorrections me donne autant de tintouin que le poète avec ses étourderies et ses maladresses. -- from the diary of Henri-Frédéric Amiel
(Can you please help translate example sentence? Interpretations welcome here!)
Audio File:
listen to today's word, phrase, and example sentence. Hear MP3 or WAV
Also:
se donner du tintouin = to go to alot of trouble
donner du tintouin à quelqu'un = to give somebody alot of trouble
A Day in a French Life... by Kristin Espinasse
...................................................................
"Pale and Plumpening"
I am scribbling down une liste de bagages for St. Tropez (hat, towel, sandals, maillot de bain...). Swim suit! This last item has me pleading with the patron saint of pluie: would that all that rain we've been having lately continuer to pour down! It is good for the flower seeds that I have been scattering and good for scattering the bathing-suit bustin' beachgoers... in time to reroute everyone to the local café for shelter from the regard of slim sungods and goddesses.
Franchement, it is not the right time to put on a swimsuit!
Remarquez, time is never on our side when we are busy focusing on our hang ups. Perhaps vacations are a good time to let them go? After all, while packing for a trip we unhang our clothes before folding them into our valises. Why not take advantage of the chore to leave our "hangups" where they belong: on a wooden or wire hanger au fond de l'armoire—along with everything else we have outgrown?
French Vocabulary
une liste de bagages = packing list
un maillot de bain = bathing suit
la pluie = rain
continuer = to continue
franchement = frankly
remarquez (remarquer) = on second thought...
la valise = suitcase
au fond de l'armoire = at the back of the closet
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A Day in a Dog's Life... by Smokey "R" Dokey
A shoe never tasted so good, coupled with the sweet aroma of fleurs...
More about Smokey when he and Mama Braise return from the chenil (mutt motel). Sniff, sniff.... or, as the French would say "sneef sneef"!
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For more online reading: The Lost Gardens: A Story of Two Vineyards and a Sobriety