photo: sign along the side of the road near les Issambres (Mediterranean coastal town) Reminder: You can cheer on a new author now by ordering her book today!livraison (lee-vray-zohn) noun, feminine 1. delivery Hear my son Max pronounce the word "livraison": Download livraison2.wav …………………Expressions:livraison à domicile = "we deliver"; door-to-door deliverypayable à la livraison = payable on delivery ………………………Citation du Jour:Le risque de se livrer … Continue reading livraison
photo: Olive trees and grapes vines in Taradeau cueillir (kuuh-yeer) verb 1. to pick, to gather 2. to catch, to snatch Hear my son Max pronounce the French word "cueillir": Download cueillir2.wav…………………Expression:cueillir à froid = to catch off guard ………………………..Citation du Jour:Le bonheur est une fleur qu'il ne faut pas cueillir.Happiness is a flower one must not pick. –André Maurois …………………………………A Day in a French … Continue reading cueillir
Original text
Jean-Marc waltzes across our salon* in an African tunic and a five o’clock shadow. In his left hand he is holding a small can of satin finish paint, in his right, a cream-tipped pinceau.*
“Ça va, Mr. Touch-up?” I say. The man in the calf-length tunic responds by poking his femme* in the nose with the wet tip of the paintbrush. When I complain, he assures: “C’est lavable à l’eau.”*
While the kitchen project is en attente,* my husband is busying himself with odd jobs, including “lay ruh-toosh.”* Zigzagging through the house in his favorite leisure wear, he runs the pinceau over child-size fingerprints, across chipped baseboards and along the bathroom door in his quest to camouflage.
Because Mr. Touch-up forgets to mention where he’s been, the kids and I are never sure just what surfaces are wet and when to se méfier.* It’s the cream-colored streak across the seat of a pant (where I’ve backed into a wet wall) or beneath Max’s palm or on Jackie’s fingertip that reminds us–if trop tard*–that the tunicked touch-up artist has struck again. Touché!*
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*References: le salon (m) = living room; le pinceau (m) = paintbrush; la femme (f) = wife; C’est lavable à l’eau = It’s washable with water; en attente = on hold; lay ruh-toosh (pronunciation for les retouches (fpl) = touch ups); se méfier = to beware; trop tard = too late; touché! = gotcha!
Continue reading pinceau
The port in Marseilles la fosse (fos) noun, feminine 1. pit 2. grave Listen: Hear the word fosse pronounced: Download fosse.wav Also:la fosse aux lions = lions’ denla fosse d’orchestre = orchestra pitla fosse septique = septic tank ………………………Citation du Jour:La musique chasse la haine chez ceux qui sont sans amour. Elle donne la paix à ceux qui sont sans repos, … Continue reading la fosse
Today’s story begins in Saint-Raphaël… le tiroir (teer-war) noun, masculine1. drawer Listen: hear my son Max pronounce the word "tiroir": Download tiroir.wav ………………..Expression:gratter les fonds de tiroir = scrape together some change …………………………Citation du Jour:Chaque personne est une armoire pleine d’histoires, il suffit d’ouvrir les tiroirs…Each person is an armoire full of stories, all it takes is opening the drawers… –Tahar Ben Jelloun ………………………………..A Day … Continue reading tiroir
stationner (sta-syohn-ay) verb1. to be parked; to park 2. to stay, to remain Sound file :: Listen to FrenchHear 8-year-old Jackie pronounce the word "stationner": Stationner-jackie-8-years-old L'homme se découvre quand il se mesure avec l'obstacle.Man discovers himself when he measures himself against the obstacle. –Antoine de Saint-Exupéry A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi … Continue reading stationner
All is calm in our village. For thoughts on the French riots, read today’s column below. une émeute (ay-meuht) noun, feminine 1. riot, rioting Also: un émeutier, une émeutière = a rioter Listen: hear my son Max pronounce the word "émeute": Download emeute.wav ………………………Expressions & Terms:faire une émeute = to riotprovoquer une émeute = to cause a riotune émeute racial = a race riot………………………Citation du … Continue reading émeute
achalander (ah-sha-lohn-day) verb1. to get shoppers to come in and browse Also:bien achalandé(e) = well-stocked (store)achalandage (m) = clientele Listen:Hear Jean-Marc pronounce the word achalander:Download achalander.wav ………………Proverb:Ce n’est pas acheter qui instruit, mais vendre.It is not buying that teaches, but selling. ………………………………..A Day in a French Life… At Vincent’s* restaurant in Phoenix where the parking lot is transformed into an authentic French market each Saturday … Continue reading achalander
A return to France atterrir (ah-teh-reer) verb 1. to land, to touch down synonyms = arriver, débarquer, se poser ………..Listen:Hear my son Max pronounce the word atterrir: Download atterrir.wav ………………Expression:atterrir sur le ventre = to fall flat on one’s faceatterrir en catastrophe = to crash land (emergency landing) ………………………Citation du Jour:Ce qu’il y a de plus beau dans la navigation, c’est de débarquer.The best part … Continue reading atterrir
Click here to view today's word and story! I am excited to share the good news–'les bonnes nouvelles'–with you today. My next book will be published by Simon and Schuster! I want to thank French Word-A-Day readers for the support and encouragement you have sent in. Thanks also to these selfless behind-the-scenes editors: Chris and George Christian and Kathy Tinoco–who have sent in, on a … Continue reading nouvelle
