From now on I will leave fear to these guys (on duty, and looking to scare a few French crows in the Southern Alps). ‘French Stories’: 10 unusual stories by French literary masters from Voltaire to Camus. Accurate English translations appear on pages facing the original French. le trac (trak) noun, masculine  stage fright, jitters which come about before a public appearance, or before an … Continue reading trac

la méridienne (may-ree-dee-yehn) n.f.  1. siesta, nap  2. type of sofa/couch whose seatback gradually descends from one side to the other (a.k.a. "fainting couch," "Grecian couch" or "gout couch" and, in French, "recamier" or "chaise longue") synonyms: le repos (rest), la sieste, le somme,* le roupillon (nap)   *faire un petit somme = to take a nap, to have a doze En Provence, le soleil se … Continue reading méridienne

A bandage maker along rue Sade… Words in a French Life continues to ship and is now arriving in stores across the United States. I only wish I could see it on the shelves! From the French countryside, I try to imagine my book in some American librairie.* If you haven’t seen it, please ask for it at your local bookstore. Merci in advance for … Continue reading pansement

Translated into English for the first time since its original 1927 publication, La Bonne Cuisine has long been the French housewife's equivalent of… The Joy of Cooking–a trusted and comprehensive guide to "la cuisine bourgeoise" or home cooking… Julia Child called LBC "one of my bibles"… –Publishers Weekly. fade (fahd) adjective  insipid, tasteless, flat Répétés trois fois, les mots deviennent fades comme l'eau.Repeated three times, … Continue reading Cooking for the French & the word for “insipid, tastelss, flat”

Image: Mister soi-disant* Malade. Photo taken last summer in Queyras. 501 French Verbs includes a bilingual list of more than 1,250 additional French verbs, helpful expressions and idioms for travelers, and verb drills and tests with questions answered and explained. feindre (fehn-dr) verb   to pretend, to feign Feindre, c'est se connaître. To pretend is to know oneself. –Fernando Pessoa A Day in a French Life…Not … Continue reading Feindre: to pretend in French

(Photo: the poppies are here!) Today's story originally appeared (in a different form) in Volume III of Words in a French Life, the third in a series of self-published books, parts of which have been selected for this Touchstone edition. un jeton (zhuh-tohn) n.m.  token; counter (game); chip Un conquérant est un joueur déterminé qui prend un million d'hommes pour jetons et le monde entier … Continue reading Un Jeton: Something you’ll need for the grocery store cart in France