Buckling up those wine barrels in Châteauneuf-du-Pape Ceinture de sécurité(sen-tewr) noun, feminine seat belt Go back in time with me now, if you will, to the historic town of St. Maximin, where visitors from all over the world come to see the purported relics of Mary Magdalene (behind a thick glass encasement in the town's basilica). The year is 1998 and the tree-lined parking … Continue reading Seatbelt in French
Something useful to do during the dry season… Sécheresse (sesh-ress) noun, feminine drought If you were to sneak over to our backyard fence, part its curtain of faded jasmine, and look past a ditch full of wild fennel grown as tall as our older child, you'd spy our next-door voisin showering beneath the fiery heavens at daybreak, scrub-a-dub-dubbing right in the middle of his potager! … Continue reading Secheresse: Why My Neighbor Showers in The Backyard With The Tomatoes
Be warned: "chiens bavards," or chatty dogs, at this neighbor's address. "The Boss Dog" by M. F. K. Fisher, where the adventures of a proud if scruffy mongrel, the Boss Dog, serve as a pretext for an informal, fictionalized portrait of the southern French city and its denizens. Order it here. TODAY'S WORD: braise (brez) noun, feminine 1. ember 2. cash, dough, bread Ce … Continue reading Braise and The Initial-based French Rule for Dog Names
Photo: My 8-year-old and her new chiot. Chiot(she-oh) noun, masculine puppy I once knew a French woman who, every time her husband asked, "Chérie, where are my keys?" (or sunglasses or clopes or…) would answer deviously, "Dans les chiottes!" Chiottes? My mind conjured up the image of a toilet. I imagined the poor husband's … Continue reading chiot
Our son, Max, collecting mussels on the Island of Groix (Brittany). "The Oysters of Locmariaquer," by Eleanor Clark, is a vivid account of the cultivation of Belon oysters and an excursion into the myths, legends, and rich, vibrant history of Brittany and its extraordinary people. Order it here. la moule (mool) noun, feminine 1. mussel 2. a lethargic, clumsy person; an imbecile The masculine of … Continue reading moule
A Fisherman’s bungalow on the Isle of Groix. News: The 2007 edition of le Petit Larousse has just been released! If you don’t have a copy of this French language dictionary for your desk (or even for your coffee table…) you might order one here (note: all definitions are in French). moulinette (moo-lee-net) noun, feminine little mill French definition of "la moulinette" from le Petit … Continue reading moulinette
