An old sign outside a locksmiths's shop in Draguignan
cadenas (kad na) n.m.
1. padlock
L'un contre l'autre appuyés, les battants de la grille étaient libre de verrou, exempts de chaîne et de cadenas.
Leaning one against the other, the double gates were unbolted, free of chain or padlock. –from French Short Stories 2
A Day in a French Life… by Kristin Espinasse
As I drive through the parking lot at Max's junior high, my eleven-year-old points to one of the girls.
"See her hair? All the girls have the same coupe de cheveux!"
I note how the choppy, layered cut resembles that of a shag from the 70s — except the 21st Century version includes metallic highlights in gold and silver.
"Do you like it?" I ask my son.
"Oh, I don't know," Max mumbles, turning his face from me. Surely his grin of an answer is reflecting in the window, beyond which he studies the kids in the courtyard.
"Hey, Max," I say, sensing his fervor. "Who is the prettiest girl at school?"
"There's no prettiest girl," he replies, ever diplomatic. After a pause he quietly adds "…than you."
With those whispered words, a mother's heart swells. But it's no use kidding myself and I know my days as queen of his heart are numbered. Switching subjects, I put an end to the Freudian moment.
"We'd better buy you a cadenas so that you can lock up those extra books at school instead of lugging them home each day."
"Don't worry about it, Mom." Max informs me, "I'm sharing casiers with a new kid who has a lock. Il n'a pas l'air voleur, non plus. He doesn't seem like a thief, either."
I smile, amused at the seriousness behind my son's statement.
"But I would have preferred to share lockers with a girl," Max admits, "…because girls–elles ne piquent jamais!"
Did he say "girls don't steal"? Judging from their rumored innocence, I'd say they've already begun to pick at the lock on my boy's heart.
To respond to this story–or to share one of your own, click here.
French Vocabulary
la coupe de cheveux = haircut
le cadenas = padlock
le casier = locker
elles ne piquent jamais! = they don't ever swipe things!
Chatelaine Magazine in English … or in French!
Chatelaine features articles on practical home advice, health, beauty, family, and fashion issues, practical home advice, and a wide variety of recipes.
……………………………
French pronunciation:
Listen to Jean-Marc pronounce the word cadenas: Download Cadenas.wav
Expression:
fermer au cadenas = to padlock
ex: fermer la porte au cadenas = to padlock the door
Provence A-Z by Peter Mayle : An indispensable, richly informative, and always entertaining sourcebook on Provence by the writer who has made the region his own.
Discover more from French Word-A-Day
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
You and your children have had so many wonderful mother/child moments. I just love this petite histoire! Especially the closing sentence :-))
Interesting to go back in time – what a difference five years will make with youngsters and yet their essence/demeanor shows through no matter the age. Your stories, as always, touch the heart. Merci, Kristin.
This one is a jewel, Kristin, juste la bonne dose d’humour et de tendresse. Merci.
What are Jackie and Max up to now that they are teens? Time flies so fast, we want to know about them but they’re probably not interested in sharing those years with us oldies. Is Max still aspiring to be a baker? What are Jackie’s hopes for the future?
AH SUMMER! here in coastal british columbia we haven’t had spring or summer yet. mostly just clouds, wind and rain, with occasional
days of reluctant sun. even so, andree’s garden has produced well.
and thanks to a greeenhouse we are even starting to have tomatoes,
cukes, and that lovely basil. we even passed around a summer cold.
as always, your writing is a treat.