Saperlipopette! We're snowed in today…
.
France and Monaco Rentals. Exclusive Vacation Rental Properties throughout France.
neige (nehzh) noun, feminine
: snow
.
A Day in a French Life…
by Kristin Espinasse
I woke up to the sound of exclamation.
"Putain!" my husband declared. A newbie French learner might have been confounded by the word choice, putain. But, this far into French life, and the word no longer startles or offends me. (Though I would prefer "saperlipopette!")
I looked over to the window, to where the exclamatory remark was born—to where he was standing, my husband with the moonbeams shining on his face—twilight tracing the curves of contention. Cheri, I had the mind to tell him, ce n'est pas la peine d'argumenter avec Dame Nature. Elle gagne toujours!
Darkness beyond the icy window pane made me question the hour and, as soon as Jean-Marc returned to bed, I asked for the time.
Il est sept heures, he murmured, adding, "we are snowed in and sans wi-fi."
"Ouaiiii!" This time the exclamation was all mine:
"We can play all day and on waffles we shall dine!"
***
P.S.: this is the waffle iron that I bought when I got back to France (my sister spoiled us with homemade waffles during our visit). If you don't have a waffle maker — buy this one! It triples as a panini (sandwich maker) and grill (great for Provençal aubergines)! We are making croque monsieurs à gogo and waffles in the snow! This model, by Tefal, sells out fast, so don't delay!
Comments are the best part of French Word-A-Day: don't miss them, here. If you enjoy these photos, then you will love Cinéma Vérite–where I post 12 favorite photos each and every Saturday. Tomorrow, see photos of Max, Jackie, and more pictures of our vineyard!
Braise in the lead, Smokey gaining speed…
Smokey pretends to be a jackrabbit (un lièvre or "hare")…
Mince. I forgot to take the laundry in….
Tant pis. Laundry can wait. Time to follow our dogs' example… Time to get a little snow on our noses, instead of getting persnickety about chores, including laundry.
French Vocabulary & Sound File: listen to my son, Max, pronounce the following French words Download Neige or Download MP3
la neige (f) = snow
putain (Max would like to warn readers that, though the word, which originally meant "hooker" is heard often, it is un gros mot or cuss word. The French say it often enough. I wonder, does this diminish the harshness of the word? Does it sound, to French ears, more like "damn"–instead of the F-word? Share your thoughts, here).
saperlipopette = gadzooks!
Cheri, ce n'est pas la peine d'argumenter avec Dame Nature. Elle gagne toujours! = Dear, it's no use arguing with Mother Nature. She always wins!
Il est sept heures = it is seven o'clock
ouai! = yah!
mince!= darn!
tant pis = oh well
Thanks for visiting our sponsor!
Les portes tordues (The Twisted Doors): The Scariest Way in the World to Learn and Listen to French! Check it out (if you dare).
Miniature Electric Scooter. Check out the reviews!
Pre de Provence Lavender Soap. Imported from France: Pré de Provence, literally translated, means "Meadow of Provence." Transport yourself there with this triple milled savon.
Un, Deux, Trois: First French Rhymes:
…a collection of 25 traditional nursery rhymes for children
French Country Diary 2010: Now HALF PRICE (worth every photo to keep!!)
A week-at-a-glance datebook celebrating the French countryside with dozens of full-color photographes.
Discover more from French Word-A-Day
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Love the photos, the neige makes me feel a little cool. We are in the grip of a heat wave, started Thursday and is to continue until Tuesday with temperatures 41+C, and our dogs are spending a lot of time inside on the cool floor while we are spending the time in the piscine.
Beautiful snow!! Looks fantastic, but I imagine as many have already stated, the joie wears off after days and days of it. Enjoy your ‘snow day’, eat lots of waffles.
It couldn’t be more different here in Melbourne, sunny, 37 deg C, we have just finished the BBQ…
The dogs look as if they are having the best time.
warm wishes
Chris
At our tennis club in France I hear putain and mince all the time, but never saperlipopette. Does anyone know how mince acquired this connotation?
great pictures! btw, back here in Northeast China, we also have putains of neige and putains COLDness this winter, reminiscent of my long-lost boyhood memory. Hubbie and Cubbie hail from SinoSpot(my on-the-spot coinage of PRC China). Keep up the good work!
Kristi, Your book arrived yesterday and I couldn’t put it down. How beautiful! And I can’t wait to try out the recipes. Merci mille fois! It is an encouragement to me to get at least one of my novels finished & published this year. A new adventure . . . perhaps I should start a blog! 🙂
Kristin, Ni neige, ni froid ici a Henderson, NV. The temp. is going to be around 62 for the next few days. I sure hope things “warm” a bit in the East and Midwest. I remember the numbing cold, the snow AND the black ice so very well.
Re: the doggies: they are too cute. I’m so happy to see Smokey romping around with his maman. That’s how I’d always like to see them, having a good time and almost smiling.
Luci
Loving the snow. I want more of it!
I thought that Provence only received a dusting de la neige, but you certainly got walloped. You have more snow there than we do in Madison, Connecticut right now, although the temperature has been as low as 16F at night and high of 35F during the day.
I always thought that it would be nice to be in Provence in the winter, but I’d rather be there without the snow – I can get the snow here.
Love the pictures of Braise and Smokey. Is this their first snow?
Kristin
We have a 27 year old girl (Capucine)from Aix en Provence staying with us here in Sydney Australia
I showed her your word-a-day entry and she is shocked that your husband would use it with yourself and children around.
She says that swear words are very common in Provence but that it is not an appealing aspect of Provençal life.
She is also shocked to find that really bad words are used commonly in Australia–fortunately my wife and I have managed to bring up four children who do not need to use them
Saperlipopette is a lovely word and all that is needed!!
Coucou!
It’s been warm and sunny in Manhattan Beach, CA. Many people are just ending winter vacations. Some get two weeks, others three, and the luckiest ones get four!!! I’m of the three week persusaion, meaning I go back to work today. Whine! The good news is that I’ll be going back to France the month of August, and I plan to visit some of the places you’ve written about in your blog. I appreciate the suggestions!
Mindy