In addition to the visitors we invite (read about these guys, above), we had some unwelcome guests recently. A story about a prowler, or un rôdeur de nuit, in today's column. faisceau de lumière (fay-so-deuh-loo-myer) : light beam Example sentence (and handy retort!): Still smarting from a recent disagreement? Why not forward the following quote (mwah ha ha ha! That'll get 'em!) …il … Continue reading How to say searchlight and intruder in French?
A fish shop in Brignoles. la soupe de poissons (sewp-deuh-pwa-sohn) : fish soup Jean-Marc has been catching lots of little fish these days. Last time it was une rascasse! Apart from being unappetizing to look at, they are too small to eat. "Faites la soupe de poissons!" Make fish soup! our friends tell us. Recipe, in today's story…. A Day in … Continue reading RECIPE: Annie’s Soupe de Poissons
"This side of Christmas". Picture taken in Bollène. confier (kon-fee-ay) : to confide in, to entrust Audio File: Hear today's word spoken, along with this French quote: Download MP3 or listen to the Wav file Il ne faut confier son secret qu'à celui qui n'a pas cherché à le deviner. One must only share one's secret with the one who has not sought to guess it. –Diane de … Continue reading confier
Are you an extrovert or an introvert? Casanière, or a "homebody"… like me? How do you feel when you finally venture out? Read on, in today's missive. As for today's word, look carefully: it's not a mouchoir, or a handkerchief! Not even a Kleenex, sniff! (Photo taken in Saint-Roman-de-Malegarde, a village or two away from where today's story takes place.) mouchard (moo shar) noun, masculine … Continue reading mouchard
Photo of a French door and its hesitant greeting. saluer (sah-loo-ay) verb to greet, to wave to, to nod to; to salute Nobles et mystérieux triomphes qu'aucun regard ne voit, qu'aucune renommée ne paye, qu'aucune fanfare ne salue. Noble and mysterious triumphs which no eye beholds, which are requited with no renown, which are saluted with no trumpet blast. —Victor Hugo. … Continue reading saluer
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
