Stripey awnings, ardoises, or chalkboards, curly handwriting, mysterious woman…. What's so French about this? Photo taken in Lorgues, France, where today's story begins…. le bidou (bee-doo) : tummy, stomach Le bidou is slang and is also used in kid speak. (It is another entry in our Petit Lexique de Langage Enfantin /Glossary of Baby Talk.) Audio File: MP3 or Wav fileSi tu veux muscler … Continue reading Say “six pack abs” and the French gutbuster!
Beneath the façade, you can see what this 19th century mas is made of. When the demolition workers opened the stone wall sand came trickling out, like fallen seconds in an hourglass. Rubbing la terre sableuse between our hands, Jean-Marc and I marveled at the building materials of yesteryear. le linteau (lun-tow) : lintel, girder plural: linteaux Audio File: The following French definition is from … Continue reading A crush on architecture: le linteau
Houp-là! (Whoops-a-daisy!) Today's story was supposed to be about kumquats but I got completely off track. I should change the word of the day from écorce to hotte (see the missive, below…) but no turning back now! We'll get to the "peel" story later! (photo taken in Camaret-sur-Argens. The sign reads: Send flowers to those you love. 9 euros for delivery all over France, in … Continue reading What is the French word for peel or bark or rind?
Typography is the theme tying today's photos together. Enjoy and, if you know someone who appreciates lettering, please send this on!(Picture taken in Salernes, pottery-making village and more!) pagaille (pah-geye) : shambles, chaos, havoc, mayhem, disarray; mess, disorder Audio File: Listen to the next four lines: Download MP3 or Wav file quelle pagaille! = what a mess!mettre la pagaille = to mess upsemer la pagaille = … Continue reading pagaille + typography photos
If you thought the previous story was a bit fishy… it was! (Photo of the fishmonger’s taken in Brignoles.) Today’s word, an expression, really, comes from a comment following Monday’s post. Claudette Kunsay writes: Oh! Kristin, je suis tombée dans le panneau comme bcp d’autres !!! Et j’étais si fâchée contre ces hommes de loi!!! Je trouvais la situation ridicule mais, tout est possible. Oh, Kristin, … Continue reading How to say “to fall for it” in French? + the charming “door curtain” (photos)
My computer is still in the fix-it shop. Sorry to not be able to add the usual audio/sound feature. It'll be back soon — in time to bring you more authentic pronunciations from Jean-Marc. Don't you love his voice? (photo of lighthouses in Brittany. A little tiny more about Brittany–or the Breton language–in today's column, where we talk about the name "Tanguy" and much much … Continue reading vouloir dire & what does “Tanguy syndrome” mean in French?
A cozy abode in a fishing village at the end of Marseilles. This homeowner must enjoy the occasional foray at the home supply store – look at the brightly painted façade and the neat house number and the well-hung plaque. I've always been impressed by people who know how to drill! I can't even get the @#*! nail in the wall without making a crack … Continue reading prendre sur soi
Click to enlarge the picture, and many thanks to Maggie and Michael Moss, and to Maggie's brother Ian, for providing this photo of their second home that is now our own. We moved here, to Mas des Brun (Brown's house), in September. See what it looked like then, in the latest video at the end of this post. Sign up to our channel. We welcome … Continue reading video of our home + “mas”
While filming Smokey (trotting the flower-flanked trails at a nearby calanque), my video recorder broke! For now there is a grand total of three clips at my YouTube channel. Thanks for taking a moment to view them and to subscribe to the channel. (Photo of Jean-Marc in a gypsy trailer we once tried to buy. Wish we hadn't let this one pass us by!) rétrécir (ray-tray-seer) … Continue reading Retrecir: A Suprise in our Renovated Bathroom….
Viewing this edition via email? You'll need to click over to the website, here, to see the video. In the clip, Smokey and I have just returned from a hike (at a nearby calanque) in time to share the French word for "to sprinkle" as well as the useful term "quitte à le faire". You'll hear Braise, Smokey's maman, complaining in the background (she's stuck, … Continue reading New video + saupoudrer + “quitte à le faire”
