An ewt in Ramatuelle… read on énième (en-ee- em) adjective : umpteenth, steenth, nth Audio File & Example Sentence: Larmoyante, elle a fait son énième mea culpa.Teary eyed, she excused herself for the umpteenth time. ("Naomi Campell: Le Mea Culpa de Trop" Gala magazine) Download MP3 . Download Wav A Day in a French Life… by … Continue reading enieme
So many different shapes and sizes in a bed of soucis… Some wrinkled, others plump-petaled. More, in today's story column. tintouin (tehn-twehn) noun, masculine : worry, bother; din, racket et tout le tintouin = an all the rest Le copiste avec ses innombrables incorrections me donne autant de tintouin que le poète avec ses étourderies et ses maladresses. — from the diary of … Continue reading tintouin
My husband tells me that today's word is a little too argot… and not something he uses very often. But Jean-Marc is from Marseilles… and I'm betting people in Paris would pucker up in pleasure at pronouncing today's term, which is a synonym for "tribe" or "clan" or "posse" or even "bercail". It is especially in theme with today's story about my kindly kin. … Continue reading smala
Si vous possédez une bibliothèque et un jardin, vous avez tout ce qu'il vous faut. If you possess a library and a garden, you have all that you need. —Cicero. (Two garden sheds (cabanons) in Soave, Italy). le jardin (zhar-dehn) noun, masculin : garden Do you know any "jardin" terms and expressions? Please share them here or click to see what others have … Continue reading jardin
A child care center in Flayosc. Seems like yesterday that my son went to the crèche… read on in today’s column (a re-blog from 2 years ago…). une apocope (ah-poh-cowp) : the dropping of one or more syllables (or letters) at the end of a word Ado, MacDo, frigo, véto, resto… the French seem to love abbreviation. This is not to say that others of … Continue reading apocope
Jackie. This is my daughter and she tells the best stories, just like her grand-mère, Jules. (photo taken in 2010) "It is a delicious thing to write, to be no longer yourself but to move in an entire universe of your own creating. Today, for instance, as man and woman, both lover and mistress, I rode in a forest on an autumn afternoon under the … Continue reading beurre
Chez David and Tessa's this weekend some of us spoke with exaggerated English accents while others of us spoke with authentic ones. (Still others of us simply clucked.) pêle-mêle (pel-mel) adverb : pell-mell, higgledy-piggledy, any old way, at random, chaotically noun: multiple photo frame A fun synonym or two to pêle-mêle is en vrac or tohu-bohu Audio File and Example Sentence Download WAV … Continue reading pele-mele
A garden on a grape farm. souci (soo-see) noun, masculine : calendula flower (pot marigold) [from the Latin solsequia, meaning tournesol (sunflower)] souci (soo-see) noun, masculine : preoccupation; concern [from se soucier, from the Latin sollicitare (to worry)] A Day in a French Life… by Kristin Espinasse It is with a big fat lip and a bevy of bad luck that I sit here in le Cafe du Commerce. An Hitachi is blaring … Continue reading souci
Charm at a new chum's house. I've met a few new friends over the past quinzaine. Now to sort out the souvenirs and, eventuellement, share them with you. Today, meet Malou and Doreen…. vivace (vee-vace) adjective 1. perennial, hardy2. inveterate, indestructible, vivid3. (in music) vivace noun: une vivace = a perennial . A Day in a French Life… by Kristin Espinasse At the annual … Continue reading vivace
For the purposes of this edition (there's always the need for an illustrative photo) Smokey pretends to be a weed. But we're not buyin' it, are we? sarcler (sar-clay) verb : to weed A Day in a French Life… by Kristin Espinasse (Note: this story was written one year ago.) Our neighbor stopped by the other day to drop off a forklift—something we … Continue reading Sarcler: To Weed in French
