Administrators Gail Posted March 10, 2008 Administrators Share Posted March 10, 2008 Do these sayings have English counterparts at all? It would be neat to know in which circumstances they would be used. I'm having fun with these threads! Thanks for your work in upkeeping them! :) Quote Isaiah 32:17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Allan Posted March 10, 2008 Author Share Posted March 10, 2008 Thank you, I'm having fun and learning at the same time. I don't think of any similar English proverbs at the moment. Your input is really appreciated! :) Quote dAb O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Allan Posted March 11, 2008 Author Share Posted March 11, 2008 C’est une image de la nature en colère bleue. L'archipel d'Hawaii est le théâtre de spectaculaires phénomènes volcaniques. colère (koh-lehr), sing. fem. noun; anger; colère bleue, towering passion courroux (ku-ru), singular, masculine noun, literary; anger « Si mars commence en courroux, Il finira tout doux, tout doux. » - proverbe “ If March begins angrily , It will finish pleasantly.” North Americans say of March: “In like a lion, out like a lamb.” « La colère est une courte folie. » Horace « Anger is a brief insanity. » Quote dAb O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Allan Posted March 12, 2008 Author Share Posted March 12, 2008 bon mot (bohng moh), idiome, plural bons mots a witty remark, witticism, a witty riposte « Il vaut mieux perdre un bon mot qu’un ami. » « It’s better to lose a witty remark than a friend. » A less literal translation may make better sense in English, such as, “It’s better to pass up the chance of making a witty riposte, than to pass up the chance of making a friend.” Or "Lose your witticism and keep your friend." The art of prophecy is very difficult, especially with respect to the future. -Mark Twain I’m not going to pay good money to join a club that lets in people like me. -Groucho Marx I never think of the future. It arrives soon enough. -Albert Einstein We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don’t like? -Jean Cocteau Quote dAb O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Gail Posted March 12, 2008 Administrators Share Posted March 12, 2008 Un bon mot- as opposed to "un gros mot" (bad word). You don't want to use bad words!! Quote Isaiah 32:17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Allan Posted March 14, 2008 Author Share Posted March 14, 2008 jurer (zhew-reh), 1. to swear, vow, certify 2. to cuss, (utter obsenities) To promise or swear to something place your hand flat on the top or your head (as if it were a Bible! ) and say, "Je le jure!" Quote dAb O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Allan Posted March 15, 2008 Author Share Posted March 15, 2008 sourire (soo-reer), noun (masc.), verb 1.noun: a smile 2.verb :to smile 3.verb: to be favorable to something or someone « On peut changer le monde, un sourire à la fois ! » -anon. One can change the world, one smile at a time ! « La fortune sourit aux audacieux. » -Virgile Luck (fortune) smiles on the daring (audacious). –Virgil Joan Miró. Bouquet of Flowers. Smile of My Blond. (Sourire de ma blonde). 1924. Tempera on canvas. 88 x 115 cm. Private collection. Quote dAb O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Allan Posted March 16, 2008 Author Share Posted March 16, 2008 « Mesdames, souriez afin que plus tard, vos rides soient bien placées. » -Madame de Maintenon, 2nd wife of Louis XIV “Ladies, smile so that later your wrinkles may be well placed.” Quote dAb O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Gail Posted March 16, 2008 Administrators Share Posted March 16, 2008 ... as related to its cousin, rire (to laugh) Quote Isaiah 32:17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Allan Posted March 16, 2008 Author Share Posted March 16, 2008 Happy cousins they are! To smile is human, but to laugh is divine! Just like sourire, rire is both a masc. noun and a verb. rire jaune (to laugh yellow), means to give a forced laugh. mourir de rire to die laughing pour rire for fun fou rire uncontrolable laugh tu veux rire (you want to laugh) you must be kidding! "Elle [size:17pt]rit de tout ce que vous dites. Pourquoi ? Parce qu'elle a de jolies dents." -Benjamin Franklin "She laughs at everything you say. Why? Because she has pretty teeth." Quote dAb O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Allan Posted March 17, 2008 Author Share Posted March 17, 2008 sagesse (sahzh-ess) 1. wisdom, prudence, discretion 2. steadiness, good behaviour ; quietness (of horse) Dent de sagesse, wisdom tooth Immense sagesse, infinite wisdom Prix de sagesse, good-conduct award (School) Sagesse populaire, folk wisdom Sagesse pratique, practical wisdom « La clé de la sagesse, c'est de révérer l'Eternel » Proverbes 1 :7, BDS The key to wisdom : it is to revere the Eternal One. « Le doute est le commencement de la sagesse. » -Aristote The question (uncertainty, doubt) is the beginning of wisdom. As the wise man says - before you can stand up you must be seated. Quote dAb O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Allan Posted March 18, 2008 Author Share Posted March 18, 2008 dresser , (drehs-eh), verb 1. to erect, set up, raise (mast, monument, etc.); to set (trap), set or lay (table) 2. to prepare, draw up (plan, contract); to make out (check, invoice); to draw up (list) e. to adjust, arrange, trim, (piece of wood); to square, (stone) 4. to train (person or animal) Américains dressant le drapeau ... Americans raising the flag… dressant, pres. part. dressé, past. part. Dresser la tête, to hold up one’s head Dresser les oreilles, to be attentive (lit. “to hold up the ears”) Se dresser sur la point des pieds, to raise on tiptoe. C’etait faire dresser les cheveux, It was enough to make one’s hair stand on end. dresseur, -euse , noun, sing. 1. erector 2. trainer (of animals); Desseur de chevaux, horse breaker dressage, nom masculine 1. the act of training (animal) 2. act of raising, erecting, installing, etc. Quote dAb O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Allan Posted March 19, 2008 Author Share Posted March 19, 2008 poisson (pwah-sohng) Vertébré aquatique à branchies se déplaçant dans l’eau à l’aide de ses nageoires. Aquatic vertebrate with gills, which moves about in the water with the help of it’s fins. A fish. Comme le poisson dans l’eau like a fish in the water, at ease, right at home Comme un poisson sur la paille like a fish out of water (lit. on the hay/straw) Le poisson d’eau douce freshwater fish Noyer le poisson To drown the fish. This expression is from the 20th century meaning to confuse or bamboozle someone into yielding or forgetting something; comparable to when a fisherman who has hooked a fish lets it jump in and out of the water in order to wear it out, making it easier to land. Poisson d’avril First of April joke Quote dAb O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Allan Posted March 19, 2008 Author Share Posted March 19, 2008 Théâtre - Comédie & humour LA FEMME SANS L'HOMME EST COMME UN POISSON SANS BICYCLETTE "Woman without man is like a fish without a bicycle." - title playing in theaters this spring in France. :) Quote dAb O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Gail Posted March 20, 2008 Administrators Share Posted March 20, 2008 Re: poisson One must be sure to pronounce it correctly! You must emphasize the "ss" or else you end up with "poison", which is pronouced the same except for less "s" poisson- pwa-'SSON = fish poison- pwa-'zon = poison You wouldn't want to invite your buddies to go out poisoning! Quote Isaiah 32:17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Allan Posted March 20, 2008 Author Share Posted March 20, 2008 Thank you for that most essential point! They are both masculine, too. The verb for fishing is pêcher (peh-sheh) v.i. : to fish Be sure and use the correct accent over the "e" because there is another word [color:#CC33CC]pécher v.i.: to sin! la pêche (pehsh), noun = fishing [color:#CC33CC]le péché (peh-sheh), noun = sin le pêcheur (peh-shuhr) = fisherman la pêcheuse (pehsh-eu:z) = fisherwoman le pécheur (peh-shuhr) = sinner la pécheresse (peh-shress)= sinner (feminine) Remember the accent for fishing points straight up (ê) toward heaven but the accent for sin points downward AND to the left (é) toward the past. Agneau de Dieu qui enlèves le péché ... "The lamb of God who removes sin..." Quote dAb O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Gail Posted March 21, 2008 Administrators Share Posted March 21, 2008 This looks good, dab... The slight differences can make a HUGE difference in communication! There is a slight heavier "ay" sound to the "sin" one, as it has the accent aigu. That's how you can tell (besides the context) in spoken word. Can be confusing! Quote Isaiah 32:17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Allan Posted March 22, 2008 Author Share Posted March 22, 2008 Thanks. I imagine the closeness of those two words results in some interesting jokes, esp./even from pulpits. Quote dAb O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Allan Posted March 23, 2008 Author Share Posted March 23, 2008 Garder (ghar-deh), verb 1. to keep, to guard, protect, to watch over “Que les anges te gardent!” May angels watch over you! “Gardez la foi” Keep faith! 2. to keep, to retain; to preserve, save “Garderai la chemise.” I will keep the shirt. “Gardez une poire pour la soif” Save something for a rainy day. (literally “Save a pear for the craving.”) “Garder son sang froid” To remain calm. (literally “to keep one’s cold blood” Quote dAb O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Allan Posted March 24, 2008 Author Share Posted March 24, 2008 [color:#CC9933]devenir (duh-vuh-neer) verb to become to grow into “Qu’est-il devenu?” What has become of him? “On ne naît pas femme: on le deviant.” –Simone De Beauvoir No one is born a woman: one becomes one. “On finiait par devenir fou, ou par mourir, si on ne pouvait pas pleurer.” – Guy de Maupassant “One would end up going mad, or dying, if one could not cry.” Quote dAb O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Gail Posted March 24, 2008 Administrators Share Posted March 24, 2008 Note how the above question says literally, What IS become of him? That is because devenir is one of those verbs that is conjugated with être (to be), not avoir (to have). There are a few of these verbs, 16 in all I think, that are conjugated in this way. These verbs have to do with movement of some type: descendre (to go down), arriver (to arrive), passer (to pass or pass by), nâitre (to be born) ou mourir (to die), aller or s'en aller(to go) etc. Can get tricky, but one just gets used to it eventually. Quote Isaiah 32:17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Allan Posted March 25, 2008 Author Share Posted March 25, 2008 chausse (shoh-ss) (fem.) hose, breeches C’est la femme qui porte les chausses (It’s the wife who wears the breeches.) chaussette (shoh-seht), (fem.) sock chausseure (shoh-sewr), (fem.) footwear, footgear une paire de chausseures (a pair of boots, of shoes) “Trouver chaussure à son pied “ (To find one’s match) chausson, (masc.) slipper chausse-pied, (masc.) shoe-horn chausser, (shoh-seh), verbe trans. 1. to put on (stockings, shoes) 2. to put shoes on someone Etre chaussé d’une opinion (to be fixed in an opinion) Etre bien chaussé (to be well shod) Cela me chausse (that suits me) se chausser, verb to put on one’s shoes, boots “Les cordonniers sont toujours les plus mal chaussés.” -proverbe “Cobblers are always those most poorly shod. Quote dAb O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Allan Posted March 26, 2008 Author Share Posted March 26, 2008 soulier (soo-l’yeh) (m), noun shoe « Etre dans ses petits souliers » = « Etre mal a l’aise » to be in one’s little shoes = to be ill at ease, awkward, uncomfortable, embarrassed « Chacun sait où le soulier le blesse » Everyone knows where his own shoe hurts him. “Faute de souliers on va nu-pieds.” = « Beggars can’t be choosers.” or more literally, “Without shoes one goes bare-footed.” Quote dAb O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Allan Posted March 27, 2008 Author Share Posted March 27, 2008 "Le chat a reçu un ordre et il l'a transmis à sa queue." The cat has recieved a command and he has passed it on to his tail. This proverb is saying people are likely to pass along a duty to someone else - and it may end up not getting done. Quote dAb O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Gail Posted March 27, 2008 Administrators Share Posted March 27, 2008 Love it! Quote Isaiah 32:17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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