Un Mot par Jour

[D. Allan]

The French call old age "le troisième âge" or the 3rd age. I guess the other 2 are growing up and adulthood.

Do we have something like that in English?

We have the "second childhood." In Shakespeare's Seven Ages of Man, it is the "Seventh Age."

"All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players,

They have their exits and entrances,

And one man in his time plays many parts,

His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,

Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.

Then, the whining schoolboy with his satchel

And shining morning face, creeping like snail

Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,

Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad

Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,

Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,

Jealous in honour, sudden, and quick in quarrel,

Seeking the bubble reputation

Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice

In fair round belly, with good capon lin'd,

With eyes severe, and beard of formal cut,

Full of wise saws, and modern instances,

And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts

Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,

With spectacles on nose, and pouch on side,

His youthful hose well sav'd, a world too wide,

For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,

Turning again towards childish treble, pipes

And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,

That ends this strange eventful history,

Is second childishness and mere oblivion,

Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything."

"Sans everything," seems more like a "second infancy."

[D. Allan]

Mont Orgueil, a castle in Jersey

orgueil (ohr-goy), masc.

pride

« Quand l'orgueil chemine devant, honte et dommage suivent de près. » - Gabriel MEURIER, Trésor des sentences

When pride walks first, shame and hurt follow close behind.

« L’orgueil de ton coeur t’a séduit, parce que tu* habites dans les antres des rochers, et que to résides dans les lieus les plus élevés ; to as dit en toi –même : Qui m’en fera descendre ? » La Sainte Bible, Abdias 1 :3

The pride of your heart has charmed you, because you inhabit dens among the rocks, because you live in the highest places; you have said to yourself: ‘Who will make me come down?‘ The Bible, Obadiah 3:1

[D. Allan]

singe singe (sehnzh) masc.

monkey

Synonyms: anthropoïde, guenon, gugusse, imitateur, macaque, maggot, primate, quadrumane, sagouin, simian.

Idioms :

Être un singe sur une branche = to be at home, in one’s natural setting

Literally: To be a monkey on a branch

Payer en monnaie de singe = to pay with beautiful words

Literally: To pay in monkey money

[D. Allan]

oignon (oh-n’yohng), masc.

1. onion

2. bulb (of tulip, etc)

3. bunion, corn (under sole of foot)

synonyms : bulbe, callosité, cor, durillon, montre, racine

Idiom :

Ce ne sont pas vos oignons. = Its none of your business.

Literally : Those are not your onions.

[D. Allan]

geste s. masculine

gesture, motion, movement.

D’un geste de la main = with a wave, motion of the hand

Faire un geste = to make a gesture, to make a sign

Joindre le geste à la parole = to suit the action to the word

geste d’affection = an endearment

beau geste s. m.

handsome gesture, gesture of sympathy, act of kindness

« Un gentleman est quelqu’un qui est capable de décrire Sophia Loren sans faire de gestes. » - Michel Audiard

A gentleman is a man who is able to describe Sophia Loren without gesturing.

geste s. feminine

if used in the feminine geste refers to

1. epic poetry; a mediaeval verse-chronicle of heroic adventures.

2. faits et gestes , doings, exploits

[Gail]

I like "des gestes d'affection"...

[D. Allan]

I like "des gestes d'affection"...

ah yes, we all do. Non? anyway i do too. How about some specific examples? Pat on the back. Hug. ?

Terms of endearment are words not motions so I'm guessing they are not included in gestes. Except in a metaphoric way.

[D. Allan]

« Il y a toujours deux raisons pour faire quelque chose: une bonne raison et la vraie raison. » – Salvador Dali

There are always two reasons for doing something : a good reason and the real reason.

“La Loi de la Raison” (Reason's Law) – Salvador Dali

raison , (reh-zohng) fem.

1. reason, motive, grounds for,

« Pour une raison ou une autre. » = For one reason or another.

2. reason (faculty of reasoning)

Il n’a pas toute sa raison. = He’s not quite in his right mind.

Literally: He hasn’t all his reason.

Vous perdez la raison! = Have you lost your mind?

Literally: You are losing reason.

avoir raison , to have reason = to be right

Prouver que j'ai raison serait accorder que je puis avoir tort. Pierre Augustin Caron de BEAUMARCHAIS, Le Mariage de Figaro, acte I, scène I

Proving that I am right would be admitting that I could be wrong.

parler raison = to talk sense

Sans rime ne raison = without rhyme or reason

[Gail]

Quote:

ah yes, we all do. Non? anyway i do too. How about some specific examples? Pat on the back. Hug. ?

You betcha! Gotta love da hugs!

Snuggles are nice, too

[Gail]

Dali- A-t-il raison?

[D. Allan]

Dali- A-t-il raison?

Oui et non.

Certains pensent qu'il n'avait pas toute sa raison!

Mais, je pense qu'il a raison parfois.

[Gail]

Oui, il était sûrement un drôle de gars...

[D. Allan]

poète masc. = poet

poème masc. = poem

poésie fem. = poetry, poem

écrire de la poésie = to write poetry

mémorisation de poésie = memory verse

« La poème est un grappe d’images. » - Gaston Bachelard

A poem is a cluster of images.

« Je serai poète et toi poésie... » - Français COPPÉE, Poèmes divers (Lemerre; S. G. L.), Ritournelle I'll be a poet and you, poetry....

[D. Allan]

coup (koo) masc. noun . The word describes a blow, a knock, punch, jab, strike; a rapid movement; and also is used to speak of an emotional blow as in ‘Cela m’en donné un coup!’ (It gave me such a shock!)

The picture at right shows a coup de pied, a blow of the foot, a kick.

Some favorites:

à coup de prep. phrase, = with blows of. ex. « Faire une traduction à coups de dictionnaire. » to look up every word in the dictionary in translating a passage.

coups et blessures (blows and wounds) = assault and battery

coup des dents (blow of the teeth) = bite

coup d’épée (blow of straight sword) = thrust, lunge

coup d’ épée dans l’eau (thrust in the water) = useless, futile attempt

coup de feu (blow of fire) = shot (gun)

coup de foudre (blow of lightning) = love at first sight

coup de froid (blow of cold) = cold snap

coup d’oeil (blow of eye) = glance

coup de plume (blow of pen) = stroke of a pen

coup de sang (blow of blood) = stroke

coup de soleil (blow of sun) = sun burn

coup de tête (blow of head) an impulsive act

coup de vent (blow of wind) = puff, gust of wind

du coup = now at last, “Du coup je comprends.” Now at last I understand.

encore un coup = once again

sur le coup = outright, on the spot. « Il tué sur le coup. » He was killed on the spot

tout à coup = all of a sudden

[Gail]

I like handy words like this :)

[D. Allan]

manière (mahn - nyehr) feminine

way, mode, manner, behavior

manières f. pl. manners (social)

bonnes manières f. pl good manners

maniéré adj. mannered, affected, showy

« les bonnes manières ne sont pas qu'un signe d'éducation, c'est une marque de respect envers les autres. »

Good manners are not only an indication of education, they are signs of respect toward others.

Qu'il est difficile de proposer une chose au jugement autre sans corrompre son jugement par la manière de la lui proposer ! – Blaise Pascal, Pensées

How difficult to offer something to another’s judgment without influencing his judgment by the manner of proposing it to him !

Adolphe dit la vérité de la seule manière de la dire : en riant. – Honoré De Balzac, Petites Misères de la Vie Conjugale

Adolphe told the truth the only way to tell it: while laughing.

[D. Allan]

Ce n'est pas les bonnes manières à manger de l'assiette du chat!

It's not good manners to eat from the cat's plate!

[Gail]

Hahaha great photo

What about the cats who climb onto the kitchen counter? Who gave them THEIR manners?

[D. Allan]

I've known cats with bad manners. My wife teaches them quickly!

[D. Allan]

Je vous souhaite un bonjour à souhait !

souhaiter (soo-eh-teh), v. tr.

to wish, hope for, desire (for oneself or for another or others)

souhaitant (soo-eh-tahng) wishing

souhaité (soo-eh-teh) wished, desired, hoped for

souhait , (soo-eh), noun, masculine, a wish, desire, hope

à souhait = according to one’s wishes

à souhait = as much as possible

avoir tout à souhait = to have everything one can wish for

à tes souhait / à vos souhaits = familiar idiom addressed to someone who sneezes. Bless you! (also Dieu vous benisse ! is used on the occasion of a sneeze.)

« Je vous souhaite une bonne et heureuse année »

I wish you a good and happy New Year.

« La nuit était comme noire à souhait. » (TRIOLET, Prem. accroc, 1945, p. 260).

The night was as black as it could be.

« il serait plus sage de souhaiter de la santé, de la joie, et une longue vie. » -Jeanne-Marie Leprince De Beaumont, Conte des trois souhaits

It would be wiser to wish for health, joy and a long life.

« il resta sagement assis à son pupitre, dans un silence anormalement rêveur, ne souhaitant qu'une chose : qu'on le laisse en paix. » – Francis Scott Fitzgerald, Ce genre de réunion

He remained wisely seated at his desk, in an unnaturally dreamy silence, wishing but one thing: that they leave him in peace.

“Where there is great love, there are always wishes.” Willa Cather

Où il y a grand amour, là il y a toujours souhaites.

Synonymes: ambitionner, aspirer, avoir, desirer, espérer, guigner, lorgner, rêver, solliciter, viser, vouloir.

je souhaite I wish

tu* souhaites you wish

il souhaite he wishes

nous souhaitons we wish

vous souhaitez you wish

ils souhaitent they wish

[D. Allan]

venir de ( vuh-neer ), verbe

to come from, derive from, hail from

je viens

tu* viens

il, elle, on vient

nous venons

vous venez

ils, elles viennent

venant, coming

venu , came

Les grandes pensées viennent du coeur. - Luc de Clapiers, marquis de VAUVENARGUES, Réflexions

Great thoughts come from the heart.

Celui qui quitte votre parti pour aller dans au autre est us traître. Celui qui vient d’un autre part pour rejoindre le vôtre est un converti. - Georges Clemenceau

One who leaves your party to join another is a traitor. One who come from another to join yours is a convert.

[Gail]

venir de + infinitive means "having just done something". It's very handy and an often-used expression

Ça vient d'arriver = It happened just now

Je viens de l'entendre = I just heard about it

[D. Allan]

Thanks! It does seem handy. Is it always translated as past? The verb venir would give it a past sense, I suppose. In English it is a little awkward to say "I am just come/ing from hearing it." Perhaps a British person would say that.

I found these other examples:

J'avais commencé l'autre jour une lettre pour toi ; je viens de la chercher inutilement. . . – François Chateaubriand, Mémoires d’outre-tombe.

I had begun a letter for you the other day; I have just looked for it, -futilely.

Je viens de la voir passer tout habillée de vert. – Edouard Fournier

I just saw her pass by all dressed in green.

. . . nous venons d’'être informés . . . Louis Fréchette

we have just been informed.

[Gail]

It's one of those phrases that doesn't make sense when you try to translate it literally.

I do think it always refers to something in the past, albeit the very near past, as having just happened. If something is happening presently it's better to use a present tense:

Ça arrive... je l'entends...

OR- If you are in the middle of doing something there is another option. You could say "en train de":

Je suis en train d'écouter la nouvelle (I'm listening to OR I'm in the middle of listening to the news)

[D. Allan]

arriver (ah-ree-v h), v.

1. to arrive, come

il arrive de voyage = he is just back from a journey

Les voilà qui arrivent = here they come

Arrivez! = Come on ! (familiar)

Arriver à la vérité = to arrive at, get at the truth

Arriver à bon port = to arrive safely

2. to succeed

Avec du courage on arrive à tout. = With courage one can achieve anything.

Il n’arrivera jamais à rien. = He will never achieve anything.

3. to happen

Cela arrive tous les jours. = It happens every day.

Il m’arrive souvent d’oublier. = I often forget.

Faire arriver = to cause or bring about something ; Il a fait arriver un accident = He has caused an accident.

Tout arrive en France. -François de LA ROCHEFOUCAULD, Maximes, Réflexions morales

Everything happens in France.