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French Slang Expressions with the Letter F Posted by Hichem on Aug 5, 2010
Today, we continue with the second part of la lettre F. * FILER À L’ANGLAISE: Depending on which side of la Manche (the English Channel, that is), you either say “filer à l’Anglaise“, or, conversely, “take the French Leave.” The expression means to “jump ship.” Another close expression is “fausser compagnie à quelqu’un“, like “leaving under a cloud”! * FIN DES HARICOTS: “The…
“Un Jour en France” (RE-NOIR DÉSIR) Posted by Hichem on Jul 30, 2010
Non, non, pas du tout, you should read le titre (the title) as “RE: Noir Désir“, meaning a sequel to the previous post, “NOIR DÉSIR: “Un homme pressé” (“Man in a Hurry”)“, and not as a reference to some désirs artistiques of the celebrated master painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Since you liked the previous Noir Désir song, here’s another famous one signed by the same Bordelais group (“Bordelais”…
From Colonial Conquest to Space Conquest Posted by Hichem on Jul 21, 2010
From la Conquête Coloniale (the Colonial Conquest) to la Conquête Spatiale (the Space Conquest), la boucle semble desormais fermée (It has come full circle.) Comment est-ce que cela est arrivé? (How did that happen?) La course à l’espace (the Space Race) between the United States and the USSR lasted almost 30 ans (30 years), from 1957 to…
La Marseillaise (and “la réintégration de l’histoire”) Posted by Hichem on Jul 19, 2010
Last week, la France a fêté “la prise de la Bastille” (France celebrated “the storming of the Bastille.”) Apart from the symbolic value that this iconic day has acquired over the past two centuries, it is now important for the French, who are still rediscovering and “debating” their identité nationale, to reconsider the évènements cruciaux (crucial events) that took place in that year…
Le 14 Juillet and “Les 3 SUiSSES” Posted by Hichem on Jul 15, 2010
Demandez à n’importe qui au hasard (ask anyone randomly): “C’est quoi le 14 Juillet (what is the 14 of July)?”, and you’re likely to hear the answer “C’est la fête nationale!” (It’s the national celebration!) Mais encore? (What else?) “It’s to celebrate a singular event in l’histoire de France: la prise de la Bastille(the storming of the Bastille.)” And…
“Paul le Poulpe” predicts: La Hollande or l’Espagne? Posted by Hichem on Jul 8, 2010
The name of la vedette (the “star”) of this Coupe du Monde 2010 hasn’t been a Rooney, a Ronaldo, a Drogba, a Messi, or a Schweinsteiger. Instead, the very unlikely vedette is named “Paul le Poulpe” (“Paul the Octopus”), who is reputedly endowed with no less than neuf cerveaux (nine brains), several tentacules (tentacles), and un sixième sens (a sixth sense) to…
Flashback: Coup de boule! (4 years ago, déjà!) Posted by Hichem on Jul 7, 2010
Nearly four years ago, on July 9th 2006 in Berlin, at precisely the 110th minute, Zinedine Zidane‘s last act following a longstanding heroic carrière internationale (international career) was to deliver a completely unexpected coup de boule (a headbutt) to the upper chest of the Italian player Marco Materazzi. – Where were you watching the game, and what was your initial reaction back…