French Vocabulary – Tickets in the drawer Posted by Tim Hildreth on Oct 13, 2020 in Culture, Music, Vocabulary
I have been incredibly lucky throughout my life to travel. From my first year abroad to business trips and vacations in over 30 countries, I’ve been fortunate to see the world. But now … like so many … I’m stuck at home!
Photo by Tatiana Syrikova from Pexels
Et pour comble …
But to add insult to injury1Other ways to say add insult to injury include pire encore (lit. worse still), et si c’était pas suffisant (lit. and if that wasn’t enough), or par dessus le marché (lit. on top of the deal)., pour la première fois depuis l’âge de 16 ans je n’ai pas de passeport valide (for the first time since I was 16, I don’t have a valid passport).
I suppose it doesn’t matter much, because even if I wanted to, I can’t go anywhere right now and as a result I find myself these days very much en manque de voyage (missing travel).
Que ce soit par voiture, en train, ou en avion, j’aime voyager (Whether by car, train, or plane, I love to travel). And like mon amie Kyle says, One should always have tickets in the drawer.2Is my friend Kyle un homme or une femme? Can you tell? La réponse à la fin!
Que faire? (What to do?) Well, like the French singer Suzane, all we can do is take to our ordi(nateurs)s and travel virtually.
| Quand j’ai besoin d’prendre l’air, j’vais sur Aibnb | When I need to get away (lit. to take some air), I go to Airbnb |
| Je regarde la mer sur un écran d’ordi | I look at the ocean on a computer screen |
| Je cherche une maison ultra-cozy | And look for an ultra-cozy house |
| Au bord de la plage en Andalousie | At the shore in Andalusia (lit. on the edge of the beach) |
| J’ai jamais vu le paradis | I’ve never seen paradise |
| Ryanair le propose à petits prix | Ryanair3low-cost European airline offers it at low price |
| Je jalouse mes potes quand j’vois leur Story | My friends make me envious when I see their (Instagram) Story |
| Ils sont posés en Grèce ils mangent du Tsatséki | They’re posing in Greece and they’re eating tzatziki |
| Un jour j’irai en première classe | One day I’ll take first class |
| Aux quatre coins du globe j’irai boire la tasse | To the ends of the earth (lit. to the four corners of the world) to swim in the sea (lit. to drink the cup) |
| En attendant j’voyage sur Google Maps | Until then (lit. while waiting) I’ll travel through Google Maps |
| En un clic j’suis aux Bahamas | In one click I’m in the Bahamas |
| Un jour j’irai de Tokyo à Capri | One day I’ll go from Tokyo to Capri |
| Faire du yoga à Bali | Do yoga in Bali |
| Voir Marie-Jeanne en Californie | See Mary-Jane in California |
| Un jour j’irai de Cuba à Cali | One day I’ll go form Cuba to Cali |
| Louer un Fiat en Italie | Rent a Fiat in Italy |
| Voir des girafes en Namibie | See the giraffes in Namibia |
| Coucher d’soleil, no filter | Sunset, no filter |
| Les blogos voyage ont pris de couleurs | The traveling internauts got some color |
| C’est l’heure où plus personne (link to post) ne regarde l’heure | It’s the time when no one looks at the time |
| Même les réacs ont lâché Twitter | Even the reactionaries on Twitter have dropped it |
| Y’a des pubs idylliques à gogo | There are idyllic pubs everywhere |
| Couples amoureux teint hâlé noix d’coco | Loving couples healthy cocoa butter tans |
| L’influenceur version abdo-maillot | The fit and sexy influencer kinds (lit. abs and bathing suit kind) |
| Se promène sur la plage pendant qu’suis dans l’métro | Walk on the beach while I’m in the subway |
| Refrain | Chorus |
| J’irai parler en VO | I will go speak in VO (link to post?) |
| Dans toutes les langues dire “Hello” | Say « hello » in every language |
| Chercher l’Eldorado | Look for El Dorado |
| De Tulum à Bamako | From Tulum to Bamako |
| J’voudrais partir en solo | I’d like to leave alone (compare ‘I’d’ and ‘I would’ to ‘je voudrais’ and ‘j’voudrais’?) |
| De Buenos Aires à Rio | From Buenos Aires to Rio |
| Jet lag4Décalage horaire en français. dans la peau | Jet lag in my bones (lit. in the skin) |
| De Katmandou à Oslo | From Katmandu to Oslo |
| [et ainsi jusqu’à la fin … ] | [and so on until the end … ] |
La réponse à la fin!
Answer at the end: Kyle is a woman. If Kyle were a man I would have said mon ami Kyle (without the ‘e’ on ‘ami’). While we usually use ‘ma’ for ‘my’ with female nouns, because ‘amie’ stars with a vowel, we need to use ‘mon’.
- 1Other ways to say add insult to injury include pire encore (lit. worse still), et si c’était pas suffisant (lit. and if that wasn’t enough), or par dessus le marché (lit. on top of the deal).
- 2Is my friend Kyle un homme or une femme? Can you tell? La réponse à la fin!
- 3low-cost European airline
- 4Décalage horaire en français.
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About the Author: Tim Hildreth
Since my first trip to France at 16, I have been a passionate francophile. I love the language, food, music, art, people, and more that make France and la Francophonie in general such an amazing part of our global community. Having lived in France and studied the language and culture for over 35 years, it is my great pleasure to be able to share a little bit of my deep love with you through this blog.