A French Word A Day

la fin = the end

noreply@blogger.com (afrenchwordaday) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:00:00 +0000

le rouge à lèvres = the lipstick

noreply@blogger.com (afrenchwordaday) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 14:00:00 +0000

‘rouge à lèvres’ literally means ‘red for lips’

un collier = a necklace

noreply@blogger.com (afrenchwordaday) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:00:00 +0000

'the necklace' is the translated English title of a very famous short story by Guy de Maupassant.

la porte = the door

noreply@blogger.com (afrenchwordaday) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:00:00 +0000

We usually open and close ‘doors’ (=‘portes’).
Since 1965 we can also listen to them thanks to the combined geniuses of singer Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger.

Another link with French culture: Jim Morrison is buried in Paris at Père-Lachaise cemetery.

la douche = the shower

noreply@blogger.com (afrenchwordaday) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 14:00:00 +0000

‘la douche’ = to be pronounced ‘dooshh’

“As seen on the ABC’s new inventors”
http://www.showersaver.com.au/
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/newinventors/txt/s1305219.htm

la chance = luck

noreply@blogger.com (afrenchwordaday) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 14:00:00 +0000

‘Friday 13’ (=‘vendredi 13’) was supposed to be a day of luck (jour de chance).

Heaps of people played the lottery that day.
How many winners?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friday_the_13th

le retard = the delay

noreply@blogger.com (afrenchwordaday) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 14:00:00 +0000

No new french word for a few days?

‘Je suis en retard’ = ‘I was delayed’

le poisson = the fish

noreply@blogger.com (afrenchwordaday) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:00:00 +0000

A story of ‘fish’ (=‘poisson’) and things that go a bit south in Vanity Fair.

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/04/iceland200904?currentPage=1

Fishermen turned bankers, who were laid off from trading jobs in October and now might return to fishing.

A tiny fishing nation, population 300,000, that decided, around 2003, to re-invent itself as a global financial powernation

The article follows the peculiarly Icelandic logic behind the meltdown.

A fishy tale.

une tasse = a cup

noreply@blogger.com (afrenchwordaday) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:00:00 +0000

A 'cup' of coffee' (='une tasse de café') to start the day.

Must read stats on the economist website re- the water needed to produce everyday goods and beverages:

http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displaystory.cfm?subjectid=7933596&story_id=13176056

"A cup of coffee, for example, needs a great deal more water than that poured into the pot. According to a new book on the subject, 1,120 litres of water go into producing a single litre of the beverage, once growing the beans, packaging and so on are measured. Only 120 litres go into making the same amount of tea."

un vélo = a bicycle

noreply@blogger.com (afrenchwordaday) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 14:00:00 +0000

Community service at its best:

Vélib’ a self serve ‘bicycle’ (=‘vélo’ but also = ‘bicyclette’)

A good thing to try next time you visit Paris.

http://www.velib.paris.fr/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C3%A9lib‘

http://www.scribd.com/doc/361657/The-Velib-in-Paris33-questions

un canard = a duck

noreply@blogger.com (afrenchwordaday) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 14:00:00 +0000

Why a ‘pink duck’ = ‘canard rose’ today?

Maybe because it’s Mardi Gras Festival in Sydney this weekend…

Seen at Woolloomooloo swimming pool.

un livre = a book

noreply@blogger.com (afrenchwordaday) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:00:00 +0000

I have been reading that the much expected Kindle 2 was unveiled a few weeks ago but remains in the realms of niche electronics:

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/business/story/0,28124,25122653-36418,00.html

So I will stick to the old fashion paper ‘book’ = ‘livre’ over the weekend to indulge with ‘The Origin of Wealth’ by Eric D. Beinhocker.

http://www.amazon.com/Origin-Wealth-Evolution-Complexity-Economics/dp/157851777X

http://books.google.com.au/books?id=eUoolrxSFy0C&dq=beinhocker&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=Sj0iNw13S7&sig=zGPFaphqGQe-ZD4i-LD2kePbB84&hl=en&ei=mJqrScSoIYKUsQPw8onlDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result#PPR13,M1

A must read. The reviews on the web tell it all:

"A brilliant, thought-provoking and wide-ranging book… For me, it was more than the business book of 2006; it was the book of 2006."
- Martin Wolf, Financial Times

"Every once in a while, a book comes along that is able to pull together all the divergent threads of economic thinking into something approaching a coherent, understandable whole. The Origin of Wealth is such a book… it is a brilliant piece of intellectual history that deserves a prominent place on any shelf of economic literature."
- Steven Pearlstein, Washington Post

la fête = the party

noreply@blogger.com (afrenchwordaday) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 14:00:00 +0000

Every time I log on to Facebook I feel I’m crossing a vortex and end-up in a parallel world where the same ‘party’ = ‘fête’ has been going-on for months…

Don’t they ever work, sleep or even rest?

un funambule = a ropewalker

noreply@blogger.com (afrenchwordaday) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 14:00:00 +0000

The documentary ‘Man on Wire’ chronicles ‘ropewalker’ (=‘funambule’) Philippe Petit's 1974 high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of New York's World Trade Centre.

In 1973, about a year before the World Trade Centre walk, he performed a similar stunt in Sydney walking across two pillars of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s2372173.htm

Do you ever feel you kind of do it metaphorically? say... at work?

chaud = hot

noreply@blogger.com (afrenchwordaday) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 14:00:00 +0000

‘Chaud’ = ‘hot’ is definitively and unfortunately the word in season in Victoria at the moment.

Donations to help the victims of the bushfires:

Internet Banking or Telephone Banking:
Biller name: Victoria Bush Fire Relief Fund
Biller Code: 116657
Reference No: 8600462

Or online:
https://www.redcross.org.au/Donations/onlineDonations.asp

le vol = the flight

noreply@blogger.com (afrenchwordaday) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:00:00 +0000

A 7am flight for breakfast is one of the perks of working between Sydney and Melbourne.

The guy who invented the web check-in to print the boarding pass the night before deserves a Nobel prize.

‘Flight’ QF411 to Melb for work
and ‘Vol’ AF1407 to Paris for holidays…

le réveil = the alarm-clock

noreply@blogger.com (afrenchwordaday) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 14:00:00 +0000

My Monday morning friend... no comment.

Numerous studies regularly emphasize the benefit of sleep:
A good link --> Harvard Medical School:
http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/benefits-of-sleep

l'addition = the bill

noreply@blogger.com (afrenchwordaday) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 01:24:00 +0000

If you are going to the restaurant or café this weekend here is a good one:
Ask for "l'addition" = "the bill" when paying.
You can even try a "Garcon! L'addition s'il vous plait!" or "Mademoiselle! L'addition s'il vous plait!" = "Waiter! the bill please!"

When the bill is really higher than expected, you can say it is "salty" = "salée" (as opposed to "sweet" I suppose...) = "L'addition est salée".

la plage = the beach

noreply@blogger.com (afrenchwordaday) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 00:12:00 +0000

Sunny saturday = 'a la plage!' = 'let's go to the beach'

The Beach is also a movie directed by Danny Boyle, who just did Slumdog Millionaire, which I really enjoyed last night....
--> http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s2426044.htm

une bière = a beer

noreply@blogger.com (afrenchwordaday) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 03:57:00 +0000

It's Friday... A few people will start the week-end sharing a beer (une bière) or two at the pub. A quintessential Aussie tradition.

As a responsible blog afrenchwordaday obviously recommends to 'Enjoy in Moderation' = 'Apprecier (=appreciate) avec moderation'.

On the news front re- 'Beer', a few articles about "Ginger beers caught in alcopops net":
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/govt-seeks-higher-tax-on-altered-beer-20090225-8h4e.html
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25112596-2702,00.html

une peinture = a painting

noreply@blogger.com (afrenchwordaday) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 22:54:00 +0000

The estate of Yves Saint Laurent is auctioned in Paris.
The Archibald Prize finalists have been announced.

So quite a few paintings (peintures) on display on both sides of the world...

Your favourite iPhone app brings you not A painting, but LA peinture by Henri Matisse, which sold on Monday for €32.1 million — a record price for a work by the French artist at auction.
(yep, that's the one on the picture. Enjoy it: at that price, each pixel on the screen is worth €220)

The sale came at the start of a three-day Paris auction of art from the collection of the late French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent that some are calling "the sale of the century".

--> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7905364.stm

Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergé built this collection over more than 50 years.

After Saint Laurent's death last June aged 71, Bergé chose to part with the 732 pieces, collected to grace the couple's apartments.
Bergé, a 79-year-old business tycoon and patron of the arts, said before the sale that "the day Yves Saint Laurent died, I decided this collection had run its course," he said. "It was something we created together. Selling it was the only possible solution."

During the inaugural session of the three-day auction, 59 works of Impressionist and Modern Art sold for a total of € 206 million.

Proceeds from the three days of sales will be split between medical research and the fight against AIDS, and a Bergé/Saint Laurent Foundation honouring the designer's work.

More on the Archibald Prize:
http://www.smh.com.au/interactive/2009/entertainment/archibald-prize-finalists/index.html

The backroom workers of the Art Gallery of New South Wales picked out their favourite Archibald portrait - a Paul Jackson painting of comedian Paul 'Flacco' Livingstone.

la bourse = the stock-exchange

noreply@blogger.com (afrenchwordaday) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:02:00 +0000

"Wall Street shares tumble to 1997 levels"
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/business/story/0,28124,25098678-5017999,00.html
The New-York stock exchange (la bourse de New-York) is back to 1997 levels.

1997... Bill Clinton was inaugurated for his 2nd term, Tony Blair was elected, Princess Diana and Mother Theresa of Calcutta passed away, Steve Jobs returned to Apple...
In tennis Pete Sampras won Wimbledon and the Australian Open, Pat Rafter won the US open and Kuerten from Brazil won Roland-Garros. Australie won the ashes in England. The Spice girls were at the top, Radiohead released 'OK Computer' (now a classic).
And my $27 weekly Sydney CityRail train ticket probably cost $15 in 1997... (happy to be confirmed on this one).

Le chevalier noir = The dark knight

noreply@blogger.com (afrenchwordaday) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 10:18:00 +0000

Heath Ledger has won the best supporting actor Oscar for his performance as The Joker in the Batman movie, The (Le) Dark (usually translated 'sombre' but here associated with 'black'='noir') Knight (Chevalier).

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2009/02/23/1235237514731.html

moufle = mitten

noreply@blogger.com (afrenchwordaday) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 13:02:00 +0000

'enleve tes moufles' = 'remove your mitten' is what they say when you loose your work after several hours at the computer, bcse you pressed the wrong button. Time to call it a day.

piscine = swimming-pool

noreply@blogger.com (afrenchwordaday) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 11:03:00 +0000

Today I was at the swimming-pool when I received an email from Rob who suggested we make an iPhone app with "learn a French word a day".

So, et voila, here it is.

After all even Newsweek wrote it the other day in --> http://www.newsweek.com/id/183664
"Have you noticed that Barack Obama sounds more like the president of France every day?"
So in that case we may as well start to learn the language if we want to understand him.

Speaking of swimming-pool, the movie 'La Piscine' = 'the swimming-pool' is really worth seeing. --> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0324133/