Day 1482 (Tuesday) 29th June 2021

This was Badger joining us for a candlelit dinner last night – he’s after the rose wine

As it’s getting hotter in the evening we have stopped sitting in the living room in the evenings as it’s cooler and brighter in the blue room. When we sit in the living room Badger usually sits on his blanket in between us on the sofa but now that we’ve moved he was a bit lost as to where to sit. I brought his blanket in and put it on the floor in between our armchairs and he settled down immediately – he does love us after all.

 

Huw had some exciting news today – he’s got some real work to do. For the first time in over a year Frank Warren’s team asked him to produce a radio commercial for them. It’s not much work but he will earn a nice few euros for it and he’s happy to use his TV skills again.  I sulked a bit today because I almost had the day off but I had to go to Monaco for just one hour between 5 and 6, which I think is totally unreasonable but at least I get paid for two hours, but still I’d prefer not to go at all. To make it even worse I had to go to do one hour with the three horrible little spoiled Monegasques.

When I got to the train station in Villefranche I was amazed to see more than 20 police officers and SNCF security guards and they all got on the train. It was quite intimidating as they all carry guns.

I would love to say it was good to be back in Monaco but I can’t, as I still don’t particularly like it.

Fontvielle

The palace

But it was great to see Natacha and when I arrived she put on her mask and gave me a big hug. It wasn’t so great to see the kids but it was nice to see their mothers who seem to be lovely ladies. The three kids had grown a few inches since I saw them in January but they were still little monsters and still speaking French constantly. The train before my usual one was late so I got home a bit earlier than usual and was soon sitting in my favourite chair with a Campari and soda in my hand as a well-earned treat for working with kids again.  

Here are the rest of the 19 Funny French Words

Flâner

If you like lazy Sundays or if you just love walking aimlessly, just for the pleasure of walking, this verb may come as very handy for you. And, if you do this often, you can surely call yourself a “flâneur” or “flâneuse”.

Raplapla

This funny sounding word isn’t particularly positive. Used mostly in a familiar context, it describes the feeling of being tired, unmotivated, deplete and depressed all at the same time. Let’s hope you won’t come to that by the end of this article! If it’s not a good description for yourself, you can also use it to describe something that is deflated.

Pantouflard

To understand what a “pantouflard” is you first need to know that the word “pantoufle” translates as “slipper” in English. So, does that mean that a “pantouflard” is someone always wearing their slippers? Yes, pretty much. By extension, it is someone who likes staying home rather than going out to party or meet friends, who likes his habbits and his tranquility. I guess you could say that Chatterbug fits best the “pantouflard” that sleeps in us, right?

Le bricolage

Doing small repairs at home is one of the most popular past-times among the French people. But before you imagine the whole nation being quite handy, know that “bricoler” isn’t very demanding and doesn’t require special training. Everyone loves it because everyone can do it. It’s a mix between DIY projects (like building a bench for your garden), small repairs (like changing a lightbulb or fixing a door handle) and home improvements (like painting the bedroom). Yes, we can!

Déjanter

If you keep saying nonsense or if you are off your head, a French person could say: “tu es déjanté !”. Well, maybe not the young people… Fun fact: “la jante” is actually the rim of a car’s wheel. Now, why would taking the rim off your car would ever be associated to saying nonsense? This will remain a mystery of the French language.

Écoeurant

It doesn’t help to understand this one to notice the word “coeur” (heart) in there. Funnily, when the French people talk about nausea they often refer to the word “coeur”. Take for instance “le mal de coeur” (heart pain) which stands for motion sickness, and which is completely unrelated to our vital organ. In France, when a situation or a food is “écoeurant” it means it’s nauseating or sickening. It repulses the person. But, be careful, in Canada and Québec particularly, “écoeurant” is a very positive word that means “it’s good” or “it’s awesome”.

Vachement

Kids would certainly be told by their parents not to overuse this word outside the house. “Vachement” isn’t very formal or polite but it is certainly massively used in France as a synonym of “a lot”: il y a vachement de monde ici = there’s tons of people here. Oh, and yes, it comes from the word “vache” (cow).

La quincaillerie

If you also like “le bricolage” like many French people do, this type of store may come in handy for you. Before we could find everything in a supermarket, French people would go to a “quincaillerie” (pronounced k-ain-kah-yuh-ree), a smaller store where one could find literally everything: tools, toys, kitchen utensils, sports equipment, garden accessories…

Cartonner

We don’t know what cardboard boxes (carton) have to do with it but “cartonner” or “faire un carton” describes a big success. Apparently, it would come from the cardboard targets in the shooting stalls of the fairs. If you hit them all, you are indeed very successful or very good at what you’re doing.

Voilà

Here’s a word that is used in many languages. “Voilà” can either conclude a story, introduce a person or thing, attract people’s attention to an event or indicate an explanation. Et voilà! 

Here are a few more translations to giggle at…