FRENCH WORD-A-DAY

une vedette (vuh-det) noun, feminine
1. (movie) star
2. patrol boat

Expressions:
en vedette = in the limelight
une vedette de cinema = a movie star
avoir la vedette = to be in the spotlight, in the headlines
jouer les vedettes = to act like a star
mettre en vedette = to put emphasis on, to put in evidence (product)
ravir la vedette à quelqu'un = to steal the show from someone
partager la vedette = to share the limelight (with someone)

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Citation du Jour:
Une vedette, c'est quelqu'un qui travaille dur pour être connu et qui, ensuite, porte des lunettes noires pour qu'on ne le reconnaisse pas.

A celebrity is a person who works hard all his life to become well known, then wears dark glasses to avoid being recognised. --Fred Allen

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A Day in a French Life...

Recommended Reading: don't miss the story, now a book, that originally accompanied this edition and included the following vocabulary:

le mistral (m) = a cold, dry wind in S. of France; une camionnette (f) = a small van; le banc (m) = bench; ordinaire = ordinary; hyper = very; le petit coin (m) = the bathroom; Allez-y = Go ahead; refait = redone (surgically); tape-à-l'oeil (from tapper à l'oeil = to hit the eye)

coller (ko-lay) verb
  1. to paste, stick, glue
  2. to adhere, cling (to)

Expressions:
Ça colle? = How are things?; That'll work
être pot de colle = to be a nuisance
coller une gifle a quelqu'un = to slap someone in the face
se coller avec quelqu'un = to shack up with someone
poser une colle = to ask a difficult question
se faire coller à un examen = to fail an exam
coller son oreille à la porte = to press one's ear to the door, to eavesdrop

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Citation du Jour:
Si ce sont les plumes qui font le plumage, ce n'est pas la colle qui fait le collage.

If it is the feathers that make the plumage, it is not the glue that makes the collage. --Max Ernst

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A Day in a French Life...

I sent out yesterday's word a bit tôt* so that I could accompany my husband to St. Tropez. After preparing the edition, I set about preparing myself. What does a woman wear to the world-renown mecca of chic? If you were to ask me that question, I'd have to reply: "Vous m'avez posé une colle!"*

I polished my boots with a stick of liquid brown instant shoe polish, borrowed my husband's cologne, brushed my hair to and fro and to again, finally digging out a can of hairspray left by a houseguest two summers ago.

I packed my appareil photo,* a notebook and pen, Carmex, and my lunettes de soleil.* I slid into the passenger seat, giddy as a gamine,* and waited in the car for Jean-Marc.

Sitting quiet as a mulot,* stiff as the lacquer on my head, afraid that motion--even one millimeter of it--might disrupt the colorful kaleidoscope of images, the technicolor collage of impressions, now projecting in my mind, I invited the voyage to begin.

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*References: tôt = early; vous m'avez posé une colle = you've asked me a difficult question; un appareil photo (m) = a camera; les lunettes de soleil (f) = sunglasses; un gamin (une gamine) = a child; un mulot (f) = a field mouse

bouder (boo-day) verb
  1. to pout or sulk

Also:
la bouderie (f) = sulkiness, (fit of the) sulks
un boudoir = a ladyfinger (finger-shaped cookie, cake)

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Expressions:
bouder quelqu'un = to refuse to have anything to do with someone
avoir des succès de boudoir = to be successful with women

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Proverb:
La bouderie en amour est comme le sel ; il n'en faut pas trop.
Sulkiness in love is like salt; you mustn't have too much.

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A Day in a French Life...

"Do you want me to take the kids to school?" I say, sure that my husband will drive them, seeing he is almost finished shaving.
"Si tu peux le faire, ce sera bien. If you can do it, that would be good."

Somewhere between seeing his mousse-covered chin and hearing his request, it occurs to me that he is going somewhere.

"Ou tu vas? Where are you going?"
"En tournée."*
"Prospecting where?"
"In St. Raphael."
"St Raphael?"

My mind fills with visions of the foamy sea, sandy beaches, beachfront cafés and brasseries, the boardwalk, the marché, the glamorous Belle Epoque architecture... when suddenly a pulsion* overcomes me. The pulsion to pout.

"I didn't know you were going prospecting today..." I say.
"Well, do you want to come with me?" Jean-Marc offers.
"I can't come with you. I have work to do!"
"That's what I thought," my husband replies.
I abruptly leave the bathroom; in my wake, a piercing silence.

In 1994 the only conseil* Jean-Marc's ailing grandmother gave us before we married was to "ne pas bouder -- to not pout." I had to look up the word just as soon as I returned from her modest apartment in Lyon to our studio in Marseilles, not quite sure I wanted to ask my husband-to-be what it meant.

"Germaine," as she was called, was a tough woman who saw the collapse of a family fortune. In Morocco, after the war, she peddled house linens from her Estafette (a converted military supply vehicle) to support four children. When her husband, a prisoner of war, returned from la guerre,* Germaine continued to "wear the pants," selling her linens door-to-door, while her husband went seaside to cast out horrific war images along with his fishing line.

Our first encounter had me watching the once-authoritarian-now-frail woman eat the eyes right out of the fish on the plate before her. Apart from her advice to "not sulk" she taught me where all those forks, knives and spoons belong on the French table, at once thoughtful about her bourgeoisie upbringing, and méprisante* of it.

From "bouder" comes the noun "boudoir," which originally meant "a place to sulk in."  Though the dictionary says that a boudoir is "un petit salon de dame"* -- it is really nothing more fancy or exciting than a pouting room.

I return to my sulking place, and continue to work and sniff.
"We'll leave in 10 minutes?" my husband says, popping his head in from the hall.
"I didn't say I was going."
"Well, if you change your mind, know that I am leaving in ten minutes."

I continue to "faire la tête" or "be in the sulks" while Jean-Marc prepares for his surely glamorous tor-nay* along the French Riviera.

Pecking at my faded keyboard, staring into the hospital-room-white screen above it, I obsess about my husband's freedom with an enthusiasm reserved for a sour, steam iron-yielding housewife:

"Mr. Espinasse goes to the sunny Riviera. Mr. Espinasse has a rendez-vous. Shall I take your coat, sir? Mr. Espinasse would like the plat du jour. Would Mr. Espinasse like champagne with his foie gras?"

My boo-fest is short-lived and I know that, in reality, my husband is lugging 18-kilo boxes of wine from one cave* to another, navigating medieval one-way roads trying to find parking in an obscure French village, weaving in and out of traffic, struggling to get to the basketball court in time to pick up our son at the end of the day. I know that for lunch he will probably stop at a grimy roadside service-station and pick up one of those preservative-rich salmon (salmonella?) sandwiches and a bitter cup of instant coffee.

Meanwhile I will be lugging words from brain to key board. To my left, a café-au-lait. Before me, the adventure of my choice, if I will but find the words to transport me there.

"Do you know what the word 'boudoir' means?" I say, out of breath, catching up to my husband who is loading cases of wine into the Citroën.
"Comment? What's that?"
"Boo-dwaar. It's French."
"No. I don't know that word. What does it mean?" he says, opening the car door for me.
"Nothing much," I say, springing into the car and fastening my seatbelt.

Boudoir: a noun better used to represent sunshine-yellow, dainty sponge cakes,* than dark, fleeting moods. Bouder, a verb to flee, whether by hopping into your husband's Citroën, or by taking a similar break from the train-train* of daily life.

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Words in a French Life: "...a heart-winning collection from an American woman raising two very French children with her French husband in Provence, carrying on a lifelong love affair with the language."
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References: une pulsion (f) = an impulse; un conseil (m) = a piece of advice; la guerre (f) = war; méprisante = contemptuous, scornful; un petit salon de dame (m) = a woman's sitting room; tor-nay (pronunciation for tournée (f) = a sales round); une cave (f) = cellar; a miniature oval sponge cake in French is also a "boudoir"; le train-train (m) = routine

Boudoir, the fluffy cake, is also known as a Ladyfinger. Don't miss this book, with many more food expressions:

(Updated September 8th, 2021) Next year this French journal celebrates its 20th anniversary and it is time to rewrite a page in history (or simply amend this outdated "About" page found in the sidebar of the French Word-A-Day blog)! As I reflect on what to include, let me share a brief introduction (in lieu of a longer version).

American, born in the Philippines in 1967 (wait, that's the long version!) I grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. The desert was my playground, monsoon season was my favorite for its rain, thunder, and heavenly scent. I have always been a dreamer and feel lucky to be alive in the era of blogging, which led to this unexpected career. Without the invention of the internet (and its futuristic job possibilities), I might be teaching aerobics in the city.... for that is as far as I could imagine my life back in 1989. Though I did dream of Paris!

A fateful trip to France changed everything. While on an ASU university exchange program I met Jean-Marc in a nightclub called "Le Mistral." In a flurry, we married and next our son Max was born (1995, Marseilles). We then welcomed our daughter Jackie (1997, Aix-en-Provence). If you will read the 10-page introduction in my book "Words in a French Life" I promise it will be of interest, especially if you have ever felt that mysterious "pull" to come to France. The memoir will also give you the background needed to catch up with this journal if you have just landed here (bienvenue!). 

Middle-aged now, with many delicious French meals behind me, a career in aerobics might not have been a bad idea. Still, I am glad to have stuck with writing. It's easier on the joints and I'm amazed at the body it has given me!--this body of work. Since beginning this chronicle, my kids have flown the coop, my mom has moved in, my marriage skidded past the 27-year mark and I was awarded a gold medal by the French government for my efforts. Sans déconner! 

It is colorful words and phrases such as sans déconner ("no kidding") that keep me interested in the French language. May they interest you too, these words that come up in our everyday life, as everyday life is the heart of this French word journal. From puppies to religion (I know--you're not supposed to talk about that...)--I invite you to discover a variety of topics in the blog archives, and many thoughtful comments from readers which round out the subjects.

These two decades of writing have been deeply rewarding and for that I have you, dear reader, to thank (and my loving family who've given me endless inspiration!). A little prayer now for a second wind, a mighty Mistral, to carry this keyboard into the future. And wish me luck keeping up with the very technology that got me here in the first place! 

Amicalement,

Kristi
P.S. For the longer story, please check out our memoir, "The Lost Gardens"

Regarding e-mails...

Thank you very much for taking the time to write. If you have not received a reply to your email, and it requires a response, please resend it. Sometimes your emails and/or my replies get intercepted, or thrown out accidentally, due to an overzealous anti-spam/filtering system (yours or mine!). 

I appreciate your feedback, suggestions and corrections and welcome them at kristin.espinasse AT gmail.com

nu, nue (new) adjective
  1. naked, nude
  2. uncovered
  3. bare, plain, unadorned

noun
1. nude (in art)

Expressions:
être pieds nus = to be bare-footed
à main nue = bare-handed
la vérité nue = the plain truth
mettre à nu = to expose, to lay bare
à l'oeil nu = to the naked eye
nu comme un ver = (naked as a worm) stark naked
monter un cheval à nu = to ride bareback

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Citation du Jour
Écrire, c'est se cacher derrière les mots tout en se mettant à nu.
To write, is to hide oneself behind words while exposing oneself.
--Claudine Paquet

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A Day in a French Life...

(The story that accompanied this column, and included the French vocabulary below, is now a part of this book.)

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*References:  pieds nus (mpl) = bare feet; mon héros (m) = my hero

Today you can read Jean-Marc's article in English.

une bouteille (boo-tay) noun, feminine
1. bottle

Expressions:
une bouteille à la mer = a message of distress
avoir de la bouteille = to have experience
une bouteille à l'encre = a confused situation
être dans la bouteille = to be in on a secret
porter les bouteilles = (to carry bottles) to walk carefully
voir les choses par le trou d'une bouteille = (to see life through the opening of a bottle) to have a narrow perspective on life

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Citation du Jour:
L'optimisme est un ersatz de l'espérance, qu'on peut rencontrer facilement partout, et même au fond de la bouteille.

Optimism is an ersatz of hope, that we can easily encounter anywhere, even at the bottom of the bottle. --Georges Bernanos

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Uncorked !     by Jean-Marc Espinasse

You may ask yourself just why, for a while now, synthetic corks have replaced most of the natural corks in bottled wine.

In fact, there are many reasons:

The most obvious reason of all is the elimination of the taste that cork can bring to wine ["cork taint"] which is so frustrating, particularly when the bottle is a special one.

Another explanation comes from the fact that world production of cork is limited, especially these last few years, as Portugal, which is the leading producer, has been ravaged by fires that have destroyed a great part of these cork oak trees.

At the same time, world production of wines has not ceased to grow with the arrival of wines from the new world (North America, Chile, Australia, South Africa). So it was necessary to find other solutions for sealing bottles of wine.

But the main reason comes from the actual utility of the cork. Originally, it permitted not only closure of the bottle but also for the wine to be in slight contact with the air, and therefore age slowly and in the best conditions. It should be noted that in the past (up until the 80's), wines were made the hard way and it was necessary to wait a few years before being able to drink and appreciate them at their true value. The natural cork, therefore, had its usefulness.

Today, wine consumption habits have greatly changed. We buy wine at 7 p.m. and drink it at 7:30 p.m. If that's not such a typical scenario, then one should simply note that wines are quickly consumed. And for this, they must be made in such a way that enables them to be appreciated young. These wines are less concentrated, more fragile regarding oxidation and won't get better with aging. A plastic cork, which is almost completely hermetic, permits these wines to keep their freshness and fruity taste and will also better protect them from
oxidation which might degrade them. Of course, this reasoning is not to be used for great wines (ones which should be aged) which continue to be sealed with real cork.

At last, the plastic cork enables marketing, an element that has become so important in commercial aspects, to express itself, notably by the range of colors and by a personal logo which is easier to create on the plastic cork.

Now, if you have plastic corked bottles hanging around your cellar, you can, without scruples, go and grab one and drink it to my health.

Cheers !
Jean-Marc

Jean-Marc ESPINASSE is a French wine lover. Apart from managing, along with his uncle, a little family vineyard in Chateauneuf-du-Pape, he is selecting "soulful wines" throughout France, Spain and Italy to offer to US wine importers. He is also educating people in wine, mainly in corporate companies but also in schools like the Wine MBA program in Bordeaux. Write to him at: [email protected]

Families of the Vine : Seasons Among the Winemakers of Southwest France "Sanders’s book brings contemporary winemaking in France to life....Absorbing and informative." --Library Journal

Today's column is written by my wine-loving husband, Jean-Marc, a.k.a. "Jimmy," and is in French. I promise to post the English version tomorrow. In the meantime, you get to strain your brain by pulling out the "dictionnaire" and becoming familiar with some of the words in his article below. As for moi, I will be a few hundred meters from the Mediterranean Sea, visiting some vineyards and drinking in salty images and grape-colored impressions. While my husband spits out the wine, I'll be thinking about what to "cracher sur la page" when I get back. 

le bouchon (boo-shon) noun, masculine
  1. cap, top; stopper; cork; float (fishing)
  2. traffic jam

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Expressions:
un vin bouchonné = wine with a cork taste
un bouchon de carafe (carafe stopper) = a big diamond
pousser le bouchon un peu loin = to exaggerate a little
prendre du bouchon = to age
Y mettre un bouchon = to shut up
C'est plus fort que de jouer au bouchon! = That's incredible!


Proverb:
A bon vin, il ne faut point de bouchon.
As for a good wine, a cork is unneccessary.

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Uncorked !     by Jean-Marc Espinasse

Vous vous demandez peut-être pourquoi depuis quelques temps les bouchons synthétiques ont remplacé la plupart des bouchons naturels en liège des bouteilles de vin.

La raison est en fait multiple :

La plus évidente aux yeux de tous est l'élimination des goûts de bouchons que le liège peut apporter au vin et qui est si frustrant, surtout lorsque la bouteille est spéciale.

Une autre explication provient du fait que la production mondiale de liège est limitée, d'autant plus que ces dernières années, le Portugal qui en est le premier producteur, a été ravagé par des feux qui ont détruit une grande partie de ses chênes lièges.

Dans un même temps, la production mondiale de vins n'a cessé d'augmenter avec l'arrivée des vins du nouveau monde. Il a donc fallu trouver d'autres solutions pour boucher les bouteilles de vin.

Mais la raison principale provient de l'utilité même du bouchon. A l'origine, il permettait non seulement de boucher la bouteille mais aussi de permettre au vin d'être en très leger contact avec l'air et donc vieillir lentement dans les meilleures conditions. Il faut dire que dans le passé (jusqu'au milieu des années 80), les vins étaient élaborés « à la dure », et il fallait attendre quelques années avant de pouvoir les boire et les apprécier à leur juste valeur. Le bouchon en liège avait donc toute son utilité. De nos jours, les habitudes de consommation de vin ont bien changé. On achète un vin à 19H00 et on le boit à 19H30. Si cela est quelque peu caractérisé, il faut bien constater que les vins sont bus rapidement. Et pour cela, il faut donc les élaborer de façon à ce qu'ils puissent être apprécié dans leur jeunesse. Ces vins sont moins concentrés, plus fragiles à l'oxydation et n'ont aucun intérêt à vieillir. Un bouchon en plastique, qui est presque totalement hermétique, permettra alors au vin de garder toute
sa fraîcheur et son fruit. Bien sûr, ce raisonnement n'est pas valable pour les grands vins de garde qui continuent à être bouchés avec du liège.

Enfin, le bouchon en plastique permet au marketing, élément devenu si important dans les aspects commerciaux, de s'exprimer notamment par le
jeu des couleurs et par un marquage personnalisé beaucoup plus facile à réaliser.

Maintenant, si vous avez des bouteilles avec des bouchons plastiques qui traînent dans votre cave, vous pouvez sans scrupules aller en cherchez une et boire à ma santé.

Cheers !
Jean-Marc ESPINASSE

Families of the Vine : Seasons Among the Winemakers of Southwest France "Sanders’s book brings contemporary winemaking in France to life....Absorbing and informative." --Library Journal