FRENCH WORD-A-DAY

Today's edition is 'une rediffusion' (rerun) from one year ago. The story takes place in Agay--a place we visit each year, along with a half-dozen of Jean-Marc's high school friends, their wives and children.

             The next word goes out Monday. A bientôt! Kristin

un haricot (ah-ree-ko) noun, masculine
  1.  bean

[From Old French, harigoter, "to cut into pieces"]

Also:
le haricot rouge = red kidney bean
le haricot vert = green bean
le haricot beurre = yellow French bean, wax bean
le haricot sec = dry bean
le haricot de mouton = lamb and bean stew

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Expressions:
C'est la fin des haricots! = It's all over!
des haricots = nothing at all or a very small amount
courir sur le haricot (to run on someone's bean) = to importune; to get on someone's nerves

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Proverb:
Haricot par haricot se remplit le sac.
Bean by bean, the sack fills up.

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A Day in a French Life...

(The story that originally appeared here, with the French vocabulary (below) is now a part of this book.)

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*References: à deux pas (de) = a few steps (from); il est beau = he is handsome; gentil(le) = nice; le souper (m) = dinner; capeesh = American slang for the Italian "capisci?" (understand?); comme ça = like this; le sou (m) = money; le séjour (m) = stay; le bonbon (m) = candy; tchatcher = to yack; un après-midi (m) = an afternoon.

Dictionary of French Slang and Colloquial Expressions lists approximately 4,500 common slang words and colloquial expressions. Entries include grammatical information, the definition in English, a sentence or phrase to illustrate usage, and an English translation of the example and, where applicable, a corresponding English slang expression. Each entry also identifies the word or phrase by type: student or youth slang, political slang, literary slang, and criminal and drug-related slang.

Photo du Jour
In summertime, once a week or so, we head twenty minutes south to this seaside escape in St-Aygulf. We pack a picnic and some fishing poles and spend a quiet morning inhaling salty air. In this snapshot: my daughter Jackie (last year).