coquille
rosace

clouer

old French car, crumbling ruin (c) Kristin Espinasse clouer (kloo-ay) verb
  to nail, tack; to pin

Also: un clou (kloo) = nail

(audio pronunciation file and expressions follow at the end of this letter)


Proverb:
N'accroche pas tout au même clou.
Don't hang everything on the same nail.

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A Day in a French Life...


Objets autour du lit d'un malade - Objects around a sick person's bed:

-one dry orange
-one bruised banana
-two empty teacups (formerly containing Earl Grey & tomato soup)
-5 disposable stylos*: three black, two blue (3 of which are 'bon à rien'*)
-one book galley/advanced reader's copy for Words in a French Life
-sirop pour la toux*
-one box containing 30 7 tablets of Pneumorel 80
-husband's portable computer
-half a roll of papier toilette* (a Kleenex stand-in)
-one carte de voeux* with photo of irises from friend, Fanny
-one blown glass table lamp the color of lilas*
-one Eiffel Tower souvenir statue from friend, Brigitte
-one mini wooden artist's model
-one cheap clock radio (a gift with purchase) (husband's side of bed)
-various toiles* stacked against wall (Jules's* paintings)
-one late Christmas present for niece
-three stacks of books on nightstand, rows of books beneath, more stacks on floor, including Perfume: The Story of a Murder, by Patrick Suskind, Annie Proulx's Close Range and Prayers from the Ark & The Creatures' Choir by Carmen Bernos de Gasztold
-one pocket-size carnet de notes* with pomegranate design on cover
-dozens of tiny seashells collected along la Côte Vermeille* last autumn
-one fussing Frenchman (object of affection)

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References: un stylo (m) = pen; bon à rien = good for nothing; le sirop (m) pour la toux (f) = cough syrup; le papier toilette (m) = toilet paper; la carte de voeux (f) = New Year's greeting card; le lilas (m) = lilac; la toile (f) = canvas (painting); Jules = my mom; le carnet de notes = notebook; la Côte Vermeille = the Gilded Coast (near Spain)

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Listen: hear Jean-Marc pronounce the word 'clouer': Download clouer.wav

Related expressions:
être cloué à son lit / au lit = "to be nailed to the bed," to be very ill in bed
clouer au sol = to pin down (person), to ground (plane)
rester clouer sur place = to be rooted to the spot
clouer le bec à quelqu'un = "to nail someone's beak shut," to reduce someone to silence
être au fond de son lit = "to be at the bottom of one's bed," to be very ill in bed

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Verb conjugation: je cloue, tu cloues, il/elle cloue, nous clouons, vous clouez, ils/elles clouent :: past participle: cloué

Related book: 2000+ Essential French Verbs : Learn the Forms, Master the Tenses, and Speak Fluently!

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