FRENCH WORD-A-DAY

My brother-in-law, Jacques, a.k.a. "Marcel". Find out why in the following story...

nom d'emprunt (nohm-duhmpruhn) noun, masculine
  : alias (literally: "borrowed name")

Synonyms (beginning in English and ending in French...) include: anonym, pseudonym, un sobriquet (an unofficial name), un "nom de plume" (pen name), and un "nom de guerre" ("war name" assumed name).

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I have a new nickname for my brother-in-law and it rhymes with "ink well", "story to tell," and even "sheep's bell" (three concepts, by the way, that a certain Provençal "word painter," who holds the same name, knew so well).

Speaking of word painting (or "the art of writing"), though my  brother-in-law may feel more at home on a motorcycle, "Man of Letters" is a jacket he tried on this past weekend when he put aside his leather riding veste* and picked up a plume.* Perhaps those familiar handlebars served as an écritoire?* ...though you wouldn't know it from his neat handwriting, which, like sheep's bells and ink wells, is rather swell. This brings us back to the name that I've been calling my beau-frère lately, and that'd be.... "Marcel".*

Without further ado, or, as the French say, sans plus de cérémonie... here is my brother-in-law's debut story about a favorite gastronomical pastime. Read it here in French (and soon in English). Note, the following PDF file appears upside down. After clicking open the link, use one of the menus (or navigation bars...) to rotate the document. Je vous souhaite bonne lecture!*

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~References~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
la veste (f) = jacket; la plume (f) = feather (pen); une écritoire (f) = portable writing desk; Marcel = Marcel Pagnol, 19th 20th century French novelist from Marseilles; Je vous souhaite bonne lecture! = Wishing you happy reading

Good news: The book "Lonely Planet Provence" lists "Words in a French Life" as essential reading! Thank you for ordering a copy of either book.



~~~~~~~~~~~~Shopping~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Writers Paris: A Guided Journey For The Creative Soul

My Father's Glory & My Mother's Castle: Marcel Pagnol's Memories of Childhood

Spotted in France: A Dog's Life...On the Road

Moleskin Paris Notebook: "The future is unwritten. Take up your pen and shape it."