FRENCH WORD-A-DAY

Hi
Passed your page on to my friends. I think it a great idea. Thanks for sharing it with us.

descriptive adjectives "nouveau"
Le médecin lui a conseillé un traitement nouveau qui a eu du succés à l'étranger.
The doctor advised a newly developed treatment which has been successful abroad.

re: translating the expression "pouêt-pouêt camembert", this is what I found: "pouêt pouêt camembert" is children's slang, for shut up, used by kids as young as nursery school Camembert = ferme-la, approximately, " you're just honking; shuddup."

another source said: "It's a rude way of telling someone to shut their mouth; not to be used in polite company"

accompanied by the following gesture:

"Le Camembert" is used to tell somebody to shut up. You hold your hand in front of you in the shape of an L, and then slowly bring thumbs and forefingers together, as if gently clasping a small slice of soft cheese. A blank face — signifying vast indifference — completes this traditional French pose.

I am a breast cancer survivor since 2000. Every day I thank God that I survived. Several friends have suffered much more; some have passed on. Just let me say that a mammogram did NOT find my lump; my dear doctor was wise enough to insist on a sonogram as well. Never be afraid to insist on further testing.

Thanks for this post today Kristin:
My wife has seven more radiation treatments after a year-long treatment involving surgery, chemotherapy and radiation that will leave her cured. Her yearly mammogram found this scourge. My mother, like yours was also a survivor.

Salut Kristin,

As a prostate cancer “survivor,” I echo the importance of timely checkups. For men it’s prostate cancer that’s the villain, but I’ve heard that men can get breast cancer also.

Just a thought: I wonder it the TSA “pat down” procedure for airline travelers could be incorporated into the Breast Cancer Awareness program . . .

À bientôt

Great little video!!

Thanks for posting this Kristin! It is so important and I am going to post the video on my FB page also.
On a lighter note - I purchased the French Christmas CD and it is fantastic if anyone was thinking of buying it!
Take care!
Eileen

Great video which conveys an important message in any language!

Mille mercis! I have 5 sisters who are cancer survivors and my mom is currently being treated for melanoma. We're hopeful that she'll beat the odds.

This is great! I posted it for my Women's Studies students. Delightful!

I also enjoyed reading a great thread in wordreference.com (French) about the possible origins of « pouêt pouêt ».

If you want to check it out: http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=529335

Thanks, Kristin, for the reminder...I tend to forget the monthly exams. Prayer and best wishes to your friend.

pouet-pouet - other spellings: pouêt-pouêt and pouët-pouët.
Kristin, I looked in my French dictionary and online, but I couldn't find the French spelling "pouette" you typed in bold at the beginning of your newsletter.
"Pouet-pouet" is "une onomatopée" (an onomatopo-e-i-a!) for the trumpet sound made by a klaxon. Klaxons were horns, first used on cars at the beginning of the 20th century. They were an alarm device that made a loud warning sound ("pouet-pouet") when you pressed on a pear-shaped rubber ball at one end of the 'trumpet'. See "un klaxon ancien" here:
http://www.museesdumonde.com/produits/klaxon-ancien/38462/13/0
In 1929, "une chanson loufoque" (daft/zany song) titled "Pouet-pouet" (from the opérette "Elle est à vous") introduced the expression "faire pouet-pouet", which meant: pinching and squeezing the lady's breasts in the way the rubber ball of a klaxon used to be pressed and emitted the loud warning sound -> hence the use of the onomatopoeia "pouet-pouet" in the expression.
"Faire pouet-pouet" became "un cliché populaire ... un peu vulgaire". It seemed to have survived in "la plaisanterie" (= joke, prank) "Dis camion" (= say truck / lorry) that ends up with a triumphant "pouet-pouet" to accompany the joke. Years later, some French comedians tried to revive the 1929 song.

The lighthearted "Pouet-Pouet" video is funny but it didn't really make me laugh. However, I can understand its international appeal and its contribution towards 'breast cancer awareness', reminding women about the importance of breast self-examination and mammography.

Kristin, I do hope your friend's cancer was detected at an early stage. I wish she will eventually join all of us who struggled and went through a lumpectomy, a mastectomy, and even a double mastectomy, followed up their treatment and are now happy survivors.

The French have a lovely way of raising awareness . A light hearted approach like this will surely get more women to self- examine. SO important ,as are mammographs !
Very best wishes for your friend .
My cousin, who had this cancer in her 30's, is still with us in her sixties with no return of this dreadful disease .
Early detection is so important.