FRENCH WORD-A-DAY

Sometimes the best things in life are free...to go swimming in the sea costs nothing. (Photo of the bay in Les Lecques and La Madrague Port in St Cyr-sur-Mer)

"des clopinettes"

    : peanuts, chickenfeed, next to nothing 

Click here to listen to the following French words (English translation above)

Parfois les meilleurs choses de la vie sont gratuites - aller se baigner dans la mer, ça coûte des clopinettes


A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE

by Kristi Espinasse

At Port de la Madrague there is a sandy cove where the locals like to picnic at sunset. A curving wooden boardwalk makes it possible to reach the far end of the bay, where another beach--this one, rocky--offers a more rugged shore, beyond which you can hunt for oursins. As you walk back along the promenade, it is a pleasure to see families and friends enjoying an evening picnic or playing a game of boules alongside the path.

Midway along the wooden walkway, I met Jean-Marc, Nicolas, Carole, and a mix of our children and their significant autres who had just finished playing pétanque. As we headed to dinner at Chez Henri, only a few pas from the beach, we saw the sun drop into the sea as two paddle boarders coasted past the embering globe, adding to the poetry of the evening.

Seated now at our neighborhood pizzeria, I looked up and down the table of eleven (mostly grown kids) and enjoyed a sensation similar to the one back at the seafront. It was refreshing to be in the midst of life--that place where by now you've jumped through many hurdles, raised children, stayed together, and are still relatively naive to the future.

To my left, the adults were talking about therapeutic massage when the subject began to veer to the more sensual aspects of touch. That's when a warning sounded (I won't tell you by whom--or you'll call her a prude!): "Psst! Il y a des enfants!" Though all of our kids know about the birds and the bees, there is nothing more awkward than hearing your parents talk about...whoopee.

Meantime the "kids" were ordering another bottle of rosé, lighting up clopes, and chatting about an upcoming trip to Columbia (Nicolas's son, Martin, and his girlfriend, Laetitia, will soon land in Bogota) and Mexico, where Max will be on Wednesday.

My attention floated in and out of the French conversations around our mixed-generation table when I heard a new expression coming from Laetitia, who mentioned des clopinettes. "Tell me what it means," I said, adding that I've never heard it in my household (where I hear the same old French words and expressions, over and over!).

Laetitia laughed. "It means "peu", or "pas beaucoup."

"Ah, clopinettes means 'peanuts'!" I explained. "I love learning slang from you kids."

"Oh, it's actually something my parents have always  said!" Laetitia corrected.

"Cool," I replied, using an old word that has somehow never gone out of style (even the French say "cool").

It is good to hear a young person keeping the language alive by using an old-fashioned word...which brings us back to "whoopee"! Come to think of it, I could share that slang term with the kids. After all, I'm not prude, just prudent.)



The beautiful boardwalk at Port de La Madrague--a great place to use a paddle board. If you enjoyed today's story, which took place here, check out the following book:

Merde!: The Real French You Were Never Taught at School (Sexy Slang Series)

T-Shirt I Don't Need Therapy I Just Need to Go to France

FRENCH VOCABULARY
un oursin = sea urchin
les boules = game in which players throw steel balls toward a "cochon" or smaller ball.
la pétanque = another word for boules
un pas = step
il y a des enfants = there are kids here
une clope = cigarette
des clopinettes = peanuts (little or nothing)

Experience France as it comes alive during the Harvest season!

To celebrate the final tour of our successful 2017 season, France Today Travels are offering $750⁄£580 off per person on our last few places.

This last-minute offer is exclusively available by quoting the code "HGY65."

To order "Bonjour/Au Revoir doormat", click here

PADDLE BOARD - can also be used as a kayak.

LEONOR GREYL PARIS Shampooing Creme Moelle De Bambou

LA ROCHE-POSAY sunscreen is rated top by Consumer Reports

LIERAC Hydragenist Moisturizing Rescue Balm - This product was recommended to me by a local pharmacist- you can order it and other Lierac products here. The scent is wonderful!

I leave you with this scene at the Port of La Madrague. Have a good week ahead!