Grignoter & Cochonnerie: What it really means when your family says, "There's nothing to eat in this fridge!"
Friday, July 27, 2018
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Today's Word: cochonnerie
: junk food
: mess, crap, rubbish, junk
Click here to listen to Jean-Marc pronounce these French words:
Les bonbons, les restaurants de nourriture rapide, les boissons sucrées sont souvent des cochonneries.Candy, fast-food restaurants, soda pop...are often junk food.
A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE
by Kristi Espinasse
The fishmonger listens. She will come out from behind her stand and, before a table of 100 glazed-over eyes as our witness (fresh-caught sea bass, langoustines...), she will listen to your heart, your troubles big and small.
"Mom, look! There's a roasted chicken. And there, over there--an omelet I made for you earlier today... And there is some mozzarella. You could slice it to go with the giant heirloom tomatoes right there on the counter... And I see three yogurts, two packages of Emmental, some jambon de Parme (admittedly a bit dubious in appearance...how many weeks old could it be? But then dried ham is immortel, isn't it?)
"Honey, I can't see very well..."
"Still, I just don’t understand," I said to the fishmonger, "why, after I’ve brought home 150 worth of groceries does my family still insist, "Il n'y a rien à manger"?
Post Note: As I read the rough draft of this story to Mom, she wanted to clarify something: "You know that "mozzarella"? Well, I didn't know what it was. When I picked up that package it felt really really creepy--like a body part, a breast or something!
I think Mom is referring to the way the ball of mozza floats in a sack of water. They don't sell it that way back in Mexico.... I leave you with a video of my Mom. (click on the arrow in the Instagram photo, below) You'll see some more news....
FRENCH VOCABULARY
le frigo = fridge
rien à manger = nothing to eat
grignoter = to snack
le garde-manger = pantry
jambon de Parme = Parma ham, dried ham
immortel = eternal, undying
cochonneries = junk food
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