FRENCH WORD-A-DAY

Learn a host of new French words as I poke fun at my husband in today’s billet. Don't miss the sound file, where Jean-Marc pronounces all the vocabulary in French and in English. Photo taken in the magnificent Parc du Mugel, here in La Ciotat.

Today's Word: Taquiner

    : to tease, to kid, to joke, annoy, poke fun at

What is Taquiner? 
Having fun irritating, annoying (someone) in small things and without malice.
S'amuser à irriter, à contrarier (quelqu'un) dans de petites choses et sans méchanceté.

Audio file, click to hear all the vocabulary in French and English. Then check your comprehension with the words list at the end.

A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi Espinasse
When our regional newspaper, La Provence, published an article about une écrivaine ciotadenne d’origine américaine, my husband had a field day teasing me. “Les gens vont te reconnaître quand tu marches dans la rue! People are going to recognize you when you walk down the street!”

Mr. Taquin could needle me all he wanted, the tables were about to turn... and I wouldn’t be the one wearing dark sunglasses...

It all began while out on a morning walk, when a complete stranger called out:
“Bonjour, Jean-Marc!”
“Who was that?” I whispered, as the man passed by.
“One of my customers, ” my husband answered, thinking nothing of it.

Ici arrive les groupies (Here come the groupies)
Next, our accidental idol was spotted at the supermarket after a woman did a double-take when we walked in. “Bonjour, Jean-Marc!” she demurred, dropping some fruit de la passion into her dainty market basket. This was only the beginning of le deluge. Ever since he opened his wine shop, Le Vin Sobre, Il ne passe pas inaperçu! He does not go unnoticed by the locals.

C’est lui la vraie vedette (He's the real celebrity)
The other night we were on our way to the flat rocks by the shore to enjoy the sunset, when a couple began waving… “Rebonjour!” Jean-Marc responded. Evidently, he’d seen them earlier. “Do you know my wife? Jean-Marc said, by way of introduction.
“Non,” they admitted. They didn’t.

Ce n’est pas grave. No hard feelings, I mean, it wasn’t as bad as the last time we were stopped. “Tu connais ma femme?” Jean-Marc said to the man with the golden retriever. Before the man could respond I nodded my head, Oui...but the other answered, “Enchanté. Nice to meet you!”

Harrumph! Talk about being invisible! Maybe it would be good to stand out after all? Speaking of stand out… WHO was that jogging past us now?

“Coucou, Jean-Marc...”
“C’était qui?” I elbowed my husband, watching the avion de chasse fly by.
“Encore une cliente. Elle s'appelle Célia.”
“Célia? Mon Dieu! I’d better spend some time at our wine shop instead of remaining holed up at the house all day, in pantoufles.
As if reading my mind, our local celebrity added, “T’inquiètes pas Ma Chérie. C’est toi mon avion de chasse! Don't worry, Dear. You are my dreamboat!”

On our latest outing, Mr. Visible and I managed to make it all the way to the phare without any fans calling out his name.

“Personne ne t’a reconnu ce matin! No one recognized you this morning!” I snickered.
“C’est un miracle!” my husband laughed, adding: “But then not all of my girlfriends say bonjour when they see me walking with my wife….”

Pfft! Ah well, he could rib me all he wanted. At least HE noticed me. In nearly 20 years of blogging, I can count on two fingers how many times I’ve been stopped in public. As for my husband, C’est une star!

FRENCH VOCABULARY
le billet = post
une écrivaine ciotadenne = a writer from La Ciotat
d’origine américaine = of American origin
un taquin, une taquine = teaser (one who teases)
le déluge = the inundation
rebonjour = hello again (for the second time today)
le phare = lighthouse
taquinerie = teasing
Il ne passe pas inaperçu! = he doesn’t go unnoticed
ce n’est pas grave = no big deal
un avion de chasse = very beautiful girl or woman
la pantoufle = house slipper

...And the word "canon" (from the title of this post). Can you guess the meaning? Answer here (along with a pretty picture of my Mom).

Language/cultural note: Rather than saying bonjour to the same person twice in one day, the French will say, “rebonjour.”

REVERSE DICTIONARY
to have a field day with something = faire ses choux gras de [qch]
to needle = embêter
to turn the tables on somebody = prendre sa revanche sur
to snicker (US), snigger (UK) = ricaner
celebrity = la vedette
evidently = visiblement, il paraît que

Our local star. I hope you enjoyed the humor in today's billet, or post. It was fun getting back at Jean-Marc after all his taquinerie! P.S. Here, our accidental idol is wearing a light blue jacket available at Jules Melquiond Sports, in Serre Chevalier!

Enjoy one more teasing story in the post "Six-Pack Abs", and learn my husband's tip for a chocolate bar stomach (and why the French call it that!)

Unlike the French, Smokey dressed up and celebrated St. Patrick's Day. A few more pictures here.