Tag Archives: French language

Muammar Gaddafi

Posted on 21 October 2011 by Tournesol

Un tyran de moins – one tyrant less. Quiconque se servira de l’épée périra par l’épée – he who lives by the sword dies by the sword. Now I’m waiting for a smart alec (M. Mme. Mlle je-sais-tout) to tell … Continue reading →

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Une nuit blanche…

Posted on 10 September 2011 by Tournesol

‘Une nuit blanche’, literally ‘a white night’, is a sleepless night. I don’t know why I should have been awake, on and off, between 2am and 4am last night as my conscience is (relatively) clear but I ended up listening … Continue reading →

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Un Jour Mémorable…

Posted on 8 September 2011 by Tournesol

Je viens de recevoir 400 copies de mon nouveau livre: “False Friends: Faux Amis: Book TWO”: I have just received 400 (shiny) new copies of “False Friends: Faux Amis: Book TWO”. After months of waiting, this is a red-letter day … Continue reading →

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Je viens de…

Posted on 7 September 2011 by Tournesol

Literally ‘I am coming from…’ this (‘Je viens de…’) translates more easily as ‘ I have just…’: Je viens de découvrir que mon ami(e) est parti(e) pour l’Espagne: I have just discovered that my friend has left for Spain. Add the … Continue reading →

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Le foot (footie)

Posted on 1 September 2011 by Tournesol

‘Football – it’s not a matter of life and death – it’s much much more important than that.’ Bill Shankly, ex manager of Liverpool (and Huddersfield) FCs.: ‘Le foot, ce n’est pas une question de la vie ou de la mort – … Continue reading →

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Les bouchées…et décupler

Posted on 31 August 2011 by Tournesol

Strange as it may seem, ‘mettre les bouchées doubles’ (literally: to put the double mouthfuls) means ‘to redouble your efforts’. And ‘décupler’ may sound like ‘to uncouple’ but in fact means ‘to increase tenfold’.

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Actions et tube

Posted on 30 August 2011 by Tournesol

Les actions (nfpl): As well as English ‘actions’, ‘les actions’ also mean ‘shares’ as in stocks and shares. Now where did I put my Swiss bank account… Le tube: ‘Un tube’ or ‘le tube’ has many meanings but the (London) … Continue reading →

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Pavement et chauffeur

Posted on 29 August 2011 by Tournesol

Le pavement: I am always happily surprised when I discover a new ‘false friend’, and this, I think, is a good one. ‘Le pavement’ is ‘ornamental tiling’, and the English ‘pavement’ is ‘le trottoir’. Simples.  Un chauffeur: I was also surprised … Continue reading →

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Arthur Rimbaud

Posted on 27 August 2011 by Tournesol

Sensation   par Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891): Par les soirs bleus d’été, j’irai dans les sentiers,/Picoté par les blés, fouler l’herbe menue  :/Rêveur, j’en sentirai la fraîcheur à mes pieds./Je laisserai le vent baigner ma tête nue./Je ne parlerai pas, je ne penserai … Continue reading →

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Photograph(er)

Posted on 27 August 2011 by Tournesol

This is a good example of a “false friend”: ‘Un photographe’ is ‘a photographer’ and ‘une photographie’ is ‘a photograph’.

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