| français | English | Cymraeg | Brezhoneg |
|---|---|---|---|
| le tableau noir | blackboard | bwrdd du | taolenn zu |
| le panneau d’affichage | noticeboard | hysbysfwrdd; arwyddfwrdd; bwrdd arwyddion | planell afichañ |
| le marron (d’inde) | conker / horse chestnut | concyr; cneuen gobl(i)o; coblyn | kistin |
| le marronier (d’inde) | horse chestnut tree | castanwydden y meirch; marchgastanwydden | gwez kistin |
| la châtaigne | (sweet) chestnut | castan; cneuen gastan; pibgneuen | kistin |
| la tombola | raffle | raffl; lotri | c’hoari sac’h |
| le billet de tombola | raffle ticket | ticed/tocyn raffl/lotri | bilhed c’hoari sac’h |
| S.O.S. Amitié | The Samaritans | Y Samariaid | |
| être d’astreinte; être de garde; être en disponibilité; être de permanence | to be on-call | bod ar alw (?) | |
| démodé | old fashioned (things) | hen ffasiwn; henaidd | maez a c’hiz; giz kozh |
| vieux jeu | old fashioned (people) | hen ffasiwn; henaidd | mod kozh |
| le faîte | ridge | trum; crib; cefn | hedell |
Category: French (français)
As flat as …
This week in the French conversation group one of the things that came up was the expression “as flat as a pancake” or the slightly ruder version, “as flat as a witch’s tit”. This was being used to describe the flatness of beer. The only equivalent we could find in French was “completement plat” (completely flat), though I’ve since found a couple of others: “plat comme une limande” (‘flat like a dab*’) [source], and “plat comme une lamelle” (‘flat like a sliver/thin slice’) [source].
Other variations of the English phrases I’ve found include “as flat as a board”, “as flat as an ironing board” and “as flat as a trencher”.
What other flat things might appear in this expression?
Are there interesting equivalents of this phrase in other languages?
*Dab = a species of small flat-fish, Pleuronectes limanda, similar to a flounder [source]
Les mots de la semaine
| français | English | Cymraeg | Brezhoneg |
|---|---|---|---|
| les chaussures (f) de marche | walking boots | esgidiau cerdded; esgidiau cryfion | boteier kerzh |
| passer à côté de la question | to miss the point | camddeall; methu’r pwynt/ergyd | |
| rater/louper | to miss (train/bus/target) | colli | c’hwitañ |
| completement plat | flat as a pancake | mor wastad â thalcen iâr; mor llyfn â charreg y drws; llyfn fel bwrdd | |
| éventée | flat (beer) | fflat; diflas; merfaidd; marw | avelet |
| bémol | flat (note) | meddalnod | bouc’h |
| dièse | sharp (note) | llonnod | lemm |
| en moyen | on average | ar gyfartaledd |
Les mots de la semaine
| français | English | Cymraeg | Brezhoneg |
|---|---|---|---|
| diriger | to run (a business; department; country) | rhedeg | dirijañ; sturiadañ |
| tenir | to run (a shop; hotel; house) | rhedeg; cadw | tiegiñ |
| la piste | runway | rhedfa | riboul |
| le vestiaire | changing room; cloakroom | ystafell newid | gwiskva |
| la cape | cloak | mantell; clogyn; clog | kap |
| l’accordeur de piano(s) | piano tuner | dyn tiwnio pianos | songeider piano |
| accorder | to tune (an instrument) | tiwnio; cyweirio; tonyddu | toniañ |
Taking the fly
I discovered an interesting French idiom today – prendre la mouche – which means literally ‘to take the fly’ and is the equivalent of ‘to go off in a huff’. Huff refers to ‘a passing mood of anger or pique’ A French equivalent of ‘to be in a huff’ is être vexé. Are there similar expressions in other languages?
La mouche means fly, button or patch comes from the Latin mŭsca (fly)
Here are some other expressions featuring this word:
– bateau-mouche = pleasure boat (on the Seine)
– fine mouche = sharp customer
– oiseau-mouche = hummingbird (‘fly bird’)
– pattes de mouche = spidery scrawl (‘fly paws’)
– poids mouche = flyweight
– papier tue-mouche = flypaper
– mouche du coche = back-seat driver (‘coach fly’)
– mouche à miel = honey bee (‘honey fly’)
– faire mouche = bull’s-eye
Source: http://dictionary.reverso.net/
Thumbs and inches
I discovered today that the French word for thumb, pouce, also means inch, which makes sense as the length of the inch is apparently based on the width of a man’s thumb.
Related expressions include:
– se tourner les pouces, se rouler les pouces = to twiddle one’s thumbs
– manger sur le pouce = to grab a quick bite to eat (“to eat on the thumb”)
– déjeuner/dîner sur le pouce = to have a quick lunch/dinner (“to lunch/dine on the thumb”)
– donner un coup de pouce à quelqu’un = to help someone out (“to give a blow of the thumb to sb”)
– mettre les pouces = to throw in the towel; to give in; to give up (“to put the thumbs”)
The word inch comes from the Latin word uncia (a twelfth; ouce; inch), as does the word ounce, which is a twelfth of a troy pound [source]
The word for inch is the same as the word for thumb in Italian (pollice), Dutch and Afrikaans (duim), and Czech and Slovak (palec). How about in other languages?
Les mots de la semaine
| français | English | Cymraeg | Brezhoneg |
|---|---|---|---|
| la pastille pour la toux | cough lozenge/sweet | losin at y frest; losin peswch; da-da annwyd | pastilh an paz (?) |
| le pastille pour le mal de gorge | throat lozenge/sweet | losin gwddwg; da-da dolur gwddw | pastilh an lo(v)rniet ma goûg (?) |
| la puce | flea | chwannen | c’hwenn |
| le pouce | thumb | bawd | meud |
| le gros orteil | big toe | bawd troed | meud an troad |
| le deuil | mourning | galarus | kañv |
| pleurer | to mourn | galaru | gouelañ; garmat; leñvañ |
| prendre le deuill | to go into mourning | dechrau/cychwyn galaru | ober e gañvoù; (g)ober begin |
| bruyant; chahuteur | rowdy; noisy | swnllyd; stwrllyd; terfysglyd; tyrfus | trouzus |
| les nuisances sonores (fpl) | noise pollution | llygredd sŵn | noazadurioù e-keñver trouz |
| délier la langue à qn | to loosen sb’s tongue | llacio tafod rhywun | distagellañ |
| diversifier | to diversify | amrywio; amrywiaethu | liesaat; dizunvaniñ |
| la forge | smithy | gefail gof | govel |
| le forgeron | blacksmith | gof | gov |
| ériger/dresser des barricades | to set up a barricade | codi baricêd | savelladenniñ stoc’hoù |
| tenir des barricades | to man the barricades | gweithio baricadau | |
| le feuilleton | (TV/radio) serial | cyfres | romant -kazetenn |
Droug gouzoug
Droug gouzoug am eus, ha ne c’hallan ket kanañ evit c’hoazh, met gallout a gomz c’hoazh. N’am eus ket kanañ d’ar kor skleroz strewek (SKLES) dec’h. Gwelet am eus ur film, Tasmant d’an Opera, e skol-veur dec’h da nos.
I have a sore throat, and can’t sing at the moment, but can still speak. I didn’t go to the MS choir yesterday. Last night I saw the film Phantom of the Opera at the university.
Les mots de la semaine
| français | English | Cymraeg | Brezhoneg |
|---|---|---|---|
| (porter) déguisement | (to wear) fancy dress | (gwisgo) gwisg ffansi | (gwiskañ) abilhamant |
| déguisé(e) | in fancy dress | mewn gwisg ffansi | e dic’hize |
| se déguiser | to go in fancy dress | gwisgo gwisg ffansi | dic’hizañ; abilhañ; livañ |
| la fête costumé | fancy dress party | parti gwisg ffansi | fest gwisket |
| le bal masqué/costumé | fancy dress ball | dawns gwisg ffansi | bal masklet |
| sépulchre | sepulchre | beddrod | |
| une farce ou une gâterie bonbons ou bâton |
trick or treat | cast ynteu ceiniog | |
| la réunion des étudiants anciens | alumni reunion | aduniad cynfyfyrwyr | |
| nul; vraiment trash; tocarde | trashy (film, book) | diwerth; sothachlyd; da i ddim | neb; tamm |
| renvoyer qn; metter qn à la porte | to give sb the sack | rhoi’r hwi; rhoi ei droed; rhoi gardiau | diskouviañ; kas en e roud; war e giz |
| être mis à la porte; être renvoyer | to get the sack | cael yr hwu / y sac / y droed |
Argraffydd newydd
Ddoe roedd dim ond dau ohonon ni yn y sesiwn yma, ac mi wnaethon ni canu alawon o Ynys Manaw yn bennaf. Doedd dim ymarfer y côr cymuned oherwydd hanner tymor ydy’r wythnos ‘ma. Gyda’r nos mi wnes aros gartref ynhytrach na mynd i’r sesiwn yn y Skerries.
Heddiw mi ddaeth yr argraffydd newydd mi wnes i archebu Ddydd Mawrth. Rhyw wythnos yn ôl mi wnaeth fy hen argraffydd aros i weithio, ac ar ôl chwilio am ffordd i ei atgyweirio, mi wnes i sylweddoli bydd atgyweiriadau yn costio mwy na argraffydd newydd, felly mi wnes prynu un newydd. Mi wnes i prynu silffoedd newydd hefyd i roi’r ffeiliau sy’n gwasgu at ei gilydd ger fy nesg ar hyn o bryd. Dw i’n ymbalfalu i adeiladu nhw.
Yesterday there were only two of us at the session here, and we mainly played tunes from the Isle of Man. There wasn’t a community choir practise because this week is half-term. In the evening I stayed at home rather than going to the session in the Skerries.
Today the new printer I ordered on Tuesday arrived. A few weeks ago my old printer stopped working, and after searching for ways to fix it, I realised that it would cost more to fix it than to buy a new printer, so I bought a new one. I also bought some new shelves for the files that currently huddle together by my desk. I’m struggling to put them together.