With the winter holidays a pleasant memory (hopefully) it’s time to think about spring vacation. Herewith, a useful guide for readers planning to visit France or any French speaking country. We’ll begin with the first phrase every American kid learns in French class.
JE M’APPELLE … I’m an apple.
BASTILLE … The illegitimate son of Louis XIV.
BOURGEOIS … Hogwash!
TALLEYRAND … Show biz historians will remember this famous stripper and her fan dance at the 1939 World’s Fair.
DUNKERQUE … Love donuts? This is the place for you.
POPULAR FRONT … Aka Brigitte Bardot.
ICI MOI … I’m very cold.
SORBONNE … An occupational hazard for computer buffs and couch potatoes.
CREPES … French dice game.
VERDUN … What Louis XVI said to Marie Antoinette on their way to the guillotine.
DE GAULLE … As in, “The creep had De Gaulle to call me a cochon.”
ÉCLAIR … The rain has stopped.
PAIN AU CHOCOLAT … I ate too much candy.
LE HAVRE … Wealthier folk – as opposed to Le Havre Nots.
VICHY … A French sardine.
TOULOUSE … Tell it to le tailleur when your custom-made creation doesn’t fit.
SOMME RIVER … Wow! It’s bigger than the Seine, Loire et Le Rhone.
ANJOU … (Elementary French Lesson) “Comment Allez Vous?” … “Tres bien, merci.” … “Anjou?”
MAL DE MER … Fear of riding female horses.
BRASSERIE … Female undergarment.
BON MARCHÉ … Paris equivalent of the New York Marathon.
RATATOUILLE … French for stool pigeon.
LES CRUDITÉS … People with really bad table manners.
©2016 HARRIET POSNAK LESSER
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Harriet Posnak Lesser is an award-winning journalist and social satirist whose articles have appeared in Long Island’s The South Shore Record and Nassau Herald, The New York Times, Cracked Magazine and others.