A to Z – Evelyne Holingue: Recent Episodes
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Learning the alphabet is such a significant step for young children, their teachers and parents. However, I do not have clear memories of learning my alphabet while the moment I could read is still etched on my mind. I do remember, though, moments of hesitation when I learned the alphabet when I took English […]
The 2018 A to Z is over! Whoever writes every day knows that it’s not an easy task. Posting for 26 days, following the alphabetical order, can be quite a challenge. What do you say about the last letters of the alphabet, people? It’s now time to wrap up the 2018 A to Z […]
LA BOULE À ZÉRO Literally: the ball at zero Best equivalent: shaved head In popular French la boule designates the head. Maybe soccer fans remember the French soccer star Zidane’s infamous “coup de boule” that earned him a red card. Back to the expression du jour: A shaved head with no […]
YOYOTER DE LA CAFETIÈRE Literally: playing yo-yo with the coffee maker Best equivalent: to have a screw loose In French une cafetière is a coffee maker, but in slang it designates the head or the brain. Yoyoter is a fabricated verb based on the yo-yo game, described as simple. By extension, a […]
X AU JUS Literally:? This expression is impossible to translate Meaning: counting down the very few days left until the end That’s a tricky one to explain, especially because I didn’t know this expression . I knew each expression I picked for this 2018 challenge. To test their popularity in […]
WATERLOO, MORNE PLAINE Literally: Waterloo, gloomy plain Best equivalent: dreary outlook The expression goes back to the battle of Waterloo, fought on June 18, 1815 in Belgium between the British army helped by the Prussian army against the French army led by Napoléon the First. The French army was defeated, but […]
DES VERTES ET DES PAS MÛRES Literally: some green and some unripe Meaning: to tell or to listen to unpleasant excessive remarks Best equivalent: ? Your turn, please! In the 15th century the French adjective vert designated the color green, but was also used to describe jokes or unpleasant remarks. Mûr(e) […]
UN DE CES QUATRE Literally: one of those fours Best equivalent: see you around Depending of the sources, the expression draws its origin from the four limbs, the four seasons or still the four cardinal points. See you tomorrow for the letter V, part of the A to Z […]
TOMBER DANS LES POMMES Literally: to fall in the apples Meaning: to faint Best equivalent: ? Yet another French expression that takes roots in the Middle Ages. The earliest version was Tomber dans les pâmes, from the verb Se pâmer, which still means to faint. Pâmes slowly morphed to pommes (apples in […]
RACONTER DES SALADES Literally: to tell salads The equivalent I found seems too British to me: spinning yarns Your Turn! What do you say? See you on Monday for the letter T, part of the A to Z challenge!