General Chat

Thanks Helen for putting that straight. I can enjoy my marmite again. Never heard of a cooking pot called a marmite. Janet

Not Marmite the spread, marmite a kind of pot to cook in. Comme ci, comme ca. Italian: la dolce vita

Kindergarten means "Childrens Garden" When translated from German to english The nearest english word for Kindergarten is Nursary. And conservatory is the English spelling of the word. Elaine

Don't tell me Marmite is French. I love the stuff but it is enough to put you right off. Janet

Thanks Dorothy, thats exactly the context she used to use it in.

What is sans faire rien? My mother used to say it all the time.

Yes, I'm always fascinated by languages. Even have some German influence too - Kindergarten for instance. The British don't have a word for it. Sylvia

Once there were 3 Frenchmen trying to explain their language to an Englishman. He asked "What is sang-froid?" The first Frenchman (apologies for accent!) said "Eef a man comes 'ome and finds eez wife in bed wiz 'er lover and 'ee leaves ze room wizout saying anyting, zat is sang-froid" "Non," said the second Frenchman. "Zat is laissez-faire. Eef a man comes 'ome and finds eez wife in bed wiz 'er lover and 'e says 'continuez' zat is sang-froid". "Non, non ,non" said the third Frenchman. "Zat eez not sang-froid, zat eez savoir-faire. Eef a man comes 'ome and finds eez wife in bed wiz 'er lover and 'e says 'continuez' and ze lover, ee can continuez, ZAT is sang-froid!" venue, discotheque, bijou, cafe, croissants, vin du table, fricassee, casserole, marmite, menage a trois, soissante-neuf. Strange how most words we import from France are connected with food, drink and sex. However, I discovered recently that bistro is not a French word, but a Russian one for "quick" which the French picked up when they invaded Moscow with Napoleon. Helen

au bain marie cul di sac conservatoire I know there are lots more, you tell me? Sylvia