Learn how to say a few French idioms and proverbs that will help you express your frustration
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Sam: Frustrated. And I’m joined here by… |
| Celine: Celine, bonjour. |
| Sam: . Bonjour, how are you today? |
| Celine: Ça va, merci. |
| Sam: You’re great? I’m great too. So, what’s today’s lesson about? |
| Celine: Today it’s about idioms and proverbs. |
| Sam: Oh, yippee skippy. |
| Celine: Oui. |
| Sam: Sounds great! So, who’s in today’s conversation? |
| Celine: Laure et Laurent. They’re talking about Christmas and what kind of varied French gift to offer to their family. |
| Sam: Great! So, shall we start? |
| Celine: Yes! |
| Sam: Oh, but wait a second. I have a couple of pieces of information for our listeners. First of all, about this lesson. The speakers are friends, so they’re going to be speaking casually or informally. And the second bit of information is for our listeners with an iPad, an iTouch or an iPhone. You can click the center button on the iPad or tap the screen on am iTouch or iPhone to see the notes while you listen to this lesson. Fantastic, isn’t it, Celine? |
| Celine: Fantastique ! |
| Sam: Sounds great, so shall we start? |
| Celine: C’est parti. |
| Sam: Let’s go! |
| DIALOGUES |
| A: Hé Laurent, dans trois jours, c'est Noël ! Tu as acheté les cadeaux ? |
| B: Pff ! Non je suis pas sorti de l'auberge ! Ma mère veut une sortie de bain Sonia Rykiel et mon père un costume De Fursac ! |
| A: Ouh là là ! Ça coûte bonbon ! Il faut que tu décroches la timbale ! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Sam: Hey, Laurent seemed to be really stressed. Are French people really stressed before Christmas about getting gifts? And what’s the best gift to give? |
| Celine: Yes, we are really stressed and we are always late. Remember, we are French. So usually, the 24th, we forget somebody, always. |
| Sam: So that last minute shopping. |
| Celine: Exactement. But it’s good to know that big stores, the weekend before Christmas, they do 50% off. |
| Sam: Oh, sounds good! |
| Celine: Yes, so chocolats... |
| Sam: “chocolates” |
| Celine: Jeux de société. |
| Sam: “board games” |
| Celine: And everything. |
| Sam: Everything? |
| Celine: Everything |
| Sam: Mm, 50% off a week before Christmas? Does that lead to a lot of last-minute shoppers? |
| Celine: Yes. The problem is that maybe you won’t find what you want. |
| Sam: Ah… |
| Celine: And it’s really crowded. |
| Sam: So, selection is an issue and also maybe parking. |
| Celine: Tout à fait. |
| Sam: So, it’s better to go early and just spend a little extra money. |
| Celine: I think so. |
| Sam: It will save you a couple of headaches too. |
| Celine: Je pense. |
| Sam: Now, let’s take a look at some vocab and phrases from this lesson. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Sam: The first item is… |
| Celine: Noël [natural native speed] |
| Sam: Christmas |
| Celine: Noël [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Celine: Noël [natural native speed] |
| Sam: Next |
| Celine: cadeau [natural native speed] |
| Sam: gift |
| Celine: cadeau [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Celine: cadeau [natural native speed] |
| Sam: Next |
| Celine: auberge [natural native speed] |
| Sam: inn, hostel, or tavern |
| Celine: auberge [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Celine: auberge [natural native speed] |
| Sam: Next |
| Celine: sortie de bain [natural native speed] |
| Sam: bathrobe |
| Celine: sortie de bain [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Celine: sortie de bain [natural native speed] |
| Sam: Next |
| Celine: costume [natural native speed] |
| Sam: suit |
| Celine: costume [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Celine: costume [natural native speed] |
| Sam: Next |
| Celine: bonbon [natural native speed] |
| Sam: sweet or candy |
| Celine: bonbon [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Celine: bonbon [natural native speed] |
| Sam: Next |
| Celine: timbale [natural native speed] |
| Sam: kettledrum |
| Celine: timbale [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Celine: timbale [natural native speed] |
| Sam: Next |
| Celine: acheter [natural native speed] |
| Sam: to buy |
| Celine: acheter [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Celine: acheter [natural native speed] |
| Sam: Next |
| Celine: vouloir [natural native speed] |
| Sam: to want |
| Celine: vouloir [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Celine: vouloir [natural native speed] |
| Sam: Next |
| Celine: falloir [natural native speed] |
| Sam: to be necessary |
| Celine: falloir [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Celine: falloir [natural native speed] |
| Sam: Last item |
| Celine: décrocher [natural native speed] |
| Sam: to unhook |
| Celine: décrocher [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Celine: décrocher [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Sam: Now, let’s have a closer look at the usage for some of the items from this lesson. |
| Celine: Oui. The first word is Noël. |
| Sam: “Christmas” |
| Celine: Yes. So Noël is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Noël comes from the Latin word, “natalis” which means “nativity.” |
| Sam: So, how would you say “Merry Christmas!” |
| Celine: Joyeux Noël, joyeux Noël. Noël being masculine. You know, Sam, Noël is also a French first name. |
| Sam: Yeah, I knew that. Joyeux Noël, does that literally mean “Merry Christmas” or does it mean “Happy Christmas”? |
| Celine: So yeah, you’re right, Sam. Literally, it’s “Happy Christmas.” |
| Sam: Oh, okay. Great! |
| Celine: So next word is cadeau. |
| Sam: “gift” |
| Celine: So, for example, “À Noël, on offre des cadeaux”. |
| Sam: “For Christmas, people give gifts.” |
| Celine: So, the expression is “offrir un cadeau”. We can also say “donner un cadeau”. |
| Sam: “to give a present” |
| Celine: “Pour ton anniversaire Sam, je vais te donner un cadeau”. “For your birthday, I’m going to give you a present.” |
| Sam: Great! |
| Celine: “Offrir un cadeau” is the act of giving the present with the hope it will be received. You have the option not to receive the gift. “Donner un cadeau” ou “faire un cadeau” can also be used, but there’s no option. You have to receive the gift. |
| Sam: Mm, interesting. |
| Celine: Well, next word is auberge. |
| Sam: “inn” |
| Celine: Auberge is the resting and small hotel which welcomes travelers. For young hostels, we would say “auberge de jeunesse”, you know like in the movie, l’Auberge Espagnole. |
| Sam: Mm… I don’t think I know this movie. Tell me about it. |
| Celine: Ah bon ? The movie takes place in Barcelona in Spain and it’s like an auberge, an “inn” with many, many people from different countries. |
| Sam: Sounds interesting! |
| Celine: Yes. So, that’s why I just linked the auberge with the title. |
| Sam: Mm, and a nice bit of information that was. I’m gonna rent the movie tonight. |
| Celine: Please. |
| Sam: Okay. |
| Celine: So next word is sortie de bain. |
| Sam: A “bathrobe” |
| Celine: Yeah. In sortie de bain, we also say “un peignoir”. For example, “Après un bon bain, j’enfile mon peignoir”. |
| Sam: “After a bath, I pull on my bathrobe.” Your Sonia Rykiel wardrobe? |
| Celine: Bien sûr, of course, as well as costume, un costume. |
| Sam: Like a halloween costume? |
| Celine: Ah, no, it’s different. |
| Sam: Ah, suit! |
| Celine: Yes. Be careful Sam, if you are invited to une soirée costumée, don’t come with a suit. It means a disguise party. |
| Sam: Like a masquerade party? |
| Celine: Oui. In French, we use to say “un complet” for a suit, but this one is obsolete now. In French, for suit, we have a familiar word. We say “un costard”. |
| Sam: “Your outfit” or “your suit” as in like if your friends really dress up, you say, oh, you got on your… |
| Celine: Costard. |
| Sam: Yeah. |
| Celine: Yeah, like in “Julien a mis le costard, la classe”. |
| Sam: Uh-huh, “Julian has on his suit,” like how classy. |
| Celine: Exactement. Oui, la classe, Sam. So how about some Stylish French phrases now? |
| Sam: Sounds good, I’m ready. |
| GRAMMAR POINT |
| Celine: Well, today we have three common expressions in French - ne pas être sorti de l'auberge. |
| Sam: “I’m in a tight spot.” |
| Celine: Ça coûte bonbon ! |
| Sam: “To cost an arm and a leg.” |
| Celine: Décrocher la timbale. |
| Sam: “To make the gray, to hit the jackpot.” |
| Celine: So Sam, let’s start with “ne pas être sorti de l’auberge”. In our dialogue, Laurent is in a difficult position. He hasn’t bought the Christmas gift yet and it seems that he’s going to have some difficulties as his parents want very expensive presents. He expresses that in - Je ne suis pas sorti de l'auberge. |
| Sam: Literally meaning “I am not out of the inn.” |
| Celine: Oui. When you have some problems and it seems that it’s going to be very complicated to solve them, you just say - Je ne suis pas sorti de l'auberge. This expression originally comes from the 19th Century. Auberge means “inn,” but in that case, it means “jail.” |
| Sam: Ah, so it’s gonna be very hard to solve your problems. You’re not out of jail yet, it’s going to take a long time. |
| Celine: Yes, because in jail, they provide you food and bed in exchange of your liberty. |
| Sam: Something like that, yeah. But I wouldn’t know personally. So, in all situations, when a problem occurs and it’s going to affect you, you could just say… |
| Celine: Je ne suis pas sorti de l'auberge. |
| Sam: Hahaha. So, “Laurent is not out of the inn.” |
| Celine: No. And you know why? |
| Sam: Why? |
| Celine: Because his parents want expensive presents, Sonia Rykiel and De Fursac. Ça coûte bonbon ! |
| Sam: “Cost an arm and a leg.” Literally, this phrase means “It costs a candy.” Why is it that a candy is so expensive? |
| Celine: Well, originally, it comes from “bon”. In its other sense, a lot. The repetition of bon would mean a lot, a lot. The expression was “Ça coûte bon !” before. Meaning it costs a lot. Don’t forget also that in French, we have this double-sense idioms, so you can find bonbon in other sentences like “Tu me casses les bonbons”. |
| Sam: “You’re breaking my candies.” |
| Celine: “On se gèle les bonbons”. |
| Sam: “Our candies are freezing.” |
| Celine: Yes. Here, bonbon is referring to men sensitive and masculine parts. Lower body is considered really precious and really costly. That’s right. |
| Sam: Ah, that’s why it costs an arm and a leg. |
| Celine: Yeah. In French, we’ll say Ça coûte la peau des fesses. |
| Sam: “It costs the buttock skin.” Yes, I bet the lower body is quite important for the French. |
| Celine: Bien sûr, of course, Sam. |
| Sam: So, the presents for his parents are costly. What choices does Laurent have? |
| Celine: Il faudrait que tu décroches la timbale ! |
| Sam: He has to unhook the kettledrum, to hit the jackpot. Mm, quite interesting sentences you use in French. |
| Celine: Yes, décrocher la timbale means “to obtain something you desire.” But here, Laurent hasn’t hit the jackpot yet. |
| Sam: No, so he has to. |
| Celine: Oui, “il faut qu’il”. This expression comes from one traditional game, les mâts de cocagne or “the mast of prizes.” They were high and soap was spreaded all over them to make them slippy. The object of the game was to climb to the top of it where food prizes were hooked on the large hoop. But for more information about that, just download the PDF where you’ll find lots of information about our today’s lesson. |
Outro |
|---|
| Sam: That’s right. I guess it’s the end. |
| Celine: Oui, mon ami. |
| Sam: Have you bought any Christmas presents yet? |
| Celine: Non, et je ne suis pas sortie de l’auberge, my family is really big. |
| Sam: Don’t forget your beloved American friend. |
| Celine: Of course, I won’t. |
| Sam: Hahaha. So, until next time, listeners. |
| Celine: Merci beaucoup. |
| Sam: Bye-bye! |
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