"ça lui fait une belle jambe!" - "That makes him a nice leg !" ;-)

Do you want to dance with me?
This invitation took place, last Saturday, under sunny skies, for the traditional Arlington Town Day, located in the suburbs of Boston.
Like the previous years, the atmosphere was very lively and brought many smiles, and lots of fun.

Voulez-vous danser avec moi?
Cette invitation a eu lieu samedi dernier, sous un soleil radieux à l'occasion de la traditionnelle fête de la ville d'Arlington, située dans la banlieue de Boston.
Comme les années précédentes, l’atmosphère animée a apporté beaucoup de sourires et de joie.

French Expression in context / Expression française en contexte

Expressions around the word "jambe" (leg):

"Ca me/lui fait une belle jambe!" (Lit : That makes me/him-her a nice leg ! ) It won't get me/ him- her very far! As you may guess, this expression is related to fashion and beauty but, believe it or not, it’s all about men, not women. The origin goes back to the 17th century when men used to wear long silk socks (chausses). At that time, men legs were a great deal of attention (no offense ladies!) and ribbons were added to embellish and emphasize the legs. The expression “Cela ne me rendra pas la jambe mieux faite" (lit: it won’t bring me my leg better shaped ) is found in the “dictionnaire académique Furetière” (1694) and was used in a sarcastic sense, reffering to something useless is done to you . Another version is given by Diderot in one of his quotes: ‘"un homme qui marche et qui fait la belle jambe est faux et manieré" (“ a man walking while showing a beautiful leg is fake and affected”) gave the expression "faire la belle jambe" meaning: “to show off”/ to “prance”. The modern idom“ça lui fait une belle jambe :”(lit: it makes him/her a beautiful leg) is a combination of the two versions and means today: it's of no interest to me! ............................ "Faire des ronds de jambe " (lit: to make circle of legs!). To bow and scrape! This expression is a reference to a ballet dance figure « half-circles made by the pointed foot, returning through first position to repeat; creating the letter 'D' on the floor”. ............................... "Traiter par dessus la jambe" (Lit: to treat over the leg) To treat someone/something without regards. Borrowed from the old French game « jeu de paume » (tennis), this expression is derivaded from the metaphor "jouer quelqu'un sous jambe"("to play someone under leg") that was used when a player get the upper hand. ............................... "Avoir les jambes en coton" : ( Lit: to have legs of cotton"): To feel weak at the knees . The expression appeared for the first time in 1839 in the famous Stendhal novel: "La chartreuse de Parme"(sources: L'internaute). Cotton is also used in other French idioms. .................................. "Trainer la jambe" (Lit: to drag the leg) To trudge along. .............................. "Tenir la jambe à quelqu'un" (Lit to hold someone’s leg) To annoy someone with endless blabla... :-( .............................. I hope this is not the case here! Otherwise everyone might: "Prendre ses jambes à son cou" (Lit: to throw one’s legs to one’s neck) To take to one's heels .............................. Then, (Alors)… Au revoir et à bientôt j'espère!

Mettre les voiles! To take off!

Click on the collage to see it larger.

Last week, forty five magnificent sailing ships from about fifteen different countries, sailed out from Boston harbor after being docked for five days. This race across the North Atlantic event, which is called “Tall Ships challenge” was a big success bringing more than 3 millions visitors.

Among the most impressive vessels, were the Russian masted four mast barque “Kruzenthern” the second-largest tall ship in the world (114.5 m long), the Argentinean fragata “Libertad” three mast (104 m long), and the Romanian three mast barque "Mircea" (82 m long).
Also, the French schooner “le Bel Espoir” (the beautiful hope) from Père Michel Jaouen is taking part in that adventure as well.

The race started from Vigo (Spain) last month and will end in Belfast (Ireland), on August 16th.

Quarante cinq superbes voiliers de quinze pays différents ont quitté le port de Boston la semaine dernière, après être restés à quai pendant 5 jours. Cette course, autour de l’Océan Atlantique Nord qui porte le nom de Tall Ships challenge (la course des grands voiliers), fut un grand succès attirant plus de 3 millions de visiteurs.

Parmi les bateaux les plus impressionnants, on pouvait voir la barque russe «Krusenstrhern» quatre mâts (second plus grand voilier au monde avec 114,50 m de long), la frégate argentine trois mâts «Libertad» ( 104 m de long) et la barque roumaine trois mâts "Mircea" (82 m long).

La goélette du père Jaouen (qui s’occupe de jeunes en difficultés)« le Bel espoir » participe aussi à cette aventure.

French Expression in context / Expression française en contexte

"Mettre les voiles" (lit: to put on the sails!) To leave/ to take off. As we can guess, this metaphor has a nautical terminology and refers to the sailing ship that raises its sails to get underway for a far-away destination. It is derived from the 15th century expression “bander les voiles” which meant, to strengthen the sail with bands of canvas sewed across the saildating. "Marcher (être) à voile et à vapeur " : ( lit: to work/go by sail and by steam"): To be AC/DC (bi-sexual) . Back in the late 19th century, sail and steam co-existed in the shipping industry, "sail was of necessity the rule, and steam the reserve or special power". The origin of this expression is not clear and there are quite a few interpretations explaining the relation between boats and sexuality. One of them is that sailors acquired the reputation of a homosexual practice when they were at sea, because they were without women. Furthermore, according to linguist P.Guiraud in his “dictionnaire érotique” the terms “corvette” and “frégate” have a sexual meaning. We can find in "bougrerie en Nouvelle -France” (Paul Francois Sylvestre) that “une corvette” is a woman who attracts sailors and “une frégate” designates a young homosexual, used in navy slang. "Avoir du vent dans les voiles " : ( lit: to to have some wind in the sails"): To be drunk. Another sailor expression (1835) to describe someone who has had too much to drink. The reference is to a sailing ship out of control in the wind and making it shudder and stagger, quite like a drunk. Not to be confused with the expression : “avoir le vent dans les voiles”(lit: to have the wind in the sails) To succeed, to have the advantage. There is similar older expression (from the 16th century): "avoir le vent en poupe" (To have the wind behind you) , To have the advantage, “être gonflé” (fully inflated/ to have a nerve) in argot. And let me conclude... ... à pleines voiles! (To be under full sail) To be in the flush or height of prosperity... Et maintenant je mets les voiles.... And now, I take off! Hasta la vista!

Éclairez ma lanterne! Enlighten me!

Lower Mystic Lake is located a few miles North West of Boston. It is connected upstream to upper Mystic Lake and downstream to Mystic River which empties into the Boston harbor.

The most distinctive feature of this lake is that it is a Meromictic lake, which is a rare type of lake (one counts around 200 in the world).
Unlike a Holomictic lake (the most common type) a Meromictic lake is a deep body of water lacking complete circulation of its upper and deeper layers of water. Due to this absence of mixing waters, the deeper layer receives little oxygen (less than 1 mg/l) from the atmosphere and sediments at the bottom remain undisturbed. Thus, such lakes preserve records of the geologic past of the lake exceptionally well.

Studies were performed by experts who found occasional layers of coarse sediment that had washed into the lake during flooding events and concluded that hurricanes have struck the Boston area. This record extends back to 1011 A.D. In terms of hurricanes activity the number was higher between the 12th and the 16th century.

Lower Mystic Lake est situé à quelques kilomètres au Nord Ouest de Boston. Il est connecté en amont au Upper Mystic lake et en aval à la rivière Mystique qui se jette dans le port de Boston.

La particularité de ce lac vient du fait que c'est un lac méromictique: un type de lac assez rare dans le monde (on en dénombre environ 200 ).
A la différence d’un lac holomictique (le type le plus commun), un lac méromictique est un lac très profond qui se caractérise par l’absence de circulation complète entre les eaux de surface et les eaux profondes. Du fait de cette absence de mélange des eaux, les couches profondes reçoivent très peu d’oxygène (moins de 1 mg/l) de l’atmosphère et les sédiments au fond restent stables. En conséquence, de tels lacs renferment des informations géologiques remarquables sur l’histoire du lac.

Des recherches ont été menées par des experts qui ont trouvé d'épaisses couches de sédiments déposés au fond du lac pendant des périodes d'inondations et en ont conclu que des ouragans avaient frappé la région de Boston. Les résultats obtenus ont permis de remonter jusqu'à l'an 1011 après Jésus-Christ. En termes d'activité cyclonique, le nombre d'ouragans était plus important entre les 12ème et 16ème siècles .

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French Expression in context / Expression française en contexte

1. “ Eclairer la lanterne de quelqu'un " (lit: to light somebody's lantern!): To enlighten somebody This expression is an allusion to Florian's Fable: "The Monkey showing the Magic Lantern"(1792) (French version here) which tells the story of a man who owns an outwit monkey called Jacqueau, and a magic lantern (a lantern projection). One day, the man leaves home to go to the cabaret. To impress all the animals of the village, the monkey decides to perform a show in front of them to explain how the world was created using the lantern as the sun. However one important detail was missing! He forgot to light up the magic lantern and as a result, the audience did not understand anything. After this fable was published the expression "oublier d'éclairer sa lanterne " (to forget to light one's lantern) was created and meant "missing the main point". 2. "Prendre des vessies pour des lanternes " : (lit: to take bladders for lanterns.) To think the moon is made of green cheese! Dating back to the late Middle-Ages, this expression is a play on word. It derives from the old form "vendre des vessies pour des lanternes" (to sell bladders for lanterns), where the words "lanternes" (lanterns) and "vessies" (bladders) had similar figurative sense. In old French, the word "lanternes", in the plural form, referred to “des balivernes” (twaddles) and the word "vessies" meant “des bagatelles” (trifles), or something empty, hollow, like the bladder. Eventually, the "lanternier" (the lantern merchant) was “un diseur de balivernes et de bagatelles” (a teller of trifles and twaddles"). However, in Medieval times, pigs or beef bladders (vessies de porc ou de boeuf) were commonly used as a recipient ( a goatskin flask), a ball or a lantern. The bladders were hung from the ceiling to dry, and then inflated before being used. A candle was placed inside beforehand. Et voilà! That does the trick!"! A bientôt!

To box things up! Faire ses cartons!

According to the CPS (Current Population Survey), less than 12 % of Americans moved since 2007. In comparison, between 1950s and 1960s, the number of movers reached near 20%.
Here is a map of the migration flows in the US.

As for us, after living 10 years in our house, we have decided to move because we felt in love with another house only a few steps away... We are now ready for another adventure!

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Selon l’enquête du CPS (Institut National de Statistiques) moins de 12% des américains ont déménagé depuis 2007. Par comparaison, entre 1950 et 1960, le nombre de déménagements atteignait alors 20%. Ici , une carte des flux de migrations internes aux US.

Quant à nous, après avoir vécu 10 ans dans notre maison, nous avons décidé de déménager car nous sommes littéralement « tombés en amour » pour une autre maison à seulement quelques pas d’ici... Nous voilà prêts maintenant pour une autre aventure !

French Expression in context / Expression française en contexte

The word "carton"derives from "carte"(borrowed from Italian "carta"). It is a thick reinforced paper used for all kinds of purposes.
Thus different expressions stem from this:

“ Faire ses cartons! " (lit: to make one's boxes). "Packing moving boxes!" To box things up! This figurative informal expression is often used in France when someone is moving. The word "carton" designates here the moving boxes. "Faire un carton!" (lit: to make a card). "It's a hit !" /To Do great. This expression has different meanings: 1. Back to the beginning of the 20th century, it was used in a shooting range, when the bullets were shot all in the middle of the target made of cardboard (carton in French) which led to a success. 2. In terms of Printing and Publishing, it refers to a technical process in which one or more papers containing errors are detached from the original document to be redone for printing. "cartonner" (to box/ to card) . To do great or To crash one's car. This verb is derivated from the expression "faire un carton". 1. It is used in an informal way also in a sens of success: "J'ai cartonné à mon examen de français!" (I did great on my French exam!). 2. However, it is also used in slang when having a car accident. A "carton" is an accident. "Taper le carton!"(lit: to hit the card). “Playing cards !” It's a familiar expression that found it roots in the old days when cards were made of cardboard (different layers of paper sticked together). The verb "taper" comes from the old French word"taquer" which means "frapper" (to hit). "(prendre) un carton jaune/rouge!": (to get) a Yellow/Red card. As in English, it is used in many sports to indicate that a player is to receive a suspension (temporary or permanently) regarding his conduct.

A bientôt!

Flies the colours! Annoncer la couleur!

Click on the photograph for a larger view

Autumn, in New England, is an enchanting season offering not only sunny days with temperatures in the 70s degrees but also a gorgeous festival of colors.
This spectacular show, travelling from North to South has just reached its peak, here in Massachusetts, displaying a vibrant and flaming palette of yellow, gold, orange and reds.

L'automne en Nouvelle Angleterre est une saison délicieuse qui offre non seulement des journées ensoleillées, avec des températures dans les 20 degrés mais aussi un festival somptueux de couleurs.
Ce show spectaculaire qui se déplace du nord au sud vient juste d'atteindre son apogée ici dans le Massachusetts, déployant une palette de couleurs vibrantes et flamboyantes de jaunes, d'or, d'orange et de rouges.

French Expression in context / Expression française en contexte

Color idioms are widely used in language, giving the most pictorial and vivid image of the situation: White, black, blue, brown, green, red, yellow, pink, grey, golden are the main colors. Here are a few expressions using them: "En voir de toutes les couleurs " (lit: to see all colors!). To go through a hard time! "Annoncer la couleur" (lit: to tell the colours) To lay one's card on the table. This French expression dating from the 1930's comes from the card games, when the player must declare his intention to lay a color as a trump. "Rire jaune" : ( lit: to laugh yellow"): To give a hollow laugh. The yellow color carries a strong symbolic meaning which has to be traced back to the Middle-Ages. In medieval times, colors were present everywhere, however, people had a strong revulsion for plain yellow. In the Christian iconography yellow was associated with cowardliness (Judas was often depicted wearing yellow clothes), adultery (yellow the color of cuckolds). Yellow was the color of heretics and forgers. It also evoked illness (icterus disease). In the 17th century, the expression "rire jaune" designated a deceitful, betrayal laugh. Want some more? Broyer du noir: (lit: To crush black)= To be depressed - Voir la vie en rose: (lit: to see life in pink)= t0 see the beauty in life. Envoyer quelqu'un sur les roses: (lit: to send s.o on roses)= To tell s.owhere to get off. passer une nuit blanche: (lit: to spend a white night)= to spend a sleepless night. avoir une peur bleue: (lit: to have a bleue fear)= to have a bad scare. être fleur bleue: (lit: to be a blue flower)= to be naïvely sentimental. se mettre au vert: (lit: to put oneself at green)= To rest in the countryside. voir rouge: to see red. être marron: (lit : to be brown): to be fooled. être gris: (lit: to be grey): to be tipsy. etc... Which one did you prefer? Bonne semaine à tous!

Having style! Avoir du chien!

As I was strolling around Boston, I came across this English bulldog recovering from an intense exercise (picture below...).
At first, his funny appearance with his wrinkled grouchy face and his massive disproportionate body caught the attention.
Then, his overly placid behavior with a tenacious stubbornness personality is hilarious.
Don't you think he has a great charm?


Alors que je me promenais dans Boston, je suis tombée sur ce bulldog anglais qui se remettait d'un exercice éreintant (voir la photo ci-dessus).
Son apparence physique amusante avec une tête toute plissée au regard ronchon, et un corps massif et disproportionné saute d’abord aux yeux.
Ensuite, c’est son comportement excessivement placide et sa personnalité tenace et obstinée qui est à mourir de rire.
Ne trouvez-vous pas qu'il a un charme fou?

French Expression in context / Expression française en contexte

The French language is rich in figurative expressions referring to animals. Due to the fact that the dog is associated to many different symbols and popular beliefs, there is a great deal of French idioms and proverbs related to "chien”. Most of them have a negative connotation and refer to a disdain, disparagement and are used almost as an insult: Nom d'un chien! (Name of a Dog!): For good sake Faire le chien couchant (to act like a crawling dog): to praise. Un temps de chien ! (a dog weather !) An awful weather Etre traité comme un chien: To be treated like a dog. Avoir un air de chien battu: (to have the look of a beaten dog): To have a hang-dog look Ce n'est pas fait pour les chiens: (it’s not made for dogs !) It's there to be used. Une chienne de vie ! A life’s dog. Etre d’une humeur de chien (to have a mood dog): To be in a foul mood Etre malade comme un chien ! (sick as a dog): To be really sick. Se regarder en chiens de faïence. (to look at each other like porcelain dogs): To glare at each other. Mourir comme un chien: (to die like a dog !): To die forsaken like a dog. Merci qui? Merci mon chien! (thank you my dog!). Thanks to whom? However a few expressions have somewhat a positive connotation. The one I am using here in my title is one of them: “Avoir du chien” (lit: to have dog). To have style, to be attractive. This expression dates from 1866 and back then, it was used for a woman to talk about her physical appeal in a sense of saucy.

It's all Greek to me! C'est du chinois pour moi :-)

Recognizable by its traditional temple roofs covered with tiles, the pagoda gate, surrounded by two lions, marks the entrance to the Chinatown District.

A welcome message is inscribed in gold Chinese characters in the middle of the gate, also called páilóu (牌樓) in Chinese.

The large pavement, designed by artist May Sun, displays a geometric pattern consisting of a square within a circle, which is an old symbol for Heaven and Earth in chinese philisophy. Also, in the middle (in grey and blue) you can see a long strip that depicts the Chinatown dictrict and the surrounding area up to the Boston waterfront.

Reconnaissable par ses toits traditionnels recouverts de tuiles, la porte en forme de pagode entourée de deux lions marque l'entrée du quartier chinois.

Un message de bienvenue, en caractères chinois dorés, est inscrit au milieu de la porte appelée páilóu (牌樓) en chinois.

Le dallage au sol, réalisé par l'artiste May Sun, révèle un motif géométrique constitué d’un carré à l'intérieur d’un cercle; symbole du paradis et de la terre, dans la philosophie chinoise. Vous pouvez distinguer aussi au milieu une longue bande (en gris et en bleu) représentant le quartier de Chinatown et les environs jusqu’au port de Boston.

French Expression in context / Expression française en contexte

1. “ C'est du chinois pour moi! " (lit: it's all chinese to me!). It's all Greek to me! This metaphor refers to complicated, unintelligible topics to understand. The other figurative expression "C'est de l'hébreu pour moi " (it's Hebrew to me) is occasionally heard . Not only French use this "chinese target" to mean something incomprehensible. For instance, - in Greek : Eínai kínezika jia ména; (It's Chinese to me") - in Russian: Это для меня китайская грамота. (It's Chinese writing!) - in Hungarian: Ez nekem kínai. (This is Chinese to me.) - in Dutch: Dat is Chinees voor mij . (This is Chinese to me.) German, Serbian, Czech refer to the Spanish language while Turkkish people refer to the French langage as an unintelligible, unfamiliar language! Originaly, the word"chinois" served to designate something mysterious, far-away and unknown. In addition, the structure of the language with its different dialects and its 13000 characters in the traditional form, reinforced that idea and thus, created the cliché "c'est du chinois" associated to complexity. In the same idea, the verb"chinoiser" (lit: to chinese), means to quibble, to split-hairs. When it was introduced in 1896 "chinoiser" meant "parler argot". And the word "argot" was related to "jargon". And this leads us to another expression: 2. "un casse-tête chinois" : a brain teaser. Since "un casse-tête" is a dilemna or a puzzle to solve, adding the adjective "chinois" looks like a pleonasm. In fact, it emphasizes the concept of difficulty. But, that's not it! To make it even stronger, French people also say "c'est un vrai un casse-tête chinois" (it's a real brain teaser). In other words: it's a pain in the neck! :-) Bonne journée!

An elephant in a china store ! un éléphant dans un magasin de porcelaine!

Most schools have a mascot. The one of Tufts University is an elephant and precisely, the legendary Jumbo, from P.T. Barnum circus.
This giant elephant (the largest elephant known at the time) was captured in 1861 in Africa as a baby and shipped to Paris where he spent three years in the Jardin des Plantes. He then spent seventeen years in London.
In 1882 he was sold to the famous Barnum circus and soon became a big star attraction.
Unfortunately, on September 15, 1885, while on tour in Canada, he was hit by a freight train.

La plupart des écoles ont une mascotte. Celle de l’université de Tuft est un éléphant et plus exactement le légendaire Jumbo du cirque Barnum.
Cet éléphant géant (le plus gros connu dans le monde à cette époque) fut capturé, bébé, en 1861 et envoyé en France au jardin des plantes où il resta trois ans avant d'aller à Londres et y passa dix-sept ans.
En 1882, il fut vendu au célèbre cirque et devint une grande star. Malheureusement, le 15 septembre 1885, alors qu’il était en tournée au Canada, un train de marchandises le renversa.

P.T. Barnum gave the skeleton to the American Museum of Natural History in New York and sent the skin to Tufts University in Medford as a major benefactor of the school.
Jumbo was stuffed and put on display in the basement of Barnum Hall until a fire destroyed the building in 1974. To replace it, a large plaster statue now sits outside.
Jumbo is still in the heart of students and considered to bring good luck. Before examinations, they put coins in his trunk or pretend to pull his tail.
The word “jumbo became synonymous with “large” and “huge”. Thence comes the “Jumbo Jet " nickname given to the Boeing 747 .

P.T. Barnum fit don du squelette au Musée Américain d’histoire Naturelle et offra la peau à l’université Tufts, à Medford, dont il était un des premiers bienfaiteurs.
Jumbo fut naturalisé et exposé à Tuffts, dans le sous-sol du Hall Barnum, jusqu’à ce qu’un incendie détruise le bâtiment en 1975. Une imposante statue en plâtre a été installée à l’extérieur pour le remplacer.
Jumbo est toujours dans le cœur des étudiants et il est considéré comme porte-bonheur. Avant les examens, ils viennent déposer des pièces dans sa trompe ou font semblant de lui tirer la queue. Depuis, le mot Jumbo est devenu synonyme de « gros » et « gigantesque » de là vient le nom de "Jumbo jet", surnom donné au Boeing 747.

French Expression in context / Expression française en contexte

“ comme un éléphant dans un magasin de porcelaine! " (lit: like an elephant in a china store!). Like a bull in a china shop! It’s funny to notice that quite a few languages use the same French metaphor while English has a very close equivalent image but refers to another animal. Here are some examples : In Spanish : Como un elefante en una cristaleria. In Italian : Come un elefante in un negozio di cristalli. In German : Wie ein Elefant im Porzellanladen “ In Polish : jak słoń w składzie porcelany. In Turkish : züccaciye dükkanındaki fil gibi. In Portuguese: Como um elefante numa loja de cristais. In Russian : Как слон в посудной лавке / Kak slon v posudnoy lavke. In Dutch : als een olifant in een porseleinwinkel In swedish : Smiding som en elefant i en porslinsbutik. And for Cergie: In Chinese simplified: 大象进了瓷器店 In Korean: 남을 의식하지 않는 난폭자, 서투른 사람 In Japanese: はた迷惑な乱暴物 Whatever the animal : a bull or an elephant in a china store, this image is still funny and vivid!