Mot du jour: cavale

This week fugitive George Wright was caught after 41 years. Il a été en cavale.

Definition: escape, en cavale: on the run, on the lam

Un fugitif arrêté après 41 ans de cavale. - Le Monde (article link here)
-Fugitive arrested after 41 years on the run.

Un Américain arrêté au Portugal après une cavale de 41 ans. - TF1 (article link here)
-An American arrested in Portugal after escape for 41 years.

The verb cavaler is used in the sense of to rush around or to chase after, notably in the cavaler après les femmes (to be a womanizer).

Mot du jour: presse-papier

Definition: paperweight

Je ramassai des coquillages pour lui des galets que je peignais aux couleurs du drapeau breton pour lui servir de presse-papiers. (Catherine Cuset, En toute innocence)
-I collected shells for him and painted pebbles with the colors of Brittany's flag for him to use as paperweights.

Presse-papier can also be used in the sense of the clipboard in computing:

Tapez Ctrl + C pour copier des données dans le presse-papier.
- Press Ctrl + C to copy data to the clipboard.

Mot du jour: binoclard(e)

The other week I finished reading Balzac et la Petite Tailleuse chinoise by Dai Sijie. In the book there is a character nicknamed Le Binoclard, someone who suffers from une grave myopie (severe nearsightedness).

Definition: (informal term) bespectacled, someone who wears glasses, approximately equivalent to calling someone "four-eyes" in English.

Synonym: bésiclard

Le Binoclard possédait une valise secrète, qu'il dissimulait soigneusement.

-Four-Eyes had a secret suitcase that he carefully kept concealed.

The popular Japanese manga Case Closed (or Detective Conan) has inspired a parody in French called Détective Binoclard (Detective Four-Eyes). 

Check it out here: http://detective-binoclard.centerblog.net/

Mot du jour: ronfler

The other day my friend told me I was snoring while I was asleep, which made me think maybe we should examine snoring in French.

The verb "to snore" is a regular "-er" verb: ronfler  
Pronunciation: [ ro(n) flay ]


Apparemment, je ronfle quand je dors. - Apparently, I snore when I sleep.

Ronfler also can mean to hum, to roar, to rev.

Faire ronfler son moteur - to rev one's engine

Leave your stories and uses for ronfler in the comments!

Téléfrançais

When I first started learning French, our teacher would often reward our progress by letting us watch a video on Fridays. As expected with this being school, the video was often of an educational nature. However, I soon discovered that French instructional programming, or at least the sort selected by my teachers, was scarcely devoid of entertainment.

One program in particular quickly gained a special place in my heart. It was so popular among my classmates that it was frequently discussed and requested to be played well throughout upper level French classes in high school.

Téléfrançais is a gem straight out of the Ministry of Education in Canada. Originally designed to teach French to Anglo-Ontarians, this TVOntario program from the '80s has gained a somewhat cult following. It stars Jacques, Sophie, and their friend Ananas (a talking pineapple. yes, really!) who engage in unlikely adventures and hilarity ensues.

If you are unfamiliar with the French student essential, I'm sure you'll soon be hooked. Here is the link to the first episode and you can find more on YouTube. Amusez-vous!