Paris to Pinas

Ever since Audrey Hepburn danced along the bank of River Seine with Fred Astaire, my fascination for the City of Lights has never waned.  I loved both the amusing/infuriating clichés and the joie de vivre aspects of Parisian life.

 At a nice outdoor café near Opera Garnier in Paris, I felt my chest swell with anticipation at ordering something from the menu using the rehearsed dialogues that I memorized in my Assimil book: 

 “Garçon, une tasse de café, s’il vous plait” (Wait!  I just ordered a cup of coffee from the waiter but I don’t take coffee).  “Excusez moi, garçon, une tasse de chocolat chaud.” (There, I changed it to hot chocolate). The waiter (garçon) came back with two cups:  hot coffee and hot chocolate.  Oh well, maybe it was my accent.

?Once, I got lost in the metro and I needed to get back to my small hotel not far from this big department store or magasin (ma-ga-sahn) called Printemps at Avenue Haussmann.  I stopped a policier (poli-sher) or a policeman and asked, “Où est l’hotel Queen Mary?” (Where is Hotel Queen Mary?)  He scratched his head and replied, “Vous prenez un taxi?” (Are you taking a cab?)  I looked down at my feet and replied, “Non, pas un taxi; mais, à pied.”   (No, not on taxi; but on foot.)  The policeman laughed and walked me back to my hotel.

Shot in the dark: Avenue Champs Elysees

When I needed to know the local time, I asked the clerk at the reception desk, “Quelle heure est-il? (What time is it?)  The clerk replied, “Il est six heures trente” (It’s 6:30).  But he spoke too fast that I really didn’t understand what he said.  Oh, well, the same thing occurs whenever I attempt to speak in another language.  Conversing with someone who’s fluent in it gets me all tangled up even if I plead, “Por favor, hable despacio.”  (Please speak slowly). 

Complicated, as it seems, there are expressions in French that have been used with English.  Without changing the original pronunciation and spelling, we substitute French for a more succinct description of the situation.  

A book written by Chloe Rhodes dealt on phrases like:

Cherchez la femme (sher-shay la fam) meaning, “look for the woman.”  This phrase was taken from the 1854 book by French author Alexandre Dumas Sr. entitled Les Mohicans de Paris.  (His son, the junior, wrote novels like The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers).

This expression is used to encourage someone to look for the underlying cause of a problem, conveying the view that a woman was always behind it, being the downfall of men.  Example:  “He let out a gasp as he opened his credit card bill.  “Cherchez la femme,” he muttered under his breath because his bill reached six digits.”

Many womenfolk do not mind being supplementary cardholders so long as the husbands foot the bill.  Ah, might we add an unlimited spending ceiling?

Ascending the Eiffel Tower are the author Letty Lopez (right) with Aida Betita, Tito Javier, Fr. Dave Concepcion, Nitnit Tongco and Carleen Reyes

?Eau de toilette (o du twa-let) meaning “toilet water” but not that kind of toilet.  In the 17th century, “toilette” was a cloth cover for the dressing table.  By extension, it came to mean the process of dressing and later of washing, thus “eau de toilette” as a scent.  It is not perfume.  We use the French term not only because it sounds less unsanitary but also during that time, infrequent bathing made perfumes more popular in France.  It’s amazing what a damp cloth and a spritz of eau de toilette could give the impression of cleanliness.

Be aware therefore of the difference between the word “toilette” (twa-let) and the word “toilet” (toy-let).  Don’t confuse the two.  The latter pertains to that large ceramic bowl typically attached to the plumbing system with a flushing mechanism and where you rest your pretty derrière.?

Embonpoint (a-bo-pwe) meaning “in good condition and fleshy.”  Its literal translation means pleasingly plump, like the voluptuous women that artist Rubens painted in the early 17th century (His painting “The Judgment of Paris” depicted the Roman goddesses Minerva, Juno and Venus as fat women with Paris choosing to award the golden apple to Venus). 

In women, a bursting, heaving bosom often accompanies this quality of desirable fleshiness.  I’ve often heard the expression, “There’s more of you to love, honey!” giving a good excuse for women to overeat.  Another example:  “The tenor nearly disappeared into the soprano’s generous embonpoint.”

Very seldom does one find leading sopranos who are not endowed with generous embonpoint except perhaps for the slimmer Renata Tebaldi, Maria Callas, Kiri Te Kanawa and of late, the American Renée Fleming.?

Entre nous (an-tre noo) meaning “between ourselves.”  There is something about the French language that makes it seem just right for secrets.  They say it’s the relaxed Gallic attitude toward illicit liaisons or the fact that using a smattering of French while revealing a little morsel of hush-hush can make it sound appropriately discreet.  The expression became an almost obligatory forerunner to any juicy chismis. 

Miniaturizing the Eiffel Tower from the River Siene

Use this expression when you’re about to say something that must stay between you and the recipient of the privileged info.  Example:  “Meet me in an hour and come alone; I’ve got something to tell you that’s strictly entre nous.”  Betcha!  Your friend will be there on time if not a good hour early.

Je ne sais quoi (Zhen se kwa) meaning “I know not what.”  This phrase often comes with the prefix, “a certain” in English.

It is used to recognize a quality or a characteristic that is hard to describe, yet makes the subject in question instinctively appealing.  It is often used to acknowledge a woman’s mystifying beauty or charisma.  It can also be used to describe food so tasty or vintage champagne so deliciously cool. 

 Nowadays, the younger generation uses the more boring “X” or “wow factor” to describe a similar sensation.  I like the French phrase more.  For example:  “She walked in the room wearing a bespoke gown that simply gave her a certain je ne sais quoi.”

 “The wonderful thing about words is that once we’ve learned their meanings, we rarely have to give them a second thought,” said Chloe Rhodes.

But count on our kababayan to add some Filipino spice with a French tone:

 Turn = le cou(p); alms = le mousse; unfaithful husband = coup ma le wah; city = ce vou(s); bald = cal vou(s); caught in the act = na vou(s) coup, na coup!;

sink = la va vou(s); big mouth = cheez mousse-ah; confused = le tou(s); musical band = com vou(s); unclear = ma la vou(s).

Adding new expressions help prevent Alzheimer’s as we stay young and bid the wrinkles adieu.  In English, that’s goodbye or in Filipino, va vou(s)?