Wondrous Words Wednesday
My quest to learn 100 French words was helped by reading French Women Don’t Get Fat. Here are some of the phrases Mireille Guiliano uses for her American audience.
Since French women do not live by bread alone, much less high protein, I present a comprehensive approach to living, strategies and philosophy you can make your own, including menus and quick recipes anyone can follow and, bien sûr, a guide to how we move. p. 7
bien sûr: This is used the way English speakers say “of course,” but the literal translation is more like “very sure.”
Now you will be eating in a totally different light, with an intuition to rival that of any French woman–a cultivated respect for freshness and flavor that unlocks the world of sensory delights to be discovered in presentation, color, and variety. What you do you will do for pleasure, not punishment. You’ll enjoy chocolate and a glass of wine with dinner. Pourquoi pas? p. 11
Pourquoi pas: Why not?
Approaching your equilibrium weight (bien dans ta peau) is a natural and intuitive progression, a course of fine-tuning that embraces both discovery and moderation. p. 59
bien dans ta peau: comfortable in your skin
Have a little walk around while waiting for someone (as we say, faire les cent pas, literaly “walk a hundred steps”). p. 209
faire les cent pas: Isn’t that a lovely concept? Instead of sitting around and waiting, walk a hundred steps.
It’s not that French women are not assaulted with as many unnatural ideals of womanhood presented in glossy magazines, we just don’t take it personally. No matter how well turned out or fit, if one is not bien dans ta peau, one can never project that certain état de grâce. This is something every woman can learn to achieve, and French women channel more intuitively than most. p. 226
état de grâce: state of grace
My previous Wondrous Words Wednesday post covered “to be” and “to have” in French for my first two words. I’ll give myself credit for another ten words for this post since I knew a few before I started reading French Women Don’t Get Fat.
Wondrous Words Wednesday is hosted by Bermudaonion’s Weblog. Kathy says: “Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where we share new (to us) words that we’ve encountered in our reading.”
Love these! I’ve never read French Women Don’t Get Fat but it sounds like an interesting book.
I knew all of those words but have never heard the phrase bien dans ta peau before. Good luck with your quest!
Enjoyed your French words, thanks! for sharing them.
http://tributebooksmama.blogspot.com/2013/04/wondrous-words-wednesday_10.html
I’m sure I’ll never remember the French, but I will remember the tips- especially the walking, and the being at peace with oneself. Isn’t that a fantastic piece of advice? Thanks for sharing, Joy.
I enjoyed your words and the quotes as well. You’re getting a nice flavor of the country before you even get there, and that’s a good thing. I’m currently reading/listening to Bringing Up BeBe. It’s a look at how the French raise and “educate” their children from birth on. It’s fascinating and I now have a tremendous respect for French parents. It’s written by an American who lived in Paris and noticed a big difference in how young French children behaved versus the behavior of American children. I wonder what your observations will be as you visit.
What a lovely post. I read French Women whenever it was that it came out, I don’t remember so many French phrases, but it’s nice to see them. Some are very familiar- pourquoi pas? Others aren’t- faire les cent pas and bien dans ta peau.
Hi Joy,
I am impressed with myself that I knew all of your French words this week!
As I haven’t studied French since my school days (many, many years ago), I didn’t think that was bad going!
Etat de grace is such an elegant sounding phrase, although I am not sure just how many women manage to achieve that state these days! Elegance is something which seems to have gone by the wayside, with the pasage of time … unfortunately!
A great trip down memory lane for me this week, thanks for sharing,
Yvonne
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