Content:
Zip/Zap! Word games with 26 letters
Here is a sentence in French written with the 26 letters of the alphabet: "Servez ce whisky aux petits juges blonds qui fument."
Acronyms
Acronyms are made up of letters, usually the initial letter of each word. They are increasingly used in daily and professional life.
Some are so common that they really need no explanation:
- SDF : “Stade De France” (the main sports stadium in Paris), but can also mean “Sans Domicile Fixe” (without fixed abode = homeless)
- VO : “Version Originale” (original version - for example, a film shown in its original language)
- TGV : “Train à Grande Vitesse” (a high speed train)
- BD : “Bande Dessinée” (a cartoon strip)
- HS : “Hors Service” (out of order/not working)
- WC : the English, water closet, is usually “toilettes”in French.
- HLM : Habitation à loyer modéré
In short
Numéro = N° kilomètre = Km
The letter X is not only the 24th letter of the alphabet, it represents an unknown value in algebra and is also used in expressions like "porter plainte contre X" (to complain about a certain person), "accoucher sous X" (to have a baby and give it up for adoption without revealing who are its parents), and "je vous l’ai dit X fois" (I’ve told you a thousand times). "L’Ecole Polytechnique", a famous university-level college, is known as "l’X".
Abbreviations...
"Système D..." "D" is for... "Débrouillard" (a resourceful person).
Foreigners say the French solve problems by using the "système D". The French are "débrouillards" (resourceful people).
- Young people are always making words shorter. For example, over time the word "cinématographe" has been abbreviated: first it became "cinéma", and in slang it’s often called "ciné" or "cinoche".
- "Photo" has replaced "photographie" (which, surprisingly, is the French for a photograph, as well as meaning photography).
- In 1900 the "métro" (Parisian underground) was called the "métropolitain".
- "Météo" is used by everyone instead of "météorologie" (weather forecast) whilst teachers grumble when pupils refer to the "dictionnaire" as "dico". Similarly, teachers set written or oral tests called "interrogations" but the pupils call them "interros".
Here are some more school abbreviations:
- “Les prof de philo, de géo et de math ont corrigé le bac blanc. Le bac permet de s’inscrire à la fac.”
= The philosophy, geography and maths teachers have corrected the mock A-levels. A-levels qualify you to go to university.
- Be careful with “bio”. It can have at least two different meanings: “biologie” (“j’ai un cours de bio” = I’ve got a biology lesson), but also “biographie” (“sa bio est publiée” = His biography has been published).
Colourful words and expressions
« If everyone saw life through rose-tinted spectacles, no-one would ever have a fit of the blues. » Pierre Dac
Spell it out in full... or for the postman
Mademoiselle Pommier – Mlle Poirier
Monsieur Cerisier – M. Pêcher
Madame et Monsieur Prunier - Mme & M.Oranger
22, rue Victor Hugo
59 000 LILLE