True English

Thanks for the video  Gérard !
I rings a bell for me and makes me think about what's also happening in Calais
http://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/nord-pas-de-calais/2014/05/27/facebook-jetez-vous-l-eau-le-nouveau-defi-la-mode-made-cote-d-opale-486241.html

Hi Muriel,

Thanks for the link between my great-nephew's event and happenings in Calais... for once, water is not cold in Calais (14°C compared to 0°C)

For sure it's less stupid than drinking alcohol!

Yes Gérard, people can't prevent themselves from seeking sensations. of course sport is better than alcohol !

... unless they drink 5 or 6 drinks to get warm after the cold bucket

First of all you must know that your Steak comes from a cow which is beef
You can have it practically raw (just seared on each side), rare (bloody or oozing with blood), medium rare (pink), medium, well done, charred which is a slang term for burnt to a crisp.
Of course a beef tenderloin is very good and it is a shame when it is burnt to a crisp. The Americans tend to cook their meat a bit more. To each their own of course !

A beef tenderloin, known as an eye fillet in New Zealand and Australia, fillet in South Africa^[1] and the UK, filet in France and Germany, is cut from the loin of beef.

Pls notice the way they write their dates in the UK.
(US would have written "Monday December 1")

Gérard it 's interesting to see the way they write dates in England and US. I am always confused about that

Hi Muriel,
Effectively, I already read in your posts the type "December 1" for England.
I didn't dare say anything as I wasn't sure.

I guess I already saw something like "1 December" or "December 1" but said "First of December".

Hi everyone,

As I often write it here, many many English words were taken from the French.
For instance the ones ending in "-ous" related to ours ending in "-eux" such as hideous.

With the time, these words evolved differently in English and in French.
Sometimes, the French only changed its meaning and it's moving to think the English kept our former meaning.
Most of the time, the close words become false-cognates and traps for students.

A few months ago, on an American forum I used the word "chastise" which in my mind, meant "gronder"; I used it with a wink saying that I was chastised by another member (again with a wink as I knew I exaggerated a bit with my word).
The member was an American teacher or schoolmaster. She protested stating she hadn't chastised me.
I understood my word was inappropriate; I checked it thoroughly and realized "chastise" was far stronger than "tell off".

I worked out yesterday that "to chastise" just came after the French "châtier" and had kept the same strong meaning.

Now I know!

NB: Had I looked into my dictionary, I'd have had the response.  

Thanks Gérard for explaining. I didn't know either chastise had such a strong meaning. It is very good to know.

Hi everyone,

I'd like to draw your attention on a thread of WordReference which shows the difficulties with "quite".

-> a bearing quite different from

It appears that "quite" has got a range of meanings from "assez" to "très", depending on teh context, depending on American or British, etc.

Thanks Gérard, for this thread I carefully read twice.  I have never thought about the exact meaning of  "quite" only just instinctively guessed . context and tone of voice (as the senior member points out) are probably everything.

Hi everyone
Let's have a look at the word "to dress". It doesn't mean "to put a dress on" but it means "to put clothes on". You can also say "to get dressed".

You also have "To dress up" which means  "to dress in a formal  attire" or "to dress in a fancy attire" for Halloween for instance.

When you are nicely dressed "you are in your Sunday best" , "you are dressy" or "you are gussied up"
"Gussied up" is a word I didn't know. I looked it up
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060901110806AAnTx11

 dressing in one’s finery for some special occasion,

It is to put on your glad-rags, your formal attire, you are dressed up for a formal event.

For those who want more explanations you can see vocable 700 's booklet.

Hi everyone
Another expression about the way you dress is "to get all dolled up". It is very funny and very suggestive. You know what a  doll is ? you put a lot of make up, you do your hair very nicely and you look like a dolly. This expression is used for women.

Hi everyone,

You may find the expression "Twelfth Night Cake" weird to translate "galette des rois", do you?

Remember that this cake celebrated Epiphany ie when the Kings came with oodles of gifts, etc.
A synonym for "Epiphany" is "Twelfth Night" and effectively, it is 12 nights after Jesus' birth.

25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4 5

QED

By the way, I just realised tonight that "Twelfth" needed a "f"! LOL I didn't know... and that shows that my pronunciation is far from perfection!

Hi Muriel,

MurielB a écrit:...
"to get all dolled up". It is very funny and very suggestive. You know what a  doll is ? you put a lot of make up, you do your hair very nicely and you look like a dolly. This expression is used for women.

Poor queers!

Hi Gérard, everyone
An English friend of mine has told me that she didnt know anything about "La galette des rois". She was invited to "une galette des rois" one day and found a hard bit of something in her piece of galette. As she didn't want to offend her hostess, she put it in her Pocket and said nothing. After a while she couldn't understand why people stared at one another without saying a single word !

Gérard i suppose you look down upon dollylike women.
dollylike ? i am not sure there is such a word.  Is barbie dolls a better word ?

Hi Irène, Guilaine, Gérard Tregouet everyone !
It is important to know how you have to get dressed when you go to certain events. In the past people used to follow a certain standard but now it is more or less about your individual taste. People of the older generation complain about the neglect in the way Young people get dressed. Personnally I don't mind so long as people feel happy and comfortable.
When you go out you can wear active attire ( it means that it's more or less as you are) or casual attire (a little more dressy than active attire) or dressed up. If you want to lie low and not stand out of the crowd be careful about what you are wearing. By the way do you know all the words of the list below?
http://www.speakenglish.co.uk/vocab/clothing_and_personal_items?lang=fr

Clothing
Vêtements

anorak	anorak
apron	tablier
baseball cap	casquette
belt	ceinture
bikini	bikini
blazer	blouson
blouse	chemisier
boots	bottes
bow tie	noeud papillon
boxer shorts	boxer
bra	soutien-gorge
cardigan	gilet
coat	manteau
dinner jacket	smoking
dress	robe
dressing gown	robe de chambre
gloves	gants
hat	chapeau
high heels (abréviation de high-heeled shoes)	hauts talons (chaussures à talons hauts)
jacket	veste
jeans	jean
jumper	pull
knickers	culotte
leather jacket	blouson en cuir
miniskirt	mini jupe
nightie (abréviation de nightdress)	nuisette (chemise de nuit)
overalls	salopette
overcoat	pardessus
pullover	pullover
pyjamas	pyjama
raincoat	imperméable
sandals	sandales
scarf	écharpe
shirt	chemise
shoelace	lacet
shoes	chaussures (paire de chaussures)
pair of shoes	paire de chaussures
shorts	short
skirt	jupe
slippers	chaussons
socks	chaussettes
stilettos	talons aiguilles
stockings	bas
suit	costume
sweater	pull
swimming costume	maillot de bain
swimming trunks	slip de bain
thong	string
tie	cravate
tights	collants
top	haut
tracksuit	survêtement
trainers	baskets
trousers	pantalon
pair of trousers	pantalon
t-shirt	t-shirt
underpants	sous-vêtements
vest	veste
wellingtons	bottes en caoutchouc

« Page précédente		Page suivante »
Décrire des personnes		Pays et nationalités

Vous pouvez écouter tout le vocabulaire anglais contenu sur cette page. Il vous suffit de cliquer dessus pour l'entendre.

Personal items
Accessoires personnels

bracelet	bracelet
cufflinks	boutons de manchettes
comb	peigne
earrings	boucles d'oreilles
engagement ring	bague de fiançailles
glasses	lunettes
handbag	sac à main
handkerchief	mouchoir
hair tie ou hair band	bandeau
hairbrush	brosse à cheveux
keys	clés
keyring	porte-clés
lighter	briquet
lipstick	rouge à lèvres
makeup	maquillage
mirror	miroir
necklace	collier
piercing	piercing
purse	porte-monnaie
ring	bague
sunglasses	lunettes de soleil
umbrella	parapluie
walking stick	canne
wallet	portefeuille
watch	montre
wedding ring	alliance

Other related words
Autre vocabulaire apparenté

size

taille

loose	ample
tight	collant

to wear	porter
to put on	enfiler
to take off	enlever
to get dressed	s'habiller
to get undressed	se déshabiller

button	un bouton
pocket	poche
zip	fermeture éclair

to tie	attacher
to untie	défaire

to do up	boutonner
to undo	déboutonner, défaire

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Hi everyone !

Yes this is a very interesting subject. I'd like to hear more opinions about it.

Personally, I think it's very sad when people don't dress properly when going out, especially to attend specific events.
Should we really wear trainers/sneakers at the Opera-House ?
Of course, people feel comfortable sure but what about elegance in such a place ?

It is also a matter of politeness towars the others. I am thinking of my guests when I invite people for dinner.
Unless I invite them for a garden-party, I like to have them properly dressed. I don't mean with a bow tie and dinner jacket, but something like casual dress, which means they honour the hosts and respect the place.

At a wedding ceremony, it is not nice to see all sorts of attire ! Smart hats, stilettos on the one way, and jeans and pullovers, on the other. Feeling comfortable should not be the only criterion.

Formerly, people used to send invitations with the mention of the way people should dress :
Formal dress, evening dress, casual dress, sportswear etc.
Of course it is now out-of-fashion, but at least all people knew and did not find themselves out of place when meeting other people more or less dressy.

Please add some comments, it should be interesting to have other views.

Hi Guilaine, everyone !
I agree that this subject is very interesting. When we select clothes in our wardrobe do  we obey to a certain dress code depending of the occasion :   wedding, interview or dinner etc..  or do we want to be comfortable and be exactly what we are ? that is  showing what we are inside and also which impression we want to provoke in others.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/learnvest/2012/04/03/what-your-clothes-say-about-you/

It’s no news that your wardrobe says a lot about you.
What you wear can inform passersby of your type of employment, as well as your ambitions, emotions and spending habits.
And now it’s even launched a whole new type of psychology.
Clinical psychologist Dr. Jennifer Baumgartner literally wrote the book on this phenomenon, which she calls the “psychology of dress.” In “You Are What You Wear: What Your Clothes Reveal About You,” she explains not only how psychology determines our clothing choices, but how to overcome key psychological issues your wardrobe might be bringing to light in your everyday life, or even at work.

Hi Muriel,

As you know clothing is a domain for which there are differences between British and American English: we've to be careful and avoid misunderstandings.

Hi Gérard, everyone
Here is a video I find interesting

As you can see for yourselves "pants" is very confusing. Pantalon is trousers in British and pants in American
http://www.wordreference.com/enfr/pants

pants nplplural noun: Noun always used in plural form--for example, "jeans," "scissors."	US (trousers)	pantalon nmnom masculin: s'utilise avec les articles "le", "l'" (devant une voyelle ou un h muet), "un". Ex : garçon - nm > On dira "le garçon" ou "un garçon".
	(populaire)	futal, fute, falzar nmnom masculin: s'utilise avec les articles "le", "l'" (devant une voyelle ou un h muet), "un". Ex : garçon - nm > On dira "le garçon" ou "un garçon".
	Her pants had a hole in the knee.
	Son pantalon avait un trou au genou.
pants nplplural noun: Noun always used in plural form--for example, "jeans," "scissors."	UK (underpants) (plutôt pour homme)	slip nmnom masculin: s'utilise avec les articles "le", "l'" (devant une voyelle ou un h muet), "un". Ex : garçon - nm > On dira "le garçon" ou "un garçon".
	(pour femme)	culotte nfnom féminin: s'utilise avec les articles "la", "l'" (devant une voyelle ou un h muet), "une". Ex : fille - nf > On dira "la fille" ou "une fille". Avec un nom féminin, l'adjectif s'accorde. En général, on ajoute un "e" à l'adjectif. Par exemple, on dira "une petite fille".
	Under her skirt she wore lace pants.
	J'ai toujours préféré les slips aux caleçons.Cette phrase n'est pas la traduction d'une phrase anglaise.
	Elle portait une culotte en dentelle sous sa robe.

By the way could you tell us what you think about that girl's view-point about clothing;

These pieces of advice which I found in your link, Muriel, are good to remember !

If you are the type of person who keep every piece of clothing you’ve ever owned
It may mean that you are clinging to the past through the sentimental value of your pieces
You should  consider adopting the Golden Wardrobe Ratio: Get rid of 2 out of 3 items you own, including anything too big/small, ripped/torn or outdated.

If you dress too young (or too old) for your age
It may mean that you are trying to express the age you feel you are, but getting caught between your actual and internal age
You should consider gearing your outfits toward your goals (like getting a promotion, meeting a significant other, traveling the world), rather than a specific age.

Others are to be found in the link given above by Muriel. Have a look !
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