True English

stuff noun  (THING(S))

B1 [U] informal a ​substance, ​especially when you do not ​know or say ​exactly what it is: There's ​sticky stuff all over the ​chair.What's this ​black stuff?He ​drinks ​gallons of ​tea - he ​loves the stuff.› [U] informal things that someone says or does, when you are referring to them in a ​general way without saying ​exactly what they are: All that stuff she has been saying about Lee is just not ​true.We did some really ​interesting stuff today.I have to go now - I've got stuff to do.I've ​read all her ​books - I really like her stuff.› [U] informal someone's possessions or things that they take ​somewhere with them: We'll have to ​carry all ​our ​camping stuff.Do you ​want ​help ​bringing ​your stuff in from the ​van?We can't ​move to a ​smaller ​place - we've got too much stuff.and stuff › used to refer to more things of a ​similar ​kind to ​ones you have ​mentioned, when you do not say ​exactly what they are: This is the ​drawer where I ​keep ​paper and ​envelopes and stuff.The ​classrooms all have ​computers and ​interactive ​whiteboards and stuff.I was ​embarrassed because he ​wanted to ​talk about ​love and stuff.

Hi everyone !
it's a word useful to know
There is the expression : He knows his stuff. He knows a lot about his subject

Yes Muriel, very convenient indeed.
So "stuff" can easily replace "any" noun".
As you know, "to get" can easily replace a verb.

Woud you get such adjectives? adverbs?
LOL
English would become so easy then.

Hi Gérard, everyone !
I like the expression "to be starry-eyed"
It means that one has  hopes and desires that are not realistic or practical. Perhaps is it close to having a forward-thinking nature. What is unrealistic to-day can be realistic in the future can't it ?

Hi everyone,

Today I heard a word that was new to me... so I thought.

"Don't leave your gear all over the place".

Gear, gear, gear... I understood according to the context but this word sounded weird.
As usual, I picked up my dictionary to learn more; This behavior permitted me to
- realise that I had forgotten the meanings
- better understand the reason of gear as the kind of stick I use to drive my car
- learn new words

I'm not happy to have forgotten what I already read in the past! I should use this meaning more often to better engrave it in my memory.

I don't know whether I'm right or not but here are my thoughts:

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays from Mick, Keith, Charlie & Ronnie!

For me this expression "Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays" would not be written in the States where they avoid the word "Christmas" considered as religious.

Today I read "Happy Christmas" in an ad related to kid toys, I was very surprised as I thought "merry" was quite mandatory with Christmas: obviously not.

Hi folks,

I had the opportunity to ask many questions about Christmas and New Year to an EMT; I asked so many questions that I forgot half

- yes they send their cards in December as they want it to arrive in time and they don't trust the organisation to do its business within less than 3 weeks
- some eccentric people can say "Happy Christmas"; just to show off: it's unusual and the expression remains "Merry Christmas" (never "Merry New Year")
- vocally, you don't wish before the 24th or you speak about the holidays that come
You wish a "Merry Christmas" on the 24, 25, exceptionaly on the 26 and, if late, you don't say "Merry Christmas" but just hope they had (past tense) a nice meeting, etc.
- same thing for the new year, vocally you don't wish long before the D date; you won't wish "Happy New Year" after the 2nd but you can speak about the past celebrations duraing the whole January, or describe your wished for the year to come - you don't use the expression "Happy NY" in January -.

Another topic now.

Brits and Am have different expressions regarding the toilet.

First, 'toilet" is singular and not plural (like in French).
My dictionary says Brits use toilet for individuals (home) and toilets for public ones and that Am use bathroom for indiciduals and restroom for public
For women, Brits say ladies and Am say ladies' room.
For men, Brits say gentlemen's or Gents and Am say men's room.

The Am "restroom" is not used in the UK.

Now,
The Brits also use "loo" which is not understood by Americans.
People explained to me this came from a joke.
Brits used (no longer) WC or Water Closet. Just to joke, instead of Water Closet, some people used to say "water... loo" thinking of the big victory against the froggies, "loo" was kept.

Hi there,

Surprisingly, my subject today is rather close to the former one... psychologists may have something to say


I'd like to illustrate a word that I found funny: guzunder,

A guzunder is a chamber pot.
Chamber pot is a word that any Frenchperson over 50 will understand as Chamber pot is very close to the French word.

A chamber pot (also a jordan, a jerry, a guzunder, a po (possibly from French: pot de chambre), a piss pot, a potty, or a thunder pot) is a bowl-shaped container with a handle, and often a lid, kept in the bedroom under a bed or in the cabinet of a nightstand and generally used as a toilet at night. In Victorian times, some chamber pots would be built into a cabinet with a closeable cover.

In North America and the United Kingdom, the term "potty" is often used when discussing the toilet with small children, such as during potty training. It is also usually used to refer to the small, toilet-shaped devices made especially for potty training, which are similar to chamber pots. These "potties" are generally a large plastic bowl with an ergonomically-designed back and front to protect against splashes.

(more details from Wikipedia).

Now, what I find funny is guzunder.
Guzunder - the appliance was often kept under the bed, hence "goes under" or the alternate spelling guzunder (another alternative was to keep it in the cabinet of a nightstand (a cabinet being a small piece of furniture with a door - bottom of the nightstand, bathroom cabinet=armoire de toilette, medicine cabinet= armoire à pharmacie, etc)).

Hope you find guzunder as funny as I do.

Yes Gérard, we all enjoyed reading about "guzunder" It's very funny and I didn't know that word.
I just want to add something about "Potty training". English people are very good with baby things and in Mother care there are lots of very practical devices. My daughter received a very nice game about potty training from her English mother in law when her little girl was 2 and it worked wonders.
In Belgium people also say "Je vais à la toilette" did you know that ?

Hi Muriel,

> ... reading about "guzunder" It's very funny and I didn't know that word.
That word is known by people over 50, who had this every night under their bed.
Nowadays, the toilet is close to the bedroom, adults don't use a guzunder any more, kids use a "potty".

French, Italian mothers are good at dealing with kids.
> My daughter received a very nice game about potty training
I'm not surprised as I'm impressed by the numerous and wonderful nursery rhymes, as well as the phrases adults remember all their lives, as well as the funny names they keep using (I mean that every animal has a kind name: Mickey mouse, Teddy bear, etc.)
Here again, the English culture is very cool... the French are far more "serious" (and boring).

Hi Gérard !
I have always been using English songs and stories with my children and grandchildren. I am not a native speaker and the use of these devices is very important for me. Any way I can't  tell if the French way of  bringing up children is boring or not

Hi Muriel,

You are right when you choose English nursery rhymes for kids.
We also have to keep in mind that poshy French families are very keen on "English nurses" which implies skills.

> I can't tell if the French way of bringing up children is boring or not
I used the adjective "boring": I was not thinking of raising children but of French adults in general who are famous for being too serious (and rather boring).

French adults in general who are famous for being too serious (and rather boring).

Gérard it is true that the English practice self-mockery but the French don't. French people don't let go and control themselves because they don't like to look stupid whereas the English don't mind.
(This is what an English friend of mine told me one day)

> (This is what an English friend of mine told me one day)
I agree Muriel.
In companies, in case of a mistake, faulty Frenchmen try to escape, to hide things, to say someone else is faulty, etc.
In America (and the UK), the guy who is faulty just says it: the result is that other people cannot criticize or attack much: what do you want to add when the faulty guy already said the truth?
These behaviors are due to our societies (cultures): in America, making a mistake is not a big problem, people are forgiven and just have to do better (they can be fired but it's not a problem, next employers don't care much), in France, people are not forgiven easily as if Frenchmen needed to lower others to feel higher and happier (in France, the opponent is the other, not ourself).
Remember that famous American "faulty" persons have to say the reality in public; lying is something "monstruous", impossible - think of Bill Clinton (and Monika).
Not faulty but famous American people must absolutely publicly declare if they have AIDS.

The difference b/w US and France can also seen at school (primary, secondary, university): how are mistakes considered?

as if Frenchmen needed to lower others to feel higher and happier

It is time the French students learnt how to develop teamwork
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23300215

Cooperation is essential for the functioning of human societies

What about thinning mirrors, they are good aren't they ?

Bonjour à tous,

Je vais rédiger mes réflexions en Français.

Plus ça va plus je découvre (disons suis persuadé) que la langue anglaise vient du Français (les statistiques l'attestent).
Etudier l'anglais c'est un peu faire de l'archéologie et je trouve la chose émouvante.

Le Québec a été séparé de la France suite au traité de Paris du 10 février 1763. Vu les faibles contacts avec la France métropolitaine, les langues du Québec et de France ont ensuite divergé montrant quelques différences "amusantes" (je veux dire qu'il y a quelques pièges) après 250 ans.
Guillaume le Conquérant a conquis l'Angleterre en 1066. A l'époque il y avait 2 langues pour les chevaliers et pour les paysans (Français et Saxon). Il est normal qu'après près de 1000 ans, les différences soient grandes.

Dans la langue anglaise se retrouvent des tas de mots à racine française.
De temps en temps je réalise combien les langues sont liées, en quelque sorte le sens des mots a vécu sa vie (en Anglais et en Français), souvent conservé un vieux sens du 11ème siècle dans la langue anglaise ! Les Anglais sont très respectueux et font tout leur possible pour bien prononcer mais c'est une chose malaisée si bien qu'il faut parfois gratter pour s'apercevoir que les mots sont les mêmes (avec des sens légèrement différents -sens parfois anciens-).

Il y a quelques jours, je me suis aperçu que "hurt" -à première vue "faire mal" (aussi (se) blesser, nuire, etc.")- ressemblait bougrement à notre "heurter" (cogner, offenser, rencontrer, s'affronter). Je ne connais pas l'usage de heurter il y a 1000 ans mais il y a de la similarité.

Ce matin, j'avais à me pencher sur le mot "country". Ce mot signifie à première vue "pays" (à première vue rien à voir)... pays, nation, peuple, patrie sont des notions modernes ; le mot utilisé dans les temps anciens était plus flou et signifiait plutôt "région" : "contrée(s), contrées lointaines".
"Country" / "contrées" : ça se ressemble, non ?

Qu'en pensez-vous ? Avez-vous d'autres exemples que mes "hurt/heurter" et "country/contrée" du jour ?

Good friends and family! It gives me great pride/joy/feelings of inadequacy to announce that I'm competing for a final time with the impossibly talented NUDance at LSU Dance Competition this weekend. For those of you who want to see the result of everyone's hard work LIVE from the comfort of your own home, the event will be live streamed here: http://media.lsu.co.uk
Best of luck team!!!

Well this is the message my nephew posted on Facebook today.

The common comments from friends were:

(mom's friend) Break a leg Adam. I'll be thinking of you.
(sister) Break a leg sainzy!! Wish I could be there to cheer you on
(auntie) Break the other one Adam. I hope it all goes well.
(friend) Good luck, Adam

I didn't dare write "break a leg" so I wrote -like in the States-: "WTG Adam!"

I didn't dare write "Break a leg" for a dancer as it looked to me a rather weird wish.

But no, "break a leg" is well the appropriate response.

Note that, in French, you must not say: "Bonne chance !" to a dancer...

Thanks Gérard ! I didn't know that "break a leg" meant "good luck". Very strange indeed !

MurielB a écrit:Thanks Gérard ! I didn't know that "break a leg" meant "good luck". Very strange indeed !

Muriel,
The origin is not clear.
However, it is said that this comes from horse racing. They didn't wish "good luck" as it was bringing bad luck... they had noticed that when people wished something good it never happened, they concluded wishing anything would never happend so they chose to wish to break a leg (of the horse) so it would never happen!
A bit complicated and weird, hey?

Muriel,
Something funny I just found on Wikipedia is:

The expression reflects a theatrical superstition in which wishing a person "good luck" is considered bad luck. The expression is sometimes used outside the theatre as superstitions and customs travel through other professions and then into common use. Among professional dancers, the traditional saying is not "break a leg," but "merde".

( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Break_a_leg )
So finally, the best is to say it in French

~~~

I read that "Break a leg" is the expression dedicated to performers, and especially todancers which is exactly my nephew's role this weekend somewhere in England.

Continued on  page 20

If you're interested in my nephew's success, here it is:
Done we are done! 
So proud of you guys 
Three years in a row!! 


FYI my nephew is in the center of the photo.
Adam has well the French nationality but he's studying in the UK as his mother is a New Zealander.
Adam has been studying in Nottingham for his 1st year as his brother left after his degree: Matthew is still better than Adam at dancing (he spent several months at the Moulin Rouge last year) and participated in the contest last year and won the trophy as well.
Both already danced in Dubai where they performed wonderful flashmobs (especially at the Intl airport).
Surprisingly their eldest sister didn't dance but she is a very talented horse rider, and now a lawyer.

congratulations for your nephew's success Gérard !