The French expression we choose this time is “vouloir le beurre et l’argent du beurre”. This literally means to want the butter and the butter money. In English the equivalent expression is “to want the cake and eat it.” How funny that to express this situation both the French and English languages use food as…
As we conclude a meeting, one of the attendees says “Le temps, c’est de l’argent.” And yes, time is money, but what about the word money throughout time? For thousands of years, French (like other languages) has evolved from common roots. This helps to build a narrative about words and see them as they relate…
This word, rendez-vous, has an exciting history and it was borrowed into the English language centuries ago. In fact, as early as 1556, we can find this word in the History & Antiquities of Hengrave, Suffolk (1). Even then, the English (le anglais) enjoyed throwing French words around. Go figure that many who want to…
As I continue my adventure to learn French, I wonder just how many French words have made it into English. As a near-native English speaker, I realized that this could serve as a handy shortcut to make a mental connection between some English and French words. Or, to simply focus more on English words that…
So it has been a year of learning the French language and exploring the culture. Insights came gradually and there were many. But a few stood out after one year. 1. Daily news in the local language is under-rated. Read the news in French to get up-to-date with the frequently used nouns, verbs, and adjectives…