Probably won't be posting much till the middle of next week as we are expecting an arrivage.
In the meantime, I wonder what the most recognised word in the world is? Mac? Gates? Jackson? Brad? Obama?
My contribution is: blog.
This is a pity because it is, in my opinion, a horrible word. It is ugly and vaguely obscene to English-speaking ears, I should have thought.
Greetings Barnaby
ReplyDeleteDespite having a working knowledge of French I'm mystified by the meaning of "arrivage". New Baby perhaps but my wife said you would sure use more poetic langauge for such an happy event. A delivery by PTT perhaps? The British equivalent the Royal Mail is not achieving too many of those here at present because of industrial action - the sooner they are de-nationalised the better.
A guest coming to stay? Furniture delivery... The mystery deepens.
Hi Jerry,
ReplyDelete"Arrivage" is a word loosely used to denote a delivery or consignment. Your wife is quite, one would not use it to speak about a "happy event"! You quite often see it in restaurant menus to indicate that a particular item, such as lobster for example, is subject to availability on the market - "homard selon arrivage"!
Here, the reference is to the arrival of my son, hiw wife and their 18 month son from England, PLUS my daughter from Paris PLUS my parents-in-law from the Jura. The latter two items left yesterday and my son and family tomorrow (French rail strike permitting!)
blog = 'blog = weblog = web log
ReplyDeleteweb from a synonym for the internet.
log, as in logbook, but more as connotating diary.
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While I'm at it:
careen, or career?
straightjacket, or straitjacket?
-lesle