Excuse My French! FLUENT FRENCH WITHOUT THE FAUX PAS has been written by Rachel Best and Jean-Christophe Van Waes.
For English Rachel and French Jean-Christophe life in a bilingual relationship has caused many amusing miscomprehensions, embarrassing explanations and often sheer bewilderment about why anyone would want to beat around the bush. Realising they couldn’t be alone, Excuse My French! sets out to decipher all of those phrases, idioms and metaphors that really do get lost in translation.
Perfect for anyone who has ever considered themselves fluent in French only to realize they never quite get the punch line to the joke or aren’t quite sure if Bête comme ses pieds is a good thing or a bad thing (As thick as two short planks/As stupid as your feet), the book contains over 700 expressions in English and French and is divided into 12 chapters which cover all the essential topics, including food & drink, money, business, work and sex.
Some examples :
– “To get lucky”: “Passer à la casserole”
– “To be as mad as a box of frogs”: “Avoir une araignée au plafond”
– “To swing both ways”: “Etre bique et bouc” (to be Billy and Nanny goat!)
Written in a fresh, light-hearted way, the book covers the things the travel guides leave out, including all the slang and chat we really use. Packed with quizzes, glossaries and interesting historical details behind the phrases, Excuse my French! is a must for any student, tourist or business person travelling across the Channel as well as a saving grace for any Anglo-French friendships or romances.
This book is without doubt the best thing since the Channel Tunnel to bring the Frogs and Rosbifs closer together!
Published by Kyle Books, on 21st March 2013, priced £9.99
Buy it now here!
