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Overheard in Montréal department store: un sacre québécois (#679)
Y’a du monde en crisse In a department store, I witnessed a guy in his 30s take a look at the long line-up at the cash and then say to his girlfriend: Y’a du monde en crisse. There’s a lot of fucking...
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Larousse extends a welcome to the nags of Québec (#680)
I saw this illuminated ad in the métro for the Petit Larousse 2014 from France: Bienvenue aux CHIALEUX et aux CHIALEUSES. The Larousse people are letting us know that these québécois usages have been...
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3 expressions used by a woman in her 20s in Montréal (#681)
During a conversation in French last weekend, a young woman in her 20s used three expressions over and over while speaking: 1. Là, j’étais comme… 2. Moi là… 3. Fait que là… Here’s what they mean...
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10 new examples of spontaneous French overheard in Montréal (#682)
Casa d’Italia à Montréal (métro Jean-Talon) I’ve been keeping my ears open for you! Here are 10 new examples of overheard French. All 10 are spontaneous examples that I caught someone say while out and...
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An unusual sign for a lost cat in Montréal (#683)
I came across this unusual (and passive-aggressive?) sign in a Montréal street for a lost cat. You can click on it to make it bigger. There are a few mistakes in it, so I’ve fixed them below. I’ve also...
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More overheard French from Montréal + a listening recommendation (#684)
An orange bug parked in Montréal 1. Ton p’tit nom, c’est quoi? What’s your name? Someone I had just met turned the conversation to our names. He asked what my name was with: ton p’tit nom, c’est quoi?...
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WTF is a “ouate” in French? (#688)
I took a photo of some jumbo ouates in a supermarket: Did you catch the literal meaning of ouate de phoque printed on the t-shirt in entry #687? I wanted to take a photo of a cuddly, little phoque, but...
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Crucifix, décâlisse! Femen at the Assemblée nationale du Québec (#689)
At the Assemblée nationale du Québec, a crucifix hangs on the wall. Le crucifix at the Assemblée nationale is a source of debate in Québec. Some people would like to see this symbole religieux taken...
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3 things to learn in Quebec French (#690)
Election signs in Montréal 1. ch’t'à boutte While doing a search on Google, I stumbled across the phrase ch’t'à boutte. Ch’t'à boutte is a colloquial way of saying, “that’s it, I’ve had it!” You can’t...
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Slow down: What my foot has taught me about making progress (#691)
Last year while in Italy, I was hit by a van. The van drove over my left foot, crushing all the toes and the ankle. My foot looks pretty mangled. Three months after the accident (and three surgeries...
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A young guy sends a text message in French from my phone (#692)
A guy in his late teens or early 20s standing in front of a shopping centre asked me if he could use my phone. He was waiting for a friend to pick him up, but it was taking his friend a long time to...
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4 new examples of French overheard in Montréal (#693)
Here’s some more everyday French overheard in Montréal for you to learn. 1. Elle cherche la chicane. She wants to a pick a fight. I overheard a woman say this to her friend. Une chicane is a fight or...
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Understand rounded-off prices at the cash when shopping in Québec (#694)
Chris asks what the phrase arrondissement du cent means on a receipt he received at the grocery store (à l’épicerie). The penny (sou noir or cenne noire) isn’t used in Canada anymore, so the price you...
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Learn 3 French expressions containing a word borrowed from English (#695)
In an article from the Journal de Montréal called “Pas les moyens de rêver” (3 November 2013), journalist Richard Martineau used three French expressions that borrow a word from English: 1. gérer la...
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2 overheard examples of French + a tongue twister (#696)
Some more French overheard (and seen) in Montréal for you: 1. J’ai comme pas trouvé la poubelle After eating her meal, a young woman walked around with her finished tray of food. She was looking for...
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In Québec, a sleepless night = a night spent on the clothesline (#697)
If you share the bed with someone who snores, you know all about having rough nights and getting little sleep. (Get a good pair of ear plugs.) In French, when you have a rough night, you could say that...
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5 new colloquial items in French with detailed pronunciation notes (#698)
Here are 5 new items for you to learn in French: 3 colloquial French expressions overheard in Montréal 2 images related to dogs seen in Montréal 1. Hier y’a fait chaud en tabarouette! It was darn hot...
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7 words borrowed from English that became feminine in Québécois French (#699)
The CBC’s Canada Writes published an interview about OffQc today. Take a look when you get the chance. They asked me why it’s difficult to learn French the “traditional” way, how to keep your ears and...
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Madame, t’as-tu vingt-cinq cennes S.V.P.? (#700)
If you live in Montréal and read the Métro while riding the métro, perhaps you’ve come across Julie Laferrière’s column Hors du commun on Tuesdays. In her column, Laferrière shares her experiences...
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Do you know these 8 French items related to winter? (#701)
It surely comes as no surprise to you — Montréal gets a lot of snow in the winter: de la marde blanche (the white shit)! If you drive a car, you’ll need a shovel, une pelle, to dig yourself out after a...
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