Ladling the French back in my head...

[msfledermaus]

Recently I thought it would be a good idea to practice what was left of my French, so I bought a smallish French conversation book. Some of the phrases are very very helpful, and it's amazing how much of the French I learned in school is still in my head somewhere. And there's the occasional words or phrases my professeurs never got around to teaching me...

Things like, "J'ai un probleme. La chambre est plein des cafards, et les prostituees sont trop bruyante!"
(Translation: "I have a problem. The room is full of cockroaches, and the prostitutes are too noisy!)

Then there's inelegant names you can call people, embarrasing body parts, and so on. I'm delighted I can add to my rusty, rust textbook French a small arsenal of cusswords. So far my favorite is simple and straightforward: "Connard". Meaning, jerk. Perfect for every occasion!...