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From April 1st to April 30th I posted every day but Sundays a French idiom, its literal translation, and its best American English equivalent.
- I had previously considered writing about French popular expressions but always postponed the task. It’s only when a friend of mine asked me to join her for the A to Z challenge that I finally wrote A Month of French Idioms.
Like anyone else I benefit from an occasional Coup de Pied aux Fesses or Kick in the Butt.
- The response from the people who already read me but also from new readers was positive, encouraging me to explore similar themes for my blog.
Receiving good feedback Donne des Ailes or Give Wings.
- I never blog on a daily basis and don’t plan to do so, but during the month of April my productivity in other areas of my writing increased.
Sometimes Travailler Contre la Montre or Working Against the Clock is good.
- These idioms had been with me since a long time. In fact I realized that I used at least one in my two novels Trapped in Paris and Chronicles From Chateau Moines.
Ne Sois Pas une Poule Mouillée : Don’t Be a Wet Hen or Don’t Be a Chicken.
- Thanks to Mary’s suggestion I am now recording the idioms for your enjoyment.
J’ai du Pain Sur la Planche : I Have some Bread on the Wooden Board or I Have Some Significant Work to Do.
- Would I do it again or am I disappointed?
What do you think of the A to Z challenge if you participated? If you didn’t, did it trigger your desire to give it a try next year?
And to each of you who kindly stuck with me for a month: Thank you. Merci. See you soon. A bientôt.
Evelyne Holingue 
I really enjoyed your trip through French idioms. I took French for a lot of years in high school and college. It was nice to bring back some of those memories. But also, because I like the way you write and I’m fascinated by language, linguistics and the culture idioms represent.
Would I like to participate? Not really. I’m trying to blog less, not more. I already feel overwhelmed. The idea of committing to a month-long project is over the top. Not this year 🙂
Thank you, Marilyn. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed yourself. Since you write or post photos on a daily basis, you definitely don’t need to be part of such a challenge! See you around.
J’ai adoré!
It was a lot of fun finding out about the roots of the idioms. Congratulations on finishing!
I for my behalf will be back.
Merci, Solveig. Of all people I’m not surprised that you enjoyed this series. Keeping up with a trilingual blog is not an easy feast. Bravo for already knowing that you want to do the A to Z challenge again.
I tend to translate German idioms into French all the time, we always have a good laugh.
Well it isn’t 100% trilingual, after all I do not plan to translate all of my entries. Just sometimes one language suits the story I am telling better than the others.
I agree with you that some words sound sometimes better suited in one language than another. 😊
I found your blog late on, but enjoyed your theme. Look forward to seeing where you go next.
Anabel’s Travel Blog
Adventures of a retired librarian
C’est formidable! I rally enjoyed popping by every now and again to see what idiom you were up to. Well done! I have tried blogging every day for a set period of time and found it to be quite stressful unless I scheduled posts in advance but that meant I had to be very organised. How did you do I?.
I agree with you, Debbie, that blogging every day is stressful. It also takes time from other writing projects. For this series, yes, I prepared my posts in advance. Although I changed several at the last minute when I thought of a better one. I had a great time reading the comments but I’m not made to blog every day. Not enough interesting things to share! Thank you for your support.
I thoroughly enjoyed your treatment of the A-to-Z challenge as well as that by the others that I followed. I am giving serious thought to making the attempt next year. I have an idea, and I think I can make it work. Is there a French equivalent of “Only time will tell” Evelyne?
Thanks, Dan. You blog so regularly that it shouldn’t be a problem for you. Yes, there is a French equivalent for the English expression “Only time will tell.”
We say, “Seul l’avenir le dira,” or “Only the future will tell.”
You could also say, “Qui vivra verra,” or “Who will live will see.”
My challenge will be to keep it to a couple of longer posts per week and still incorporate the Thursday Doors. I don’t want my readers to get tired of me. I think I can do it. The topic will require some up-front work, but I think I can write the posts daily-ish.
Actually really enjoyed the A-Z challenge Evelyne – is was engaging and fun to read how different and similar the idioms are. I really enjoyed how you described each idioms during the month – I could relate to each one.
Thank you for the call out. I won’t be participating, but I did enjoy following and reading along this fascinating journey of French – English idioms.
Thank you, Mary. You post your artwork on an almost daily basis and do so many personal artistic challenges that you don’t need to add another one.
You gave me the idea for the recording. I just need a small change in the format of my blog and I will soon be able to add it. So thank you again!
That is really cool Evelyne, can’t wait to hear it!
I loved the idioms A to Z — and you’ve inspired me to do a series on my Write Through It blog. 🙂 Over the last few years, I’ve compiled observations about writing and editing and called them “Sturgis’s Laws.” They’re tongue-in-cheeky and useful at the same time. So I’ve just started an occasional series — there are only 17 laws so far and I don’t want to use them up too quickly. Thanks for the idea!
It would be a very cool idea for your blog, Susanna. I’m happy to have triggered the idea, although I’m sure you would have come up with it at some point. Would you have the “Sturgis’s Laws” in alphabetical order too? In this case you need to gather 26. But you could also find a different format. In any case it will be interesting to see.
I didn’t get a chance to visit your blog during the challenge, so I’m trying to read a lot of people’s reflection posts. Seemed like you had a great theme for the challenge and it was well received 🙂 It is challenging to blog every day. On average not during the challenge I might blog once a week or so, it does help to have the posts ready beforehand 🙂
Now onto next year’s challenge!
betty
One of the challenges of this challenge was to target the blogs similar to ours, I think. I spent time at the beginning trying to find them. In the end I followed only very few. Like you I blog once or twice a week and sometimes less. It was good writing and discipline practice. Thank you, Betty, for visiting me and best to you.
tu auras eu une excellente idée, Evelyne, donc absolument rien à regretter… 🙂 merci, bonne continuation & à+! amicales pensées, Mél@nie
😊 merci, Mélanie.
Hi, sorry I did not come across your blog before, your theme sounds really interesting, will have to go back and read some.
Do not apologize, Martine. There are so many blogs and so little time…
Come back whenever you want. I’m not going anywhere!
I did the Challenge last year and really enjoyed it, but I knew I wouldn’t have time this year, so I didn’t even try. I have a feeling next year will be even worse. I’ve really enjoyed reading your posts, though. Great theme!
Thani you, Melinda. The challenge takes time, that’s a fact. The best way is to work on it before. As soon as I knew I would do it, since I already had the idea of the idioms, I wrote them down each time I thought of one. It was much less work and stressful than doing it from scratch once a day. I’m glad you enjoyed and I hope to see you again.
I enjoyed reading your descriptions of French idioms, and I admire you for posting something every day. I have a hard time posting something new every week.
Thank you, Nicki. As I told Melinda, above, I prepared my material in advance. Although I adjusted and even changed as I went, I often had three posts ready in advance. It helped me to do other writing on the side. The topic was right in my niche, so it also helped. Plus people were so supportive that I was encouraged to move on. Glad to return to a slower posting mode, though! 😊
It’s interesting that often the more you write, the more that stimulates you to write. I admire the commitment, but I don’t think I could post something every day – it’s a great achievement Evelyne! And I love ‘give wings’ what a great way to express giving someone good feedback.
Nice to read your thoughts about writing productivity, Andrea. In the same way having too much time on our hands doesn’t always help, I felt that being committed to a daily post stimulated my brain. I wouldn’t do it on a regular basis, but I noticed how much I wrote while doing this challenge. I also like the expression “Donner des Ailes,” which conveys a lovely message. See you soon, Andrea.
Félicitations ! (un peu en retard 🙂 ) Votre “A à Z” était fantastique ! I really enjoyed reading and learning all these; merci mille fois !
Merci beaucoup! Votre thème était super aussi. J’ai aimé lire vos impressions sur la France en tant qu’américaine francophile. Bravo pour avoir écrit vos billets à la fois en anglais et français. À plus tard! 😊
Congrats on completing the A to Z Challenge! Looking forward to next year! See you on the Road Trip!
Mary http://www.JingleJangleJungle.net
Thank you, Mary. Congrats to you too. I’m not sure yet about next year, although I am tempted. We’ll see…