Vive les G! Trivia Quiz

Answer: a lawn

Yes, it's a lawn, tondre le gazon (ou pelouse), is to mow the lawn. Un rot is a burp. Le gazouillis is a baby's babbling or cooing, pre speech. Une cuisinière à gaz is a gas cooker or stove.

Answer: scribbling

Yes indeed it's scribbling. Favorite teacher's phrase, "C'est tout gribouillé!" To grab= attraper. Attacher au mur might be one way of hammering something to the wall, or clouer, literally to nail.

Answer: a wasp

You'll notice that if you're looking for a word and it has gu, that if you substitute a W, you'll often get closer to its meaning in English. This is historical though. Thus, the Vespa which is driven around in France quite often, is wasp in Italian but not French. Une guêpière is a sort of corset, still worn on occasion, because of course it gives you a "taille de guêpe" or wasp waist, what we'd call an hourglass figure these days. A bee is of course "une abeille".

Answer: to manage or direct

This is a very popular word but "le management" is gaining on it. Le gérant is the director of a shop or the manager. Une école de gestion is a management school. It often means in slang to be in control of a situation, I've even heard it in terms of dating. Garer is to park. tourner is to turn..retourner.

Answer: To watch, to be on the lookout

Faire le guet is to be on the lookout. "qui est-ce qui passe ici si tard, compagnons de la marjolaine?" Guetter means this.

Answer: a cheapskate, a miser

A piggy bank might be a tire-lire or a cache-maille. There are several terms used. Other words for a miser are "un avare" of course, "un pingre", "un radin" and many many others!

Answer: It's a lump

Yes it's a lump. Many French people detest lumpy mashed potatoes. Whereas for some of us, that's the point. I love them!

Answer: a frog pond or a baby garment

Yes friends, this one is rather odd. If you've studied art history, you'll recognize it from Renoir and Monet's paintings of the little restaurant they hung out in and painted at. But it also means a baby garment, presumably because they look like little frogs? The others don't really have an equivalent.

Answer: to inflate or blow up

Gonfler not only means to blow something up like a tire or balloon, but it means to get on one's nerves, and also "il est gonflé", which means he's got the nerve! Dégonfler is to deflate.

Answer: the flu

La grippe killed many many people in France and even now, people take advantage of their vaccinations each year. Quand vous prenez quelqu'un en grippe, you really can't stand them!
Les rides are wrinkles. Une plainte or une reclame might be a complaint.