je vous en réponds, ‘ you may depend on it
Un peu... vaisselle, ‘ Keeps rather a sharp eye on the dishes. ?
Note that Zabourer signifies to ‘plough,’ and travailler to ‘labour.’
vers blancs, ‘ grub.
pour faire... fouilles, ‘to have some excavations made.’
carte des Gaules, ‘map of Gaul.’ La Gaule is the common form, but the plural is used sometimes, parti-
cularly when attention is directed to the divisions of Gaul.
J'ai du flair, ‘I have a keen scent.? fair is used generally in speaking of dogs ; here, it has a comical effect.
I1ya....là-dessous! ‘There are Roman remains under there !’ Note the adjective used substantively.
dans ce... entorse, ‘at present he is suffering from a sprain.”
pratiqué, ‘ made.’
sans prévenir personne, ‘without warning anybody. ‘Prevent’ is to be translated generally by empêcher. Note that sans is followed by negatives : sans rien faire, ‘without doing anything,’ sans argent ni amie, ‘ without money or friends. ?
il est tombé dedans, ‘he fell into it.” The pronoun ‘it,’ referring to things, after prepositions, is frequently omitted in translating into French: ‘one book on the table and the other under it," un livre sur la table et
l’autre dessous. .
vous m’avez.... danseur ? “you have laid up my partner
for me?” Note that abîmer signifies primarily to ‘throw into an abyss,’ then to ‘ destroy,” ‘spoil,’ etc.
Croyez-vous qu’il guérisse ? ‘Do you think he will get better?’ Why subjunctive ?
quelques, ‘a few.’
car le....se marier, ‘for he will s00n be old enough to get married.” Note the following phrases : i/ va se Marier, ‘he is going to be married (or ‘to get married ’), il s’est
Norss,
dans l'église de Notre-Dame, ‘the bishop married them in the church of Notre Dame.”
Est-ce qu'il viendrait demander, ‘I wonder if he has come (more literally ‘comes”) to ask.” Note the force of the conditional.
J'aurais, ‘I might have” Ah!....peur! ‘Oh, dear me, how frighteneu I am !
‘He’s cracked on that !
je vais vous installer, ‘I shall put you to rights.’
Compare the phrase : on es à installés dans leur nouveau logement, ‘they häve been settled in their new quarters.
Tant mieux, ‘I am glad of it,” : That's good.’
Ça sent le romain, ici! ‘The place reeks with anti. quities !” This Jin de scène is extremely effective with its farcical humour.
Coucher, ‘sleep.’ Note the Phrases : coucher un enfant, ‘to put a child to bed”; se coucher, ‘to go to bed.’
prendre, ‘catch,’ ‘win over.’
C'est....machines-là | ‘Those plaguy things are very heavy !’ The whole expression is quite familiar,— both the singular verb and also the word machines, used 50 often colloquially for ‘thing in a more or less contemptuous sense. The situation is quite humorous,
Débarrasse-moi de Sa, ‘Take these things away.’
tu la feras Cuire, ‘you will cook it. Cuire is often transitive but often also neuter, as here. Compare faire bouillir de Peau, ‘to boil water’ ; l'eau bout, ‘the water boils.
Voilà... . maintenant, ‘My master is doing his own marketing now.”
Tout en promenant mon chou, ‘ As I was carrying my cabbage along.’
la Page. Line, de 12. 19. serais, see p. 11, lines 4 and 6.
re 21. le portefeuille, Cuboussat's ambition has suggested to him à rank even higher than that mentioned by Machut, ee —# Minister’s portfolio.
of 25. je ne sais pas l'orthographe, ‘I can't spell.” 26. on ne sait... prendre, ‘you never know how to take them.’ Note that savoir may be used with or without : pas in negative phrases, without any great difference in : meaning.
tantôt....caractères! : sometimes they agree, sômetimes they don’t agree... . what beastly tempers !” There is a jeu de mots in the word s'accordent which fortunately can be reproduced in English : #uccorder signifies to ‘agree ” in the &rammatical, as well as in the social sense, Fichu is a quite colloquial and undignified expression. prétentieux is used here ‘high-toned ?).
J'ai appris, ‘I learned.” Note tense.
le commerce des bois de charpente, ‘the lumber trade.” je eube.... rédige Pas, ‘I can measure lumber, but 1 Cannot compose.” It seems best to supply ‘ can.’ remettre, ‘hand.
POVU, ‘ revised.
chère petite, ‘dear child,’ ‘dear girl’ Tiens ! ‘ Hallo !”, ‘ See here !’ Sans doute, ‘Of course.’ J'ose le dire, ‘I make bold to say.” UNS. Sis one of the letters sometimes put in the feminine, although it is here in the masculine, vient d'arriver, ‘has just arrived.’
Nya....désirais, ‘Fora long time I had wished.” Note tense,
Note that in archéologique, ch is pronounced like £. amuse, ‘interests, ?
in the sense of chic (‘elegant;'
Nores. 49
Nores.
n'ose, The particle Pas may be omitted after oser, Note again the discourse,
13. une nouvelle... + Considérable, This is an example of producing comic effect, used by comic writers of all ages and Countries, viz., by repeating some phrase a number of times during the course of the play. Compare P. 8, 1 20; p. 10, 1 11.
19. fourre isa humorous word in this connection. the idea that Caboussat is being pushed in wi
Pleonastic construction #0 Common in familiar
not wish to go. i 22 pour une Surprise, ‘it’s all Very well as à surprise. 16. 11. Soyez tranquille ! ‘Don't be uneasy !”, ‘You may depend I shall not !
