Thanks Charlie!

Drawing by Lucille Clerc.
Free speech  is the way ideas are tested, in contrast to orthodoxy being owned by the most powerful trying to impose their ways of thinking.  
Without freedom to challenge orthodoxy, any other freedoms will not last long...

banger

His car's an old banger:
Sa voiture est un vieux tacot, vieille bagnole

Bangers and mash:  
les saucisses à la purée  

Reverso dictionary

This dictionary is a valuable tool, it’s free, online and collaborative. Words are put into context so it’s easier to understand the scope of the new vocabulary you've just learned. 

It also provides a feature that allows you to save a word or an expression in your personal list, then you can go through this list from time to time to commit those words to memory. 

To activate this functionality, you need to set up an account for free:

German version : http://woerterbuch.reverso.net/

French version: http://dictionnaire.reverso.net/francais-anglais/

There is version for Android for those who have an android device such as a tablet or a smartphone. There are plenty of other languages but the English one is the most comprehensive.

To be tickled pink

I'm tickled pink. - Je suis aux anges
to tickle = chatouiller

Bread and Roses

Review of the film "Pride" from The Guardian
featuring the song "Bread and Roses"

"Bread and Roses" is a political slogan as well as the name of an associated poem and song. It originated from a speech given by Rose Schneiderman; a line in that speech ("The worker must have bread, but she must have roses, too.") inspired the title of the poem Bread and Roses by James Oppenheim. The poem was first published in The American Magazine in December 1911, with the attribution line "'Bread for all, and Roses, too'—a slogan of the women in the West." The poem has been translated into other languages and has been set to music by at least three composers.

It is commonly associated with the successful textile strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts during January–March 1912, now often known as the "Bread and Roses strike".

The slogan pairing bread and roses, appealing for both fair wages and dignified conditions, found resonance as transcending "the sometimes tedious struggles for marginal economic advances" in the "light of labor struggles as based on striving for dignity and respect", as Robert J. S. Ross wrote in 2013. 
(more on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_and_Roses)

Spin out of control

Brussel on the 6 of November 2014...

If activities or events spin out of control, they change very quickly and in an uncontrolled way

cars on fire in Brussel on November the 6th

To go out of control, to get off track - déraper

• The country's economy seemed to be spinning out of control.

http://www.rtbf.be/video/detail_violences-durant-la-manifestation-nationale?id=1969097


Following the simultaneous federal elections and regional elections of 25 May 2014, Belgium has finally a new government since mid-October...the schedule is pretty good if we remember that we had to wait 536 days after the previous election to form a new government. As usual, the formation of the Belgian government led  to a strike but this time it went out of control: more than a hundred police officers were injured, the demonstration spinned out of control when dockers from Antwerpen came into action.

Catch-22

 "Between a rock and a hard place", in other words - there is no way out/solution because of the conflicting rules or pressures one is facing.

• It's a real Catch-22: to get a job you need experience, but to get experience you need a job.
• John would be hurt if she didn't invite him, but if she did, Mary wouldn't come. It was a Catch-22

Catch-22 is a satirical novel by the American author Joseph Heller.  It is about a pilot in the Second World War. It is frequently cited as one of the greatest literary works of the twentieth century.

The phrase "Catch-22" has entered the English language, referring to a type of unsolvable logic puzzle.

Pigeon holing

to classify or categorize, esp. in a rigid manner, to treat or classify according to a mental stereotype

    
to put somebody in a pigeon-hole - cataloguer quelqu'un  

• Because I had an unusual accent people were not able to put me into a pigeon-hole.
• He felt they had pigeonholed him ...        

to be pigeonholed as sth - être catalogué comme quelque chose 

• I don't want to be pigeonholed as a kids' presenter.   

Nice try!

A very personal opinion: smart technologies requires smart teachers...

http://hmaxwelladams.edublogs.org/2011/02/22/edublog-2-the-impact-of-smart-boards/

It's time for a talk

Julia Sweeney

http://www.ted.com/talks/julia_sweeney_has_the_talk

Despite her best efforts, comedian Julia Sweeney is forced to tell a little white lie when her 8-year-old begins learning about frog reproduction — and starts to ask some very smart questions.





--------------------------------------------------------------------
Transcript from TED:

0:30I have a daughter, Mulan. And when she was eight, last year, she was doing a report for school or she had some homework about frogs. And we were at this restaurant, and she said, "So, basically, frogs lay eggs and the eggs turn into tadpoles (toad larva, polliwog= têtard) , and tadpoles turn into frogs."
And I said, "Yeah. You know, I'm not really up on (je ne suis pas à jour) my frog reproduction that much. It's the females, I think, that lay the eggs, and then the males fertilize them. And then they become tadpoles and frogs."

0:39And she says, "What? Only the females have eggs?"

0:41And I said, "Yeah."

0:43And she goes, "And what's this fertilizing?"

0:45So I kind of said, "Oh, it's this extra ingredient, you know, that you need to create a new frog from the mom and dad frog." 

0:53And she said, "Oh, so is that true for humans too?"

0:56And I thought, "Okay, here we go." I didn't know it would happen so quick, at eight. I was trying to remember all the guidebooks, and all I could remember was, "Only answer the question they're asking.Don't give any more information."  So I said, "Yes."

1:12And she said, "And where do, um, where do human women, like, where do women lay their eggs?"

1:19And I said, "Well, funny you should ask.  We have evolved to have our own pond. We have our very own pond inside our bodies. And we lay our eggs there, we don't have to worry about other eggs or anything like that. It's our own pond. And that's how it happens."

1:38And she goes, "Then how do they get fertilized?"

1:40And I said, "Well, Men, through their penis, they fertilize the eggs by the sperm coming out. And you go through the woman's vagina."

1:51And so we're just eating, and her jaw just drops, and she goes, "Mom! Like, where you go to the bathroom?"

1:58And I said, "I know. I know."  That's how we evolved. It does seem odd. It is a little bit like having a waste treatment plant right next to an amusement park ... Bad zoning, but ..." 

2:18She's like, "What?" And she goes, "But Mom, but men and women can't ever see each other naked, Mom. So how could that ever happen?"

2:26And then I go, "Well," and then I put my Margaret Mead hat on. "Human males and females develop a special bond, and when they're much older, much, much older than you, and they have a very special feeling, then they can be naked together."

2:42And she said, "Mom, have you done this before?"

2:46And I said, "Yes."

2:49And she said, "But Mom, you can't have kids." Because she knows that I adopted her and that I can't have kids.

2:53And I said, "Yes."

2:55And she said, "Well, you don't have to do that again."

2:57And I said, "..."

3:00And then she said, "But how does it happen when a man and woman are together? Like, how do they know that's the time? Mom, does the man just say, 'Is now the time to take off my pants?'"

3:09And I said, "Yes." "That is exactly right. That's exactly how it happens."

3:20So we're driving home and she's looking out the window, and she goes, "Mom. What if two just people saw each other on the street, like a man and a woman, they just started doing it. Would that ever happen?"

3:28And I said, "Oh, no. Humans are so private. Oh ..."

3:33And then she goes, "What if there was like a party, and there was just like a whole bunch of girls and a whole bunch of boys, and there was a bunch of men and women and they just started doing it, Mom?Would that ever happen?"

3:42And I said, "Oh, no, no. That's not how we do it."

3:48Then we got home and we see the cat. And she goes, "Mom, how do cats do it?"

3:52And I go, "Oh, it's the same. It's basically the same."

3:54And then she got all caught up in the legs. "But how would the legs go, Mom? I don't understand the legs." She goes, "Mom, everyone can't do the splits (grand écart)."

4:00And I go, "I know, but the legs ..." and I'm probably like, "The legs get worked out."

4:04And she goes, "But I just can't understand it."

4:05So I go, "You know, why don't we go on the Internet, and maybe we can see ... like on Wikipedia." 

4:11So we go online, and we put in "cats mating." And, unfortunately, on YouTube, there's many cats mating videos. And we watched them and I'm so thankful, because she's just like, "Wow! This is so amazing."She goes, "What about dogs?" So we put in dogs mating, and, you know, we're watching it, and she's totally absorbed.

4:27And then she goes, "Mom, do you think they would have, on the Internet, any humans mating?" And then I realized that I had taken my little eight year old's hand, and taken her right into Internet porn. 

4:43And I looked into this trusting, loving face, and I said, "Oh, no. That would never happen."

4:53

goone

a stupid or deliberately foolish person 

A pie in th sky

if an idea or plan is pie in the sky, it seems good but is not likely to be achieved 


wishful thinking, idealism- bâtir des châteaux en Espagne, utopique, illusoire 

• Those plans to set up his own business are just pie in the sky
• Our leaders need to offer more than pie in the sky when they talk about political and social issues
• She thinks her book will be a best-seller, but that's just pie in the sky.

Variations around "weigh"

weigh [sb]/[sth] down = alourdir, peser sur

• I was weighed down by all the shopping I did today. 

weigh [sb] down (be a burden) accabler, déprimer

• All this debt weighs me down, and I can't enjoy myself anymore. 

to weigh sth (=consider) = [+evidence, options] considérer

• After weighing everything carefully, I decided not to go. 
• We have to weigh the evidence and make a decision. She weighed her options. 

to weigh (up) the pros and cons = peser le pour et le contre

to weigh anchor = lever l'ancre

to weigh on [problem, worry] = quelque chose pèse à quelqu'un

• The separation weighed on both of them. La séparation leur pesait à tous deux.

to weigh on sb's mind = peser à qn

• Guilt weighed heavily on his mind.

to weigh out [+goods, ingredients] = peser des ingrédients

• He weighed out a pound of tomatoes.

weigh up [+advantages, alternatives] = soupeser

• I've been weighing up all the alternatives.

[+person] = jauger

• He was watching her, trying to weigh her up.
• I weighed up the pros and cons. J'ai pesé le pour et le contre.

weigh anchor = lever l'ancre

weigh the odds = estimer les chances, évaluer les éventualités

to weigh oneself = se peser

• I weigh eight stone.

to weigh on sb's mind = peser à qn

Shuttlecock

shuttlecock = volant (badminton)

Mylène Farmer & Seal - Les Mots

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znLilamklAM

Fixement, le ciel se tord
Quand la bouche engendre un mort
Là je donnerai ma vie pour t'entendre
Te dire les mots les plus tendres

When all becomes all alone
I'll break my life for a song
And two lives that stoop to notice mine
I know I will say goodbye
But a fraction of this life
I would give anything, anytime

L'univers a ses mystères
Les mots sont nos vies
You could kill a life with words
So, how would it feel
Si nos vies sont si fragiles
Words are mysteries
Les mots des sentiments
Les mots d'amour, un temple

If one swept the world away 
One could touch the universe
I will tell you how the sun rose high,
We could, with a word, become one

Et pour tous ces mots qui blessent
Il y a ceux qui nous caressent
Qui illuminent, qui touchent l'infini
Même si le néant existe
For a fraction of this life,
I will give anything, anytime

L'univers a ses mystères
Les mots sont nos vies
We could kill a life with words
So, how would it feel
Si nos vies sont si fragiles
Words are mysteries
Les mots des sentiments
Les mots d'amour, un temple

Too close to call

to be too close to call - l'écart est trop serré

impossible to guess the result in advance 

• Tonight's semifinals match is too close to call.

Usage notes: usually said about a competition or an election

To sound the death knell for something

to cause something to end - sonner le glas de...

knell = ringing bell
death knell = sign of imminent demise - glas 

• Everyone likes e-mail, but it hasn't sounded the death knell for snail mail quite yet.
• The CD format sounded the death knell for cassettes.

Irish coffee

Leprechauns

Leprechaun= sprite, small fairies - lutin

http://www.yourirish.com/folklore/the-leprechauns/

1. According to the book "The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures," by John and Caitlin Matthews, the leprechaun legend can be traced back to eighth-century tales of water spirits called "luchorpán," meaning small body. The legend eventually evolved into a mischievous household fairy said to haunt cellars and drink heavily.

2. Leprechauns are shoemakers. Some researches claim that the word leprechaun came from the Irish 'leath bhrogan,' meaning shoemaker, said to be the sprites' main vocation.

3. If you happen to come across a leprechaun, be sure to hold on to him.  According to Irish legends, people lucky enough to capture a leprechaun can barter (troquer) his freedom for three wishes. But dealing with a leprechaun can be a tricky proposition.

4. A leprechaun is a trickster figure (arnaqueur) who cannot be trusted. Folklorist Carol Rose offers a typical tale of leprechaun trickery in her encyclopedia "Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns, and Goblins," it concerns "a man who managed to get a leprechaun to show him the bush in the field where his treasure was located. Having no spade [shovel] (pelle), the man marked the tree with one of his red garters, then kindly released the sprite and went for a spade. Returning almost instantly he found that every one of the numerous trees in the field sported a red garter!" (jarretière)

5. Like most fairies, leprechauns have a distinctive sound associated with them. While the Irish banshee (mythologie gaélique : créature) can be identified by a mournful wail (gémissement), leprechauns are recognized by the tap-tap-tapping of a tiny cobbler (cordonnier) hammer, driving nails into shoes, that announces they are near.

6. Leprechauns are always male. In the 1825 book "Fairy Legends" noted that  "Leprechauns seem to be entirely male and solitary. They are often described as bearded old men dressed in green and wearing buckled shoes (chaussure en forme de boucle). Sometimes they wear a pointed cap or hat and may smoke a pipe.

7. Leprechauns weren't always dressed in green. Early tales of the creatures reported red clothing.

8.  In his collection of Irish fairy and folk tales, W.B. Yeats offered an 18th-century poem by William Allingham titled "The Lepracaun; Or, Fairy Shoemaker." It describes the tapping sound of the sprite:

"Lay your ear close to the hill.
Do you not catch the tiny clamour,
Busy click of an elfin hammer,
Voice of the Lepracaun singing shrill
As he merrily plies his trade?"

9. One of the most recognizable leprechauns in popular culture is Lucky the Leprechaun, the mascot of the General Mills breakfast cereal Lucky Charms. On the other end of the pop culture spectrum, you have the homicidal Lubdan from the "Leprechaun" horror/comedy film series.

10. Leprechauns are a morality tale figure. The legend warns against greed and the folly of trying to get rich quick.

Text from: http://www.irishcentral.com/culture/entertainment/-top-ten-facts-about-leprechauns-and-where-the-legends-really-came-from-212728761-237598771.html

"Everybody Hurts" by R.E.M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6yUY7M9yfw

When your day is long
And the night, the night is yours alone
When you're sure you've had enough
Of this life, well hang on

Don't let yourself go
'Cause everybody cries
And everybody hurts sometimes

Sometimes everything is wrong
Now it's time to sing along
When your day is night alone (Hold on, hold on)
If you feel like letting go (Hold on)
If you think you've had too much
Of this life, well hang on

Everybody hurts
Take comfort in your friends
Everybody hurts
Don't throw your hand, oh no

Don't throw your hand
If you feel like you're alone
No, no, no, you are not alone

If you're on your own in this life
The days and nights are long
When you think you've had too much of this life to hang on

Well, everybody hurts sometimes
Everybody cries
Everybody hurts sometimes
And everybody hurts sometimes

So hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on
Everybody hurts

Let's Wipe the Slate Clean

Let's forget about it, let's move on, let's draw a line under it - Tournons la page

1. Years ago, people could go into a grocers or pub etc and buy things "on account".  A record of transactions and money owed was written on a slate.  At that time, the debt was to be cleared on payday and it was always a great day when the debt was paid and the slate wiped clean.  Although slate was eventually replaced by paper or electronic record, the term ‘wiping the slate clean’ still remains in usage in this context.  

2. During Victorian times, young schoolchildren used to write on slate boards made from a piece of quarry slate set in a wooden frame.  A pencil, also made of slate was used to write the letters.  The advantage of slates over paper was that they could be wiped clean and used again and again - very environmentally friendly!  Children had to bring a dampened cloth or sponge to school so that they could wipe their slates clean at the end of the lesson and start again but often they would use their own spit and the cuff of their sleeve! 

3. The third explanation for the expression ‘to wipe the slate clean’ is a nautical one.  The course steered and distances covered by a ship were recorded during each watch on a slate and after they were entered into the official log at the end of a watch, the slate carrying the ongoing recordings was wiped clean ready for the next watch to keep a fresh record.

One of the first social network...

Found somewhere in Brussel...

Avicii - Hey Brother

"Brother / Sister"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Cp6mKbRTQY


 "There's an endless road to rediscover" to go back and realize that the end isn't the end but a beginning.

Hey brother, there’s an endless road to re-discover.
Hey sister, know the water's sweet but blood is thicker.
Oh, if the sky comes falling down for you,
There’s nothing in this world I wouldn’t do.

Hey brother, do you still believe in one another?
Hey sister, do you still believe in love, I wonder?
Oh, if the sky comes falling down for you,
There’s nothing in this world I wouldn’t do.

What if I'm far from home?
Oh, brother I will hear you call.
What if I lose it all?
Oh, sister I will help you out!
Oh, if the sky comes falling down for you,
There’s nothing in this world I wouldn’t do.

Hey brother, there’s an endless road to re-discover.
Hey sister, do you still believe in love, I wonder?
Oh, if the sky comes falling down for you,
There’s nothing in this world I wouldn’t do.

What if I'm far from home?
Oh, brother I will hear you call.
What if I lose it all?
Oh, sister I will help you out!
Oh, if the sky comes falling down for you,
There’s nothing in this world I wouldn’t do.

To sulk

To be sullenly aloof or withdrawn, as in silent resentment or protest.- ruminer, broyer du noir
be silent, morose, and bad-tempered out of annoyance or disappointment. - bouder

• he was sulking over the break-up of his band
• He's like a spoilt child, sulking in the corner
• He's in a sulk because he lost the game; he's got the sulks

A sulker is a person who sulks

synonyms: mope, brood, pout, be sullen, have a long face, be in a bad mood, be put out, be out of sorts, be out of humour, be grumpy, be despondent, be moody, be resentful, pine, harbour a grudge, eat one's heart out, moon about/around