Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

Terms of Endearment

                        Honeybeecoreyamaro

"Mommy, why does Kristi call Max Honey? Why doesn't she call him Peanut-Butter?" Sacha asked when he was three.

Some of the terms of endearment in French I don't mind: Mon petit Coeur de sucre (my little sugar heart,) mon Tresor (my treasure,) or ma belle (my beautiful.) But being called ma puce (my little flea) or ma bichette (my little goat) or ma petite crotte (My Little Poop! A very affectionate term, don't you think?) Or mon chou (my cabbage) doesn't ring my bell.

Peanut butter doesn't sound that bad when you think of it. Well, as long as it isn't chunky.

When French husband was seven, he would hold the chimney broomstick as a microphone and sing "Que Je T'aime" by Johnny Hallyday" (A French Elvis.) He told me, "I loved that song, and I sang it all day. Johnny was screaming his love for a girl…and God, it ripped my heart open every time!"

I would have loved to have met my French Husband when he was seven.

"Ah ma moitie of a peanut butter et miel tartine! (My half of a peanut butter and honey sandwich, in Franglais.) Sing me Que Je T'aime!"

photo: Honey bee paper doll strikes again!

Comments

36 responses to “Terms of Endearment”

  1. Jeanne

    You are truly blessed!
    Thank you for sharing your heart.
    Kisses and smiles across the miles.
    Love Jeanne

    Reply
  2. Gypsy Purple–Chamara

    What a delightful post…again you made me laugh…thank you….mon tresor
    Chamara

    Reply
  3. Shannon

    My mom used to call me “peanut”….that’s pretty close to peanut butter.

    Reply
  4. gracie

    I love nicknames!! and I love creating them… my daughter has so many she might even forget what her real name is!!!

    Reply
  5. Pam Aries

    WEll…ANYTHING/everything sounds beautiful in French! …Oh say…I’ve been meaning to ask….do you know any Frenchmen ..single, late 40s 50’s…. cute ,sweet ??!! hee hee

    Reply
  6. Kristy

    Mine get different names depending on the occasion! Pumpkin Head or Barmpot for being silly,Princess or Sweetpea for reassurance and full sunday titles for being naughty!Even my husband!!!

    Reply
  7. Paris Parfait

    A sweet story, Corey. What does French husband think of Johnny now that he’s moved to Switzerland for tax reasons?

    Reply
  8. susanlavonne

    a rose by any other name…what a lovely post, Corey.
    when said with affection, there’s almost no name that i ‘ll reject 🙂
    my friend at work, Raychelle, and frequently address one another with little nick names…i’ve been BooBoo lately which i suppose IS a step up from PooPoo which she occassionally uses (but uses it for her youngest son affectionately as well, so no offense taken despite the implications 🙂

    Reply
  9. sognatrice

    Very cute. I’d much rather be peanut butter than honey (excellent point on the chunky!). I’m trying to think of some in Italian, but there’s nothing nearly as, um, interesting as poop. Tesoro, caro/a, or as we use, plain ole “amore” shortened to “amò” since I’m in the south and they shorten all words here. Your husband at any age sounds adorable 🙂

    Reply
  10. patpaulk

    Peanut butter ain’t bad compared to “poop”. PB & “P”?

    Reply
  11. constance

    How charming to hear a child invent a pseudonym for a loved one. What terms of of endearment! Such sweet music to my ears . Also, to watch bitsy ones perform is some of the best entertainment ever!

    Reply
  12. Anna

    Truly, everything sounds beautiful and lovely in French. Our family speaks Gerglish.

    Reply
  13. cruststation

    It’s funny how every country have their own colloquial terms of address, here in the UK, we have ‘duck’,’petal’,’sweet pea’,’love’ etc…duck -me? I like the idea of being able to grow up with the people we love, our friends, soul-mates, a lifetime is not enough to get to know a person you love.

    Reply
  14. diana

    we use alot of nicknames here also… so many that my kids think they are in trouble if I call them their given name.

    Reply
  15. Regina Clare Jane

    I always loved “mon petite chou”- just so endearing… and it sounds sweet, too!
    A beautiful post, Corey…

    Reply
  16. parisbreakfasts

    Family nicknames…
    “Cackel”-I couldn’t say Carol
    “The Grasshopper” (who played all summer instead of collecting nuts like the clever squirrel)
    “The pokey puppy” – self explanatory
    I’m still The Grasshopper…
    Still playing 🙂

    Reply
  17. rel

    Corey
    Nicknames and terms of endearment are outward signs of our affection and love…given and received.
    Tres beau ma cher amie!
    rel

    Reply
  18. phyllis

    The ones in the newspaper on Valentine’s Day just kill me! “From Big Mama to Snooky, Pooky and Pea Face, with love” or “I love you Tumpy and NannyGee, from Bubba and Slewfoot” These I guess…are my neighbors?
    Love,
    Shabby

    Reply
  19. Laura Florand

    I just clicked over her by chance from Paris Breakfasts. What an absolutely beautiful blog you have. I feel as if we share a story, but from different perspectives–yours is so poetic and charming!

    Reply
  20. Linda

    Johnny Holiday. Doesn’t he look awful? Can he have any more plastic surgury? His voice is good but I still prefer Elvis.

    Reply
  21. Linda

    Johnny Holiday. Doesn’t he look awful? Can he have any more plastic surgury? His voice is good but I still prefer Elvis.

    Reply
  22. Julie

    Crazy! Sometimes I call my 4 yr. old sister “my little poopy” as a joke. She always gets really mad though.

    Reply
  23. herhimnbryn

    Funnily enough my nickname has always been Duchess!
    I am also known as “My Lovely”…not bad huh?

    Reply
  24. annieelf

    Miss Paperdoll is becoming a very good friend with her multiple visits here.

    Reply
  25. nel

    I started with Janelle, then my cousin named me Janellybean…he thought it was funny (jellybean!) then my brother shortened it to bean (does that rank with cabbage?)because he thought I was too skinny to be a jellybean! It’s better than what I got called at school though (sorry, that one stays secret!!).

    Reply
  26. yveline

    how is this to be called “my pet” by my American husband??????
    I dislike it…..smile
    Thanks for your blog, this is so nice to read and almost makes me homesick

    Reply
  27. Marie-Noëlle

    Most nicknames, when chosen through love eyes, deal with something little or sweet… sweet to stroke or to care like animals, or sweet to eat like “honey” or chocolate…
    After reading the following lines, Corey, you will love to be called “ma petite crotte”, pretty sure!?!
    The French call chocolates : “crottes en chocolat” (= would you say “chocolate poops”?!), you can very well imagine why! So “ma petite crotte” is sort of “lovely little chocolate”…
    now about “puce”…
    For centuries, girls had to be virgins on their wedding day. Virgin is “vierge” in French (alike Mary “la Sainte Vierge”)and, in the Middle Ages, the word was “pucelle” (alike Joan of Arch known as “la pucelle”)… “pucelle” means “petite puce” and was then the symbol of desire.
    Years have gone by, manners have changed… but “petites puces” still live on!
    Now for “mon petit chou”,there are 2 explainations,…
    The people with a sweet tooth will like this one:
    It refers to the cream bun (“chou à la crème).
    But the long-known oral tradition that says girls were born in roses and boys in cabbages might be the real origin. Mothers used to tell their love to their baby boys born in a “chou” and becoming “petit chou”.
    We still speak tenderly about a child as a “bout d’chou” (litterally: little piece of cabbage).
    Anne Geddes’ pictures new-born babies in flowers, vegetables or as insects…
    Hints ???
    Which nickname do you like best now, Corey?
    mon chou? ma puce? or ma petite crotte?

    Reply
  28. Marie-Noëlle

    PS
    Forgot to mention that “bichette” is the diminutive term of “biche” (= doe)…
    “Ma bichette” could be translated as my little doe… or little deer/dear (?!?)
    Another love term refering to an animal…
    more of them :
    “mon (petit) canard” = my duckling /duck
    “mon (petit) lapin” = my rabbit
    “mon poussin” = my chick
    “ma poulette” (oldish) = my little hen
    “mon petit loup” (only to children) = my little wolf
    “mon petit chat” / “mon chaton” = my kitten
    May depend on you: do you purr, peck, cheep…???

    Reply
  29. Mardougrrl

    Hee! I love those nicknames, and the idea of your husband singing away at age seven. As always, your writing has the loveliest visuals.

    Reply
  30. Vanessa

    What about peanut butter and jelly? What happened to that good old fashioned favorite, hee hee. I am so glad you came by the slumber party! I came out of the shadows this last post. It was scary. Can french husband do the act now, and can you put it live in a post. That would be fun.

    Reply
  31. Tara Larsen Chang

    Peanut-butter and honey sandwich works for me. 🙂

    Reply
  32. Francoise

    c’est toujours un plaisir de visiter votre blog et quel humour ! dans le domaine des petits noms amoureux, il y a aussi : ma petite fleur, mon petit poulain, mon canard, ma pouliche, mon étalon…

    Reply
  33. Jill

    So sweet!!!!!!! Been so many years since French class, I had forgotten about “Mon Chou”. I always loved that one. 🙂

    Reply
  34. kristen robinson

    Corey this is so endearing and full of enchantment.
    XO
    Kristen

    Reply
  35. Jann

    i love all these little expressions-so true from the heart!

    Reply
  36. Marilyn

    Tucked away in our box of photos (yours, mine and ours all jumbled together after all these years) is one of J when he was about 8 or 9. Oh, how I would have loved to be able to see him then. 😉

    Reply

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