Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

Whatcha gonna say about that?

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Photo: My nieces and nephews bus ride home from the first day of school in California.

Chelsea came home from university (Prepa) this weekend and the first thing she said was, "Mom, in my English class the teacher said that "thingamajig" was a real word!" 

I looked at her and thought to myself, "A college education pays off." After which I said to Chelsea, "Wada you know! I’ll be dang! Did you learn that "whatchamacallit" is a doosey of a word too."

"Really? All along I thought you made up those words, you know like doo-dad, be-bop, *quakases, *chili con carne (…) (Chelsea rattled on a long embarrassing list but I’m cutting it short ’cause gee you might get the wrong idea of me!)

"Nope, those words are real. " I added, "Aren’t you glad I spoke English to you all these years?"

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photo: My nieces, this summer, with a home made sign saying "Eat."

*Quakases is a slang word my Mother’s entire family used for the word underwear.

*Chili con carne is a Spanish word for a meat dish you know that. But since we are vegetarians, I used that word to describe a "cold day." An example,  "Children put on your coats it’s gonna be a Chilly con carne day."  Chelsea and Sacha were shocked the day they learned that Chili con carne was a meat dish and not a cold day.

Comments

44 responses to “Whatcha gonna say about that?”

  1. Mélanie

    Thanks to teach me some of these words . I’ve never heard it before . They sound so funny ..
    I’m going to use Chili Con carne too
    ____________________
    M.
    Oh No I’ve corrupted a Frenchie!!
    C

    Reply
  2. rel

    Corey,
    That’s a real humdinger of a post. 😉
    The idiomatic vanacular is best learned in person!
    rel

    Reply
  3. parisbreakfasts

    Forgetaboutit!
    Take a class trip ta New York if ya wanna learn da language says I!
    Or plug inta Urban Dictionary for da word of da day:
    http://www.urbandictionary.com/daily.php

    Reply
  4. Wildlife Gardener

    Three little maids from school are we…wonderful!

    Reply
  5. Jeanne

    Love you darling one……….
    Kisses

    Reply
  6. Becca

    Lovely post …really so much fun! Are they really “real words?” They certainly have been in my world, so maybe they have been around for long enough to graduate into legitmacy. This is a very sweet post! I shall use these words without apology from now on …

    Reply
  7. Linda

    When I think about all of the way I use words to express things in English, I start thinking of the many ways the French use words to describe things in French and get discouraged. Not a day goes by that my French husband doesn’t say, “What does that mean?” about something I say in English, such as “Flip a U-ie” for making a U-turn-which I don’t think I know how the French say, come to think of it.

    Reply
  8. maria

    Of course “chili con carne” is a cold day!
    I always tell my kids “Chili today, hot tamale!”
    ———————————-
    That is a good one!! I wish i had thought of it! I am going to start using it instead of Chili con carne!

    Reply
  9. Darla

    I recently introduced Lollygagging to our 10 yo GD. Nothing like increasing a kids vocabulary. I will say Quakases in a new one to me.
    Darla

    Reply
  10. Katy

    We have a “family word”, too, but I can’t reveal it, because I use it as a password – nobody would ever guess it in a million lifetimes!

    Reply
  11. maria

    Ok, and my eight year old is reading your blog over my shoulder and wants me to click on the
    “cheese mobile”—huh?? Oh, he means “chez moi!” LOL
    Perhaps i should try to inject a little more culture into our lives, oui??
    -maria

    Reply
  12. Beverly

    I’m so glad that Cheslea is getting a real “edumacation”.
    Yes, “edumacation” is a real English word in this house, though no one seems to have notified Webster yet!
    And your nieces are gorgeous!! Absolutely beautiful!!

    Reply
  13. Pauline

    my mother was forever asking us to fetch the thingamajig from the whosiwhatsis…
    your family is delightful – all that bursting creativity, and those smiles!

    Reply
  14. Cre8Tiva

    corey…this is too cute…why would french university be talking about thingamajig?? i wonder…is there a frenc equivelent?? …blessings, rebecca

    Reply
  15. rochambeau

    Chelsea’s learned from the best!
    She’ll aways know where to find her thingymagig on a Chili Con Carne kinda day! Now, I
    hope you find your whatchamacallit!
    Perhaps it’s in the Quakases drawer with all The other linen doodads.
    Your D Best!

    Reply
  16. cruststation

    Heehee….I like that families have their ‘secret’ languages, it’s adorable!

    Reply
  17. Shannon

    Didn’t your kids take Spanish class in France?
    _____________________________
    S.
    Chelsea and Sacha both study German, English and French in school.
    C.

    Reply
  18. Miz Booshay

    Your neices love you! I can see it in their eyes :o)
    This is such a cute-funny post!

    Reply
  19. Sheila

    We still find ourselves using ‘words’ for things that were the children’s mispronunciations when they were small.
    It’s good to know the words you mention are ‘real’, where would we be without them!
    The photo of the three little ones is precious, and the girl in the pink looks so like my granddaughter it is amazing..!
    It must be the Portuguese in their genes..!

    Reply
  20. Kit

    What about hairyplanes and hoojamaflips, electrickery and heffalumps?!

    Reply
  21. Lorene

    Corey,
    I was LOL at this post. And the Chili con Carne story was a crack up. Thanks for putting a smile on my face this morning. I totally needed it.
    Lorene

    Reply
  22. Di Overton

    My father used to ask me to get something by saying – Hey thingy get the watchimicallit out of the whatsit will you? Therefore they must be art of the English language. Strange thing is we always seemed to know what it was he wanted.

    Reply
  23. Ally

    Gidouttahere, those are real words?!! lol.

    Reply
  24. Mari-Nanci

    I do believe this is the first time I’ve seen you say that your family is vegetarian. So of course, I wonder ‘the why’ of this decision…
    When it was made…? Did it have anything to do with recovery from Cancer…? Is it a difficult way to live, in the great culinary land of France…?
    Oh and, is this the glorious secret to your staying so tiny? 🙂
    And of course, you *know* the one to say “Yes!” to! To convert all your readers to vegetarianism. >,-)
    Mari-Nanci

    Reply
  25. christine

    as always you manage to create the most delightful quirky scenarios to share….its nice to know that talking silly with kids goes on in other homes other than my own….and just for the record our family slang for underwear is biggies.
    many thanks
    christine

    Reply
  26. kim

    The only thing my mind is focusing on with this post is… “You’re a vegetarian?!” I had no idea. And I’m shocked. Only because I think it would be hard to live in France and be vegetarian. I live in England and I’m trying hard not to eat meat but I find it very challenging. Maybe you could write about this one day in a post. I’d love to hear about your decision to go vegetarian and how you manage it in France.

    Reply
  27. tommiea

    How funny….thanks for the laugh.

    Reply
  28. Leigh

    This is too cute. The chili con carne thing reminds me of when I was little and a friend said it was so hot in her house that she slept in her drawers. For years I pictured her squished up in her dresser drawers! I had no idea how that could make her cooler, but at that point I had never heard anyone refer to their underwear that way and that’s what she meant!

    Reply
  29. meredith

    I am having one of those days where I feel like no one here gets me. You would 🙂

    Reply
  30. Mrs. G.

    Me? I’m a big fan of the word kerfuffle. Thanks for the laugh.

    Reply
  31. Colette

    Sweet!
    I guess thingamajig would be like “le machin” and “le truc.”
    Have a great Chili NON Carne day!

    Reply
  32. tlchang

    Look at those bright eyes and big smiles. What a picture!
    xxTara

    Reply
  33. Amanda (aka Cottage Contessa)

    Sweet post, beautiful neices. Thanks for the early morning chuckle Corey!
    Amanda (aka Cottage Contessa)
    http://jacarandacottage.blogspot.com/

    Reply
  34. tinker

    “A chilly con carne day” – I love that.
    This whole post, just makes me smile – thank you!~xo

    Reply
  35. Paris Parfait

    A funny story and wonderful photos! Isn’t it wonderful when your daughter comes home and you get to hear about all the things she’s learned/her experiences, etc.?

    Reply
  36. Tamara Giselle

    Money well spent on lessons that teach your child that what their mother tells them is true. Growing up does that anyways though doesn’t it?

    Reply
  37. Sally

    You’re so cute Corey!
    I was curious what the possible derivation/genesis of quakases could be and so I googled it and there you are! You are the recognized authority on quakases. 🙂
    From one veggie to another, wishing you all very happy Chili con *faux* carne kind of days!

    Reply
  38. Rosemary

    Corey,
    Who knew?
    Adorable children!
    Rosemary

    Reply
  39. gracie

    Thank you for the giggles this morning!!
    My mother used endless coined words… and now so do I. Her word for a cold day was: “frizzerating” and if we were naughty we were “monstiferous!”

    Reply
  40. Alison Whittington

    Fantabulous. I love “chile con carne” day!
    (side note: When I lived in east Germany, the English teacher for our class told me I didn’t speak English properly because I was American. She did still give me a perfect grade, though).

    Reply
  41. Gillian @ Indigo Blue

    Way to go on being meatless.
    Those kids faces are priceless!
    I guess a hot tamale is a hot day!
    xo
    Blue

    Reply
  42. Elaine L.

    Cute post! We used to say “thingamabob”.
    I love “chili con carne” on a cold day.
    ~elaine~

    Reply
  43. Hasmin

    Corey,
    So funny. I’m known to use made up words, if you could call it that, around my children for years, and they seem to understand! LOL. 🙂

    Reply
  44. Travelingmama

    You mean those aren’t real words?? Man, I am in trouble! LOL! Love the chili con carne day- that really made me laugh! I totally forgot kids still ride on big yellow buses to go school. Here we have vans that have bench seats and 300 kids crammed inside. Needless to say I almost had a heart attack the first time I found out about my daughter going for her first field trip (they don’t have permission forms here either.)

    Reply

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