The Vachement Son-Bee and other things you learn in a mixed language household

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The fabulous foot-in-mouth mishaps that French Husband, the children and I have had tripping over the English and French language has been in the time past (and present) enough fun to poke at each other for years to come


I thought French Husband’s classic *pubic transportation would be the number one record holder in our pokes at one another, until I told the priest at our French church that his sermon was: “Vachement bien!”French Husband who never uses slang let alone swear nearly choked, then politely tried to correct me… I wouldn’t have it, so I shook my head and I went on to say “What?Vachement isn’t slang, everyone says it!”


Though this summer as Sacha has been working with older men out at the ranch he has picked up quite a few choice words…vachement cool if you are a French teen in America and in need of a few good ole swear words to throw around town.


The other day one of the guys at the ranch hollered to Sacha, “Hey when you’re done with the “son-bee”  you can throw it in the pick-up.” Sacha looked at the man, shrugged his shoulders and asked, “What the heck is a son-bee?”


Somethings are better left not translated.


* Pubic Transportation Story:


When I first met French Husband in San Francisco he soon there after took a bus to meet me at St Gabriel’s Catholic Church, (where I worked at the time.) The secretaries at the church, Patsy and Peggy, asked French Husband how he got to the church that day? He replied in his extra heavy French accent,


“I tuke de pubic transportation.”


I thought Patsy and Peggy would pee their pants they laughed so hard. The jokes never stopped at St. Gabriel’s about my romance to the Frenchman, and his pubic transportation! They had a field day with that remark.



Comments

31 responses to “The Vachement Son-Bee and other things you learn in a mixed language household”

  1. Priceless! 🙂

  2. “Pubic Transportation??” Now I’m wondering what BART really stands for. And those Cable Cars- well don’t get me started.
    D.

  3. christine

    My dear Burgundian husband gave a talk to members of the New Zealand government and various representatives of the agricultural and viticutural world in Christchurch, New Zealand and spoke at length of the rise and fall of “consummation”, thinking he was talking about “consumption “. We’ve had a few laughs about that one. ( I hesitate to say “pokes”…..)xxxx C

  4. still laughing ..
    so that I can hardly type..=P

  5. Love and laughter are the magic in our lives.
    Thanks for adding both to mine.
    Love you
    Jeanne

  6. hahahahaha! this is hilarious Corey!
    have stories like this one as wel, and yes, we sill laugh!!!!
    a hug!

  7. Corey,
    That story of French Husband with his faux-pas, especially being at church might possibly be the funniest thing I have read on your blog 🙂 Thanks for the laugh.
    xox

  8. SOooooooooooooooo L-O-L!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  9. But what does “vachement” mean??

  10. Such sweet sweet stories! I’m glad that your family is all together again…
    I need to get to the French/English dictionary online to check out your “goof”…but I’m not sure I’ll find it!

  11. Oh my goodness!! That is hilarious! Poor thing to have to suffer through that. And vachement? Corey! To the priest? lol

  12. I believe Yann invented a euphemism for s-e-x!!
    So, what does vachement mean? You can whisper it to me…..

  13. Nice to know you are smiling, Corey.

  14. Ahhh, I never swore in English until I learned to swear in German first.
    When I was 15, I wouldn’t even read the, ahem, B-word off a Trival Pursuit card about the first female dog in space!
    Then I moved overseas and all, uh, heck broke loose. Now I swear far worse than the sailor I am married to.

  15. Poor French Husband. That story is so funny. Hey – the Farmer does things like that with English – his first language. You cannot imagine how he butchers Spanish.
    – Suzanne, the Farmer’s Wife

  16. Oh, my! And they say that immersion is the best way to learn a new language…I guess it is. It’s good that we all come with a sense of humor as well 😉

  17. I’m smiling and lauging with that post today Corey!!!
    Your stories are magical!!
    Love,
    Rosemary

  18. Oh my! Hilarious way to start my day. Thanks for sharing. (Does he still blush when you tell that story?) : )

  19. When my eldest daughter Sara was asked by a Frenchman if she spoke any French she replied – oui petit pois.
    I just wish I could speak more that a few words of it but luckily have Charlotte to do it all for me 🙂
    Sounds like you are having fun at last.
    Hugs to you
    Di
    xo

  20. Fun post today! The stat-counters at Google are probably wondering why there has been a sudden increase in the translation request for ‘vachement’.

  21. Robi from Willows

    OK, Corey….you got me wondering….Vachement???? What IS it? I think it may have something to do with SEX?? Ha! You said this to a priest???? HA HA!!! Oh my…very funny indeed. As for Donna O wondering about BART…Bay Area Rapid Transit…very boring!!! Maybe we should invent a new meaning????
    Fun post today Corey…thanks!

  22. Terrific story Corey. But it was Sasha’s Gaelic shrug and “what’s a Sun-bee”, that really got me laughing. Ah, innocence.

  23. My nephew and his French wife were going to buy a car, a Ford Focus, but when she said Focus it had no o, just u’s, which was more than he could take.
    It was funny.

  24. So funny! Loved these!
    And I’ll share one of my own…
    I joined a club cinema when we lived in France, thinking it was just for women. Then a husband showed up and said in English, “No Becky. In France, everything we do is bisexual!”
    Becky

  25. Ohhhhh, funny!! Poor French Husband.

  26. Une histoire vachement rigolo! With apologies to French Husband…

  27. LOL – my kids do it, too. They say something they have heard someone else say (in Spanish), nearly giving us a stroke as we hurry to yell “Never say that in front of your grandparents!!!” hee hee hee….

  28. can’t make this stuff up- that is a great story! Everytime I take public transportation I will think of this…lol
    eBeth

  29. My dad’s native tongue was Spanish. After he had been dating my mom for awhile, he was invited to have dinner with the family. Somehow, conversation turned to the Hoover Dam. Only, my dad got it mixed up and said it the other way around! Anyway, everyone at the table gasped. It took a moment before they realized what he had meant to say. My family still talks about it some thirty plus years later 🙂

  30. Corey – Oh how funny! Thanks for the laugh! I’ve missed you! 🙂 Marva

  31. rotfling =)
    definately a keeper of one liners!
    xo

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