Useless word of the day (4)

Galipette

/ɡalipɛt/
gal-ee-pay-tuh
A little somersault on the ground, using hands to roll on the back.
It's a word of vernacular origin, some say it comes from a old verb, galer, wich used to mean 'to have fun'. The suffix -ette at the end is cute and means 'little'.
Physical Education teachers and athletes despise galipette and call it a roulade (a roll), because it sounds more serious. But a galipette is a galipette, no matter what. It's fun, and nice, and not athletic at all. It comes naturally to every kid around 2 or 3.
Galipette avant / galipette arrière
A bit of a naughty twist, of course, when used in the plural : faire des galipettes. It all depends on the context...

Interestingly, when you jump up and turn in the air without touching the ground, a somersault is called a saut périlleux, literally a 'hazardous jump'.

No hazard for me... I'll stick to the galipette, thank you very much.

Useless (bad) word of the day (2)

Jean-foutre

/ʒanfutʁ/
dJ-ah footrr The d is here to explain that you are suppose to pronounce the J with clicking your tongue to your teeth before, that is, without producing the sound 'd'.

Jean stands for John or any very usual name. Foutre means uh... semen. Not a very polite word. A Jean-foutre would be a useless jerk. Totally outdated.

The insult is typically used by a well-established, slightly overweigt bourgeois who loses his temper, in a mid-Tewentieth century movie.

'There is no way you are seeing this Jean-foutre again, young lady !'

Useless word of the day (3)

Suivez-moi-jeune-homme

/sɥive mwa ʒœn ɔm/

 Swee-vay mo-ah juh-n om

'follow-me-young-lad', is a ribbon or a piece of laces, that dangles from the back of a woman's dress or hat, as if to lure the men into following her. XIXth century.

'All the gazes followed Nana down the street, the red suivez-moi-jeune-homme proudly dangling from her dress.'